October 5th, 2022
By Elise Jack
Is there anything more torturous than waiting to bite into your Big Mac whilst someone seems to be blessing every blade of grass the cow that was made into the burger ate? Is there anything more awkward than making eye contact with somebody during a prayer session? How many repentant, “Sorry God, I fell asleep,” have we prayed because we thought doing our quiet time in bed at 10pm was a good idea? No hate, just saying what we are all thinking!
On a serious note though, prayer – something that God has been revealing, providing insight into and shedding light on in both a kind and convicting way in my life recently. I felt God wanted me to share my recent experience of prayer in the concept of, “Prayer as a lifeline.” (It has so many forms and functions and this is just one specific area that should be used alongside others in our prayer lives.) As a student nurse I find myself in hospitals quite often and so that is how God has been teaching me. However, I think the principle of prayer remains the same whatever work or space you find yourself in. So, I hope you find this encouraging and helpful in whatever way God wants to use it.
In my work environment where sickness is so apparent, pain and frustration are common feelings and fear fills the bays, beds and the lives of the families of sick patients, I have had to learn to grab hold of the only lifeline that stays fast – prayer. I think this realisation of an absolute need for prayer and the understanding that work and faith aren’t in conflict with each other or entirely separate compartments of my life but rather in companionship came when I encountered my first patient death. It was a deeply saddening day as I processed what was unfolding in front of me. I had so many questions. I wasn’t sure if this patient was a believer or what their thoughts on faith were nor how I should be dealing with it all but there I was, in the room, helping as we delivered our final duties of care and all I did in that moment was pray. Intercede. Converse with my heavenly Father. Invite Him in. When all else had failed, genuinely the only thing left to grab onto was the hem of Jesus and I am so grateful for that. What a privilege prayer is – that the God of the universe would send down his son in the form of a human to die a brutal death for us, rise again, bringing righteousness wrapped in a blanket of grace to then ascend to Heaven and leave us with the Holy Spirit – a helper and advocate – to whom we can speak through to get to the Father. Unreal! It almost sounds silly to say, but so much changed the day I realised I could pray for my patients and that I had power to be change in their and their families’ lives. Prayer as a lifeline both for myself but also for others.
So much about hospital treatment revolves around consent. It revolves around asking before doing and including before actioning. I spoke to a friend as I debriefed all that had happened that shift and something that really stood out to me was summed up in, “you don’t need permission to pray, just do it. You don’t know the power a prayer can have in your patient’s life in that moment.” During the emotions of that day, prayer was a huge lifeline for me – it brought me peace and strength. The Holy Spirit comforted and uplifted and my eyes were opened to the reality of the shifting atmosphere that comes with prayer. When we as Christians walking through life have the Holy Spirit within us, we have the power to shift atmospheres, bring peace into anxious situations, bring calm to fearful hearts and to bring light to dark places. Through prayer, we have a clear and direct line to the maker of the universe in which we can intercede for those we meet, those we care for, those we walk past, those we study alongside, and that is incredible. This ability to pray and intercede is so biblical. 1 Samuel 12:23 says, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.” In John 17:1-8 Jesus prayed the longest prayer, and it was packed full of interceding prayers. I too want to be able to pray with a heart that is for the people of God because, if prayer is as powerful and as mighty as Jesus claims, what power we hold in us because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, as a lifeline isn’t just a rope that we can cling to in times of distress, it’s a lifeboat that we put out to those we intercede for, bringing them to the father.
Another way I think prayer as a lifeline is such a valuable gift is in the fact that it is a perspective changer. When we pray ‘lifeline prayers,’ we lift our gaze. Our heads are tilted back up away from us and back onto Him. We plead for help which requires a placing of God above ourselves and a humility that comes from admission that we can’t do it alone. We also have others in the forefront of our minds, thus causing us to love better, act more like Jesus and ultimately become more like Him. As Tim Keller says in his book entitled Prayer “…and thereby [through prayer] we are changed in attitude, behaviour and character.” That’s the goal, right? I want to be more like Jesus.
Prayer has so many dimensions. Seeing prayer as a lifeline, is just one of the many, many ways we can approach prayer. We need prayer. We need to be in relationship with our maker. We need to be interceding for those around us. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, but we need him to action our steps and move our fingers. I want to cling to prayer and to Jesus because He is the source. When our mindset changes from a, “I need to pray today because God requires me to, to, “I get to pray today because Jesus allows me to,” our motivation to want to spend time with our heavenly father changes and prayer becomes easier to reach. I often fall short of this and God is kind in drawing me back and giving me community and ‘Weeks of prayer’ to encourage, spur and convict. Let’s do that this week. How can we love others and love God better? Let’s pray for them. Let’s pray with them. Let’s pray.
Is there anything more torturous than waiting to bite into your Big Mac whilst someone seems to be blessing every blade of grass the cow that was made into the burger ate? Is there anything more awkward than making eye contact with somebody during a prayer session? How many repentant, “Sorry God, I fell asleep,” have we prayed because we thought doing our quiet time in bed at 10pm was a good idea? No hate, just saying what we are all thinking!
On a serious note though, prayer – something that God has been revealing, providing insight into and shedding light on in both a kind and convicting way in my life recently. I felt God wanted me to share my recent experience of prayer in the concept of, “Prayer as a lifeline.” (It has so many forms and functions and this is just one specific area that should be used alongside others in our prayer lives.) As a student nurse I find myself in hospitals quite often and so that is how God has been teaching me. However, I think the principle of prayer remains the same whatever work or space you find yourself in. So, I hope you find this encouraging and helpful in whatever way God wants to use it.
In my work environment where sickness is so apparent, pain and frustration are common feelings and fear fills the bays, beds and the lives of the families of sick patients, I have had to learn to grab hold of the only lifeline that stays fast – prayer. I think this realisation of an absolute need for prayer and the understanding that work and faith aren’t in conflict with each other or entirely separate compartments of my life but rather in companionship came when I encountered my first patient death. It was a deeply saddening day as I processed what was unfolding in front of me. I had so many questions. I wasn’t sure if this patient was a believer or what their thoughts on faith were nor how I should be dealing with it all but there I was, in the room, helping as we delivered our final duties of care and all I did in that moment was pray. Intercede. Converse with my heavenly Father. Invite Him in. When all else had failed, genuinely the only thing left to grab onto was the hem of Jesus and I am so grateful for that. What a privilege prayer is – that the God of the universe would send down his son in the form of a human to die a brutal death for us, rise again, bringing righteousness wrapped in a blanket of grace to then ascend to Heaven and leave us with the Holy Spirit – a helper and advocate – to whom we can speak through to get to the Father. Unreal! It almost sounds silly to say, but so much changed the day I realised I could pray for my patients and that I had power to be change in their and their families’ lives. Prayer as a lifeline both for myself but also for others.
So much about hospital treatment revolves around consent. It revolves around asking before doing and including before actioning. I spoke to a friend as I debriefed all that had happened that shift and something that really stood out to me was summed up in, “you don’t need permission to pray, just do it. You don’t know the power a prayer can have in your patient’s life in that moment.” During the emotions of that day, prayer was a huge lifeline for me – it brought me peace and strength. The Holy Spirit comforted and uplifted and my eyes were opened to the reality of the shifting atmosphere that comes with prayer. When we as Christians walking through life have the Holy Spirit within us, we have the power to shift atmospheres, bring peace into anxious situations, bring calm to fearful hearts and to bring light to dark places. Through prayer, we have a clear and direct line to the maker of the universe in which we can intercede for those we meet, those we care for, those we walk past, those we study alongside, and that is incredible. This ability to pray and intercede is so biblical. 1 Samuel 12:23 says, “As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.” In John 17:1-8 Jesus prayed the longest prayer, and it was packed full of interceding prayers. I too want to be able to pray with a heart that is for the people of God because, if prayer is as powerful and as mighty as Jesus claims, what power we hold in us because of the work of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, as a lifeline isn’t just a rope that we can cling to in times of distress, it’s a lifeboat that we put out to those we intercede for, bringing them to the father.
Another way I think prayer as a lifeline is such a valuable gift is in the fact that it is a perspective changer. When we pray ‘lifeline prayers,’ we lift our gaze. Our heads are tilted back up away from us and back onto Him. We plead for help which requires a placing of God above ourselves and a humility that comes from admission that we can’t do it alone. We also have others in the forefront of our minds, thus causing us to love better, act more like Jesus and ultimately become more like Him. As Tim Keller says in his book entitled Prayer “…and thereby [through prayer] we are changed in attitude, behaviour and character.” That’s the goal, right? I want to be more like Jesus.
Prayer has so many dimensions. Seeing prayer as a lifeline, is just one of the many, many ways we can approach prayer. We need prayer. We need to be in relationship with our maker. We need to be interceding for those around us. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, but we need him to action our steps and move our fingers. I want to cling to prayer and to Jesus because He is the source. When our mindset changes from a, “I need to pray today because God requires me to, to, “I get to pray today because Jesus allows me to,” our motivation to want to spend time with our heavenly father changes and prayer becomes easier to reach. I often fall short of this and God is kind in drawing me back and giving me community and ‘Weeks of prayer’ to encourage, spur and convict. Let’s do that this week. How can we love others and love God better? Let’s pray for them. Let’s pray with them. Let’s pray.
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