By April Terry (personal blog at http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

Last week, I think I mentioned that I have a one-track mind.  It usually becomes a nuisance when I am in a restaurant and trying to order and listen to a conversation at the same time.  I literally have to be tapped on the shoulder and told to answer the question.  I think something went seriously wrong in the wiring of my brain.  When I was a kid, our family used to say that I was in my own world. 

Maybe because I was so single-minded, my dad used to talk to us about the importance of paying attention to what is going on around you.  He was always warning us to be aware of our surroundings and who is nearby.   He was teaching us how to be ready to protect ourselves in case of danger, but I think there was a greater benefit there.  When we are paying attention, we notice people.  When we notice people, we can be of greater service to them.

I often notice things about people.  I went out to lunch with a friend the other day and noticed a couple sitting at the next table over.   For some reason, I tuned in on and off during our lunch and midway through our meal, I noticed that the woman was crying.  I felt for her, and so I tuned out of our conversation long enough to silently say a prayer for her.  I won’t ever know what life problem she was dealing with, but I figured I had a couple of seconds to spare in order shoot off a prayer. 

If prayers were visible rays of light shooting straight up to heaven, how much light would you be shooting up into the atmosphere?  I like to think that someday I will know the true value of those prayers that I send out.  I believe I will see the validation of my prayers one day and that I will be amazed.  My hope is to see a replay of myself praying as a fire engine or ambulance goes by and then to see the affect of those prayers on the lives of the people I prayed for. 

The more aware we become of those around, the more we become part of the world.  Otherwise, we are just a visitor on a foreign planet, but when we start to tune into to others, we become like extended family members.  Then, we are no longer strangers.  Prayer is a funny thing.  I sometimes wonder why God would require it of us.  After all, God already has the capacity to help or not help people.  It’s within His power and His desire.  He knows what will happen and what is best for us, so why does He need us to pray?  The answer that comes to my mind is that there is an effect on us as we pray for ourselves and others.  Prayer changes us.   Prayer has the capacity to reunite humanity back into a brotherhood.  Without prayer, we are distant relatives, twice removed.  With prayer, we are brothers and sisters and that is exactly what God is trying to show us.  He wants to remind us at every turn that we are siblings and He wants us to be co-laborers in His creation. 

Being the fourth daughter of six children, I know what it’s like to be part of a big family.  Still, it would be great if we could all understand that we are all part of a huge family.  Without noticing and being aware of one another, we remain distant and unaware of our siblings.  When we pay attention and notice someone, we begin to sense the attachment that exists between all of us.  No longer are our associations random and coincidental.  We are connected to everyone and everyone is connected to us.  We treat family better.  We love family better.  We need family more.