Prayer Connection

“Rich is the person who has a praying friend.” ~Dr. Janice Hughes, American speaker and writer

Travis was running…hard. “Hail Mary full of grace.” … heading for the thump, thump, thump sound of the rotors. “Hail Mary full of grace.” “Hang in there RJ!” “Hang in there!” “Hail Mary full of grace.” All he could do was run, head down, fast as he could. “Hail Mary full of grace.” RJ had taken two rounds in the chest and was bleeding out. “Hail Mary full of grace.” The Medevac was just up ahead. “Hail Mary full of grace.” Corpsmen were shouting at him, waving him on. “Hail Mary full of grace.” “Hang in there RJ!” “Hail Mary full of grace.” Without realizing it he was at the Medevac chopper. “Hail Mary full of grace.” The Corpsman hauled RJ in, waved Travis off and signaled the pilot. “Hail Mary full of grace.” Travis saw RJ’s gangly looking legs partially protruding from the chopper as it lifted off. “Hail Mary full of grace.” For an instant he wished he could hold onto those goofy legs and fly along with him. “Hail Mary full of grace.” Pulling his weapon from his shoulder he turned and headed back into Hell: the hills of Afghanistan. “Hail Mary full of grace.” RJ didn’t make it. He bled out in the Medevac. “Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen.”

It was July 23, 2009, more than a year earlier. Teresa and I sat in the parish hall, attending a Bethany. Bethany’s are meals of remembrance which follow funeral services. The funeral had been for our good friend Joan, Travis’ grandmother. Several of the young men from the 3-7 (3rd Battalion, 7th Marines out of 29 Palms), Travis’ unit, were there. In addition to Lance Corporal Travis Ford, there was Lance Corporal Steven Wright and Lance Corporal Andy Kuether. Their very presence was impressive. Uniformed in “Dress Blues” with creases so sharp you could cut your fingers on them, hair cuts high and tight, they stood together in a quiet calm; their presence almost regal.

We poked at our meals. They were about to be deployed, we wondered what we could do for them. Finally, we timidly walked over and asked a simple question: “Can we pray with you?” For an uncomfortable moment they remained expressionless. But then slight smiles broke onto their faces. “Yes, sir, ma’am, Thank you sir.” We stood in a circle, laid our hands on their shoulders and prayed a simple prayer of intercession and ask God to send His archangel, Michael, to protect them. (RJ wasn’t there at the time.) They thanked us simply, but profoundly. We promised to continue to pray for them and returned to our meals.

Prayer is an extremely important part of stewardship. Yet it is often the last thing we think about and the first which we abandon. But it is prayer (along with regular worship) which carries us for the long term. Prayer provides us with spiritual nutrition. It is medicine for the soul and can provide great comfort in difficult times. In other words, it sustains us.

This spiritual sustenance is an important aspect of prayer. Most of us serve in ministry part time. We do what we can when we can. The poor we serve, the bereaved we comfort and the children to which we teach scripture are only encountered on an occasional and often irregular basis. These ministry experiences are important to our lives as stewards; not just to those we serve, but to us as well.

Experiencing the gratitude of the poor and the needy first hand helps to make us more grateful. But, if we are often separated from the people we serve, for which we care or for whom we care about, how do we sustain that experience? How do we stay connected to those we serve and those we love? The simple answer is we pray for them. By placing them spiritually in our midst, through the power of prayer, it helps to keep them in our hearts and minds. It is an opportunity to experience our relationship to them daily or whenever we want.

Prayer is itself a ministry. Praying for people and there needs regularly is not simple. It takes some work and planning. Early on I told lots of people I would pray for them, and then promptly forgot to do so. Now I carry a small notebook everywhere I go so I can jot down prayer requests: names and needs. Over the years I have created a few categories to make it easier: my family, those who are sick, those who have died, those in the military, etc. I even have a category for those for whom I promised to pray and forgot.

Prayer is not only personally therapeutic, but it is socially beneficial as well. It makes it easier to remember those who are in need, hurting or ill and therefore reminds us to ask family members how the person is doing. Knowing someone made the effort to remember and ask provides remarkable healing results and comfort.

Case in point, Teresa and I would never profess RJ would not have died if he had been under the protection of our prayer…far from it. But those young men, for whom we prayed, have been in our prayers every day since that day in July of 2009. We have asked their families often how they are doing and listen attentively to their responses. This is the most important gift we can give them…to stay connected.

The 3-7 will be coming home soon and while RJ didn’t survive, his family will be there to greet the others. Pray for RJ’s family and pray the 3-7 doesn’t have to go back.

Dear Lord: Keep me connected.

“There is nothing that makes us love a person so much as praying for them.” ~William Law, English Cleric (1686-1761)


© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.

“90 Second Stewardship” This reflection is written by James E. Carper, Stewardship Coordinator for Saint Monica Catholic Community in Santa Monica, California. All rights are reserved. You are welcome and encouraged to forward this e-mail to family and friends provided the”© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” is included along with this message. Organizations, whether for or non profit, are required to receive written approval before reproducing these reflections. If written approval is given the ”© 2010 James E. Carper. All rights reserved.” must be included along with this message.