Prayers for a Friend

I went to my bookshelf tonight to pick out a new book (not like I needed to since I have about 12 on the go right now). I shuffled through all my romance and mystery novels and nothing really appealed to me. I checked out all of the books that I had started and I just wasn’t in the mood. I was reading the titles of all my Piper books (I have a lot!) and I saw Battling Unbelief. I honestly have no idea why I picked it up, and if I had read the back I probably wouldn’t have even started. The book is about battling things in our lives with the promises of God, which we so often don’t believe. The first chapter brought me to tears. Piper talks about battling anxiety from Matthew 6:25-34:

“Therefor I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you being anxious can add a single hour to his plan of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Therefore do not be anxious, saying ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘what shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

For anyone who knows me I worry about everything. I stress about everything, and as much as it applied totally for my own life it hit me hard for a different reason.

I have the privilege of being friends with one of the most amazing people in the world. She’s so much fun to be around, always thinks of how everyone else feels. She’s people smart and street smart and smart smart. To top it off she’s a perfect 10 blond that has a fantastic sense of style. Nothing stops here from achieving her dreams, and I mean nothing. She was diagnosed with a serious disease when she was in grade 9. She has to deal with tests, blood transfers, surgery, medication, the side effects from medication, and more pain in 1 week then most of us will feel our entire lives. I couldn’t help thinking as I read this that God knows. He knows what she needs for each day.

Piper wrote, “God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will work for you, so that “as your days, so shall your strength be” (Deuteronomy 33:25). Each day will have no more trouble than you can bear; and every day will have mercies sufficient for that day’s stress (Lamentations 3:22-23). (pg 32)

“Do no think that God is ignorant of your needs. He knows all of them. And he is your “heavenly Father.” He does not look on indifferently, from a distance. He cares. He will act to supply your need when the time is best. (pg 31)

There are so many times where I feel so helpless to do anything to make her feel better. Days where there is nothing that I can say to bring her comfort (mostly because she never tells you how bad it is until she’s having a good day). Days where I wish I could be half the friend that she’s been to me. Listen half as good as she does. Feeling so helpless is what finally drives us to our knees before God. To the first place we should turn but the last place we seam to go. Now it’s not that I haven’t prayed for her through the last few years, but I don’t think I ever really believed the promises that God gives us. And my heart cries out now like it never has before. For God to give her His mercies each day, to not give her more then she can bear. To heal her the way the doctors can’t. To comfort her when friends and family don’t know how. To help her have the faith she needs to make it through the tough days. Today I have been humbled to realize that God knows, and that God cares.