One year while I was still teaching,
there was a Grade 8 student in the school who was a real tough guy. No
one liked him, and he had no friends. As a result of his behavior
problems, the principal had him sent to a special school for kids with
behavior problems.
This student actually wasn’t in my classroom, but while he was
still at our school, I made friends with him. After being sent away,
this young man came to see me at my school every week. “You are my best
friend,” he would say.
Why would he say something like that?
Because I listened to him and helped him whenever I could. No one
else gave him the time of day.
What the student didn’t know was that I was also praying for him,
and by the end of the school year, he was a changed young man.
That is the power of prayer, friends! When we pray for people and
are open to the calling of the Holy Spirit as to how to help them, we
open the door for God to begin to work wonders in hearts!
David says, “Away from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has
heard my weeping. The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; he Lord accepts
my prayer. All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;
they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.” (Ps. 6:8-10 NIV). We
need to understand that the troubled people around us are that way
because they are being influenced by the evil one. When God hears our
prayers for these people, He accepts our prayers. Our enemies will be
turned back, and as in the case of this problem student, some of their
lives will be completely turned around.
Is there someone around you who is troubled? Someone who doesn’t
seem to know how to treat people right? Someone who is mean? Rude?
Accusing? Recognize that they are not acting on their own, but that they
are under the influence of the evil one. Pray for them, ever believing
that God hears your prayers, He accepts them, and these people
will be turned around!
And as in the case of some, the troubled student may become a
perfect gentleman! Our Father is amazing!
In His love,
Rob Chaffart