Dear Friend,
When I was young, we used to drive our Ford Fairlane through the newly minted, dark tunnels under the Smoky Mountains in the Appalachians. A few of those tunnels were so long and dark that no matter how sunny the day the darkness inside was pitch black around us, even with the headlights on. The echoing noise was eerie and loud. I remember finally seeing a faint glow up ahead, a dim light that began to grow brighter until finally the sun burst in at the edge of the tunnel and our car drove out into brilliant sunlight that glimmered off the beautiful river running at our side and made the green of the dense forest deep and gorgeous.
It was the light at the end of the tunnel that had burst upon us and brought the world back into focus.
In the interest of transparency I will begin with a few disclosures. First, I am the brother of Mary Ann who oversees this ministry. Second, I belong to a church community that has supported this ministry financially for many years. Third, my wife and I have also been financial supporters through the years. Fourth, although people have praised me for quite a few things throughout life, sometimes deservedly and often not so much, no one has ever accused me of being a great prayer warrior. Fifth, to my shame, I have always thought of praying on the phone for people who don’t know you, and who you don’t know, as a bit strange. This in spite of the fact that several brothers and sisters who I know and love take this ministry extremely seriously and lose sleep to make it happen. Sixth, it never occurred to me until recently that the FaithPrayers ministry is an expression of something that is very important to me when I reflect on what followers of Jesus are called to be and do.
There is an old spiritual, barely sung anymore, that captures the essence of a heart’s cry to God. “It’s me, it’s me, oh Lord, standing in the need of prayer.”