Prayer is more profitable

I was stunned to see a familiar face in the lineup of individuals listed on the police department’s social media page.

I knew that person. Not just of them, but personally. And granted we hadn’t seen one another in almost twenty years, I was still shocked.

Because “those” kind of people are always strangers. Faces I’ve never seen and likely never will.

I scrolled up to read the charges and my heart sank. For them, for their family, for their future.

But it was right then that the Holy Spirit reminded me of the truth I’ve been learning over my lifetime.

Prayer is far more profitable than judgement.

I’ll never forget the feeling when it was me. When my name was printed inside the local newspaper under the court filings.

In fact, you can probably Google it now if you’re still interested. But I’ve got nothing to hide, and the public records made that clear to any and every one for the rest of time.

Up until that point, I’d been featured in the newspaper countless times throughout my life. Back when each write-up covered some sort of achievement or success. The beauty of small-town papers.

But this time, it was different. This time, it was a quick line of shame and failure. I’d hope no one would read that particular section, but it’s human nature to be nosey. After all, obituaries and court records are where most of us flip first… if you still get a newspaper that is.

And when it was me, and when my world was falling to pieces alongside my heart, the one thing I longed for was grace. For love. For kindness. And for prayer.

I didn’t desire anyone’s judgement. And I sure as heck didn’t desire their accusations or assumptions, either.

Those things didn’t help one iota.

They hurt.

I woke up in the middle of the night to let the dog out, and I prayed for the familiar face. That, like me, at their rock bottom, they would look up and catch the most beautiful, redemptive glimpses of God. That they would hold their hands high and allow God to lift them from the muck and mire, restoring them to firm footing on higher ground.

Our prayers are far more profitable than our judgement, friends.

So when we see someone sinking to their lowest of lows, let’s be quick to lift them up to our grace-filled Savior in prayer.