The Praying Hands of a Grandmother
There were tiny flutters of a heartbeat.
Before each child was born,
She prayed.With joy,
As the little fingers clasped her hand,
She prayed.She asked for strength.
She gave her thanks.
She unburdened her fears and worries.Her children were unaware
Of her many times of prayer:
– For their safety and protection,
– For their health
– For their education.Her most important prayer
Was that they
Would love God.In the stressful periods,
When she couldn’t find the words,
God understood her heart
And her voiceless prayers were heard.Her children moved away.
They led their own lives.
From a distance,
She prayed.Times when the family
Came together for celebration
Were always special.
She rejoiced in her grandchildren,
She blessed them.She asked about their lives.
They waved as they said goodbye.
She remembered what they had said
And she prayed.Today, if you look at
her hands,
they are lined and worn.
But from the time
Her infants were born
She has continued to pray.How precious are
the praying hands of a grandmother.
How many blessings do you enjoy because of the prayers of a praying parent or grandparent? How many times have you been spared from an accident, protected from danger, experienced unusual provision and guidance, felt the Presence of God’s Holy Spirit, or your Guardian angel, because a loved one was praying for you?
A story of a man who gives credit to the prayers of his parents for his knowing Christ.
As a child I was taught about Jesus. However as I grew I fell further away. When I was 19 I was drafted into the Korean war. When I returned Houston Texas was too dull for me. I wanted to work in the film business so I moved to Los Angeles. There for the next 30 years I worked in the most worldly business a man or woman could be in. I never went to church and I hardly ever thought of the Jesus of my childhood. It was fortune and fame and earthly pleasures.
When I was 55 my heart gave out. But I had plenty of money so I was not worried. I went to the best heart doctor in LA and said fix me. He did and it lasted about 9 months. Then the problem came back. But this time it could not be fixed. They would try but it was not good, I was down for the count.
On the way back from the doctors office a voice came to me and said, “Jesus was the answer.” Then I remembered my dad said, “Jesus answered prayers”. When I got back to the movie studio I ask my son and wife to pray with me. We prayed the simplest of prayers. “Please Jesus heal me.” I felt a snap in my chest and was healed. That was 15 years ago.
During these 15 years, many things have happened. First I started living for God. Then I started studying Jesus and asking Him how I could be of service. I was so grateful for my life, I wanted to do what I could to repay Him, which I can never do. When I prayed my prayers were immediately answered. My life became glorious, is the only way that I can describe it. Jesus even came to me and filled me with His Spirit. I asked Jesus why me? After all that I had done in my life why me?
Then Jesus gave me a vision. My live started flashing before me, I saw two things in each flash … First, what I was doing. Second what my parents were doing. As a child, they were praying for me. As a teenager they were praying for me. As a young man in the service they were praying for me. In Hollywood they were praying for me. Then it came a time in my life when my father died. Now I saw my father with Jesus, he was no longer praying for me, he was with Jesus in heaven and my father was speaking to Jesus about me.
It was so clear, in the 40 years that I was away from Jesus my parents had daily prayed for my safety and my return to Jesus, And Jesus had honored those prayers. Jesus came to lift me up out of the mire. Just before the Devil took me. Jesus said, “This one is mine.” And now I thank Him with every breath that I take. And I thank Him for my parents who never gave up on me. Thank you Jesus!
Jesus will always seek you out because He loves you enough to die for your sins, and because there is always a loved one who is calling out your name in prayer!