Initiating prayer with my father

During my current stay in Latvia, my father caught cold and after few weeks was also starting to have a fever and was diagnosed with pneumonia. Some days ago, I felt urge to offer him a prayer. We had not really prayed together so far. He has a vague faith in higher power, but would not consider himself a believer. It can be the hardest and scariest thing to step over an emotional chasm in a relationship and to try something new. But recently I have felt Jesus guiding me into new things and into believing that my closest relationships can change and Jesus wants them to change. I gathered courage, took some deep breaths and encouraged myself with the thought that God’s angels are going with me. I entered his room and asked how he is feeling. After a small talk, I found myself being uneasy and leaving the room without doing what I intended to do.

However, the urge that I need to pray with him did not leave me. I gathered courage and after a while, headed to his room again, thinking: “God, I guess I need not just angels with me now, but even archangels!” (chief angels such as Gabriel and Michael mentioned in the Bible) J  I entered his room once again where he was lying on the bed and then said straight away: “Dad, can I pray to God with you for your health?” To my surprise, it appeared as if he was prepared for me asking this. He readily accepted the offer and expressed hope that perhaps it may help. I sat down at his headside, placed my hand on his shoulder and started off by thanking God for sustaining us this far and loving our family. I prayed to God to heal my father and was lead to ask also to forgive his sins (as we can see from several healing miracles of Jesus in the Bible, healing is also related to forgiveness of sins). I prayed for few other topical matters for our family in a given moment. I finished in Jesus name, and afterwards my father thanked me. I left feeling victory and being glad I was able to step over myself to do this. His healing was not instant and he is still in recovery, but I nevertheless know that God was at work and the prayer also made it possible to show support to him.

I believe that initiating prayer with significant others can change a relationship and it is good to step forward in these ways. Praying for someone on your own is great, but praying together even better as it is inviting God into your midst and letting the other person experience God more presently and directly. We need however to be sensitive not to force prayer on someone who is not ready. It is best to ask permission before starting and to be sensitive as to how often to offer that. Prayer also may not fix everything – I also have experience of pouring myself out in prayer to the point of tears, and still as if hitting the wall, because the other person appeared to remain indifferent. This may happen, but I believe it is still better to occasionally try; to take steps of courage is better than to bear the pain and stagnation of being disconnected emotionally and having only a superficial relationship. God may do a deeper work even if it is not visible right away. If God speaks to your heart about this matter, would you consider initiating prayer with someone close to you even if you have never done that before? Would you meet someone at their point of need when possibly they are most open? It could be a wonderful breakthrough to see that this new thing is possible with God in that relationship!