Intensive Care: How to Pray in a Crisis
By Steve Harper with Bob Moeller
April 1, 1994
(The late-night phone call relays the tragic news that a cherished member of the church has died unexpectedly. A woman knocks on your office door and tearfully reports that her husband is gone, and she doesn't know if he's coming back--or if she even wants him back. A seminary student asks you to pray about the inoperable tumor discovered in his brain.
They all want you to pray. But the words of prayer don't come easily at such times.
What should you ask God to do in such situations? What do you say in the presence of deep suffering? What words do you use when you don't know how or what to pray?
We asked former pastor Steve Harper, one of the co-founders of The Shepherd's Care, Inc. (a resource ministry designed to help pastors cope with the pressures of ministry) and recently a professor of spiritual formation at Asbury Theological Seminary, to help explain the ministry of prayer in seemingly hopeless situations.)
THE DYING
When I haven't known how to pray, I've often asked the person, "How would you like me to pray for you today?" They're often in the best position to know their own needs. They are the ones lying in the bed, living with the tubes, enduring the surgeries. If they say, "Pray that I won't suffer," or "Pray that I'll get well," that's exactly what I'll do.
In addition, when I'm called to the bedside of a person given little hope of recovery, I tend to pray for two things.
First is for the person to experience the presence and comfort of Christ. I've never faced a situation where I could not pray, "Thank you, Lord, that even in the midst of this darkness, you remain with us."
Second is to pray for the person rather than about the disease. I can say, "Thank you Lord, for Mary's long, good life. She has raised five beautiful ...
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