In your August 2018 column, you wrote that God does not have a vast, eternal plan that Grandma Jones had successful heart surgery last month. OK, why do I pray for her or anyone else?
You prayed before her surgery because this expresses Jesus’ compassion and causes you to relate to Grandma Jones in a way that God certainly approves.
Although they will not describe their prayer in this way, many people pray as though God is a chess player about to make a bad move in your life or in someone else’s. Such a prayer aims to help God make a different and better move on the mistaken assumption that God is confined to the human categories of past, present, and future.
Right now, I am praying for the wife of a former co-worker here. She is undergoing chemotherapy. She and her husband are extremely grateful for the prayers of friends and relatives.
Does anyone need a better reason than that?
