Thinking of you...

A friend of mine was recently diagnosed with cancer and just underwent another chemo treatment. She posted on facebook how she felt after the treatment and was then barraged by friendly sentiments from the people she knew and loved. I quickly noticed, that my response was the only one that said that I was and am praying for her. Most said that she was "in their thoughts" or that their "thoughts went out to her". What an empty sentiment!! Sure, it feels nice to be thought of, but in an instance where intervention needs to happen, thoughts just don't cut it.
I read Nehemiah 1:1-3:14 this morning about Nehemiah rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. Nehemiah was in the court of the Persian king Artaxerxes and finds out that the walls of of his native land, Jerusalem are in ruins. This troubles him deeply. In the long and short of it, he gets permission from the king to rebuild it and, even through much opposition, he makes it happen. But at the very beginning of chapter 1, right after he hears about the gates being in ruins, Nehemiah, prays. Verse 4 says "As soon as I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven."
Nehemiah, knew there was no way he could do this. Jerusalem was under foreign rule, and rebuilding the walls would be considered an act of rebellion, but he prayed in earnest about it anyways, and God delivered.
I know I pray for people, and I have seen prayers answered, but I still think I am a long way off from realizing how powerful prayer really is. I't like having someone more powerful than Donald Trump for a dad, and asking him for a BMW, but way bigger, of course. Let him know how important this is, show Him through your actions (Nehemiah fasted and prayed for days) and ask him. It's so much more than just giving someone your thoughts, its asking a king, THE King, to work for you. This is REAL stuff here, not some feel-good crap. If I really believe He has the power to answer, I need to pray accordingly.