Power In Release

I am a fixer through and through. If someone has a problem, I want to make it better. But the problems I'm drawn to aren't usually as simple as nailing a rough edge into the floor. I want to help people grow. I want to see them flourish. But in the midst of suffering, there's nothing I can do. In the midst of growth, I can't bring someone to the other end. In the midst of life's ups and downs, I'm learning that sometimes all I can do is show up, care, and listen, and that even when I feel helpless to do anything, sometimes that's enough.

But what do I do when I can't even do that?

What do I do when I see the need and know I can help, but for whatever reason I don't have the position in someone's life to help? Whether that's because I don't have the foundation of relationship necessary to step in or because the relationship has changed and I no longer have a position in that person's life, it can be hard to let go of a person when you know they need help and feel like you could give it. 

In these moments the only thing there is to do is pray and release them to God. To not only trust God with yourself but to trust Him with others too. To know that He can work in their lives, meeting all the needs you see, and that He doesn't need your help to do it.

God is so kind to use us in the lives of others, but He doesn't need us to move those lives. He invites us into the story, but we are not in control of the outcome. So when we can't be in the story, the same God is the One writing into the hearts involved. We can trust Him with the needs we see. We can trust Him with the people we care about. 

And we can continue to pray.

So often prayer feels like the last thing--the thing you do when you can't do anything else--when it should be the first thing. Maybe this is why situations that make us feel helpless, that show us our lack of control or ability to do anything, are so great for changing our hearts. Because when every other fix is stripped away, we pray. Not just as an addendum to everything we're already trying but as the only real solution to our heart's grievance. And that makes all the difference. 

In a culture where socially "praying for you" carries about as much weight of sincerity as a "how are you" in passing and as much power as "sending good thoughts and vibes," we forget that prayer is truly powerful. That praying for someone isn't being inactive in their struggle but is in fact the most powerful thing we can do to cover their situation. Prayer is the place where things change. And yes, if we can do something, we want to do it. We want to meet physical and emotional needs. But prayer is the battle ground. Prayer is the first place we should go. Prayer is the most important thing we can contribute. If we want things to change, we have to go to the One who can change them. 

Our prayers do not go unheard.

True intercession takes trust. It means surrendering our lack and believing that God can do a mighty work. But when we do that, not only do we cover the one in need of prayer (whether or not they know their need), but our hearts also begin to change. The weight of control is removed from our shoulders. We can release so much of what binds us. We can release those we want to help but can't into God's faithful hands. 

And sometimes when we release people to God, He is faithful not only to work in their lives but also at times to show us that He is answering our prayers for them. To remind us that He is trustworthy when our fickle hearts struggle to believe it. To affirm our surrender with His goodness. 

Within the span of a couple weeks, my friend and I both walked through separate situations where we were burdened for a person's needs and wanted to help them, but we couldn't fix it and we shouldn't have tried. We both had to walk through surrendering them (and all our concerns for them) to God in prayer and trusting Him with them.

That should have been the end of the story.

That's letting go. We go about our lives. We pray. But we have no more insight or involvement. 

But God is forever kind.

A little over a week into my prayer (and actually within a couple days of fully releasing my concern to God), I got a letter from the person I was praying for which directly addressed my prayer for him.

My friend was a lot quicker to release her burden to God than I was, but in a similar timetable, she got a text that answered her main prayer for the person. And a couple days later she got a voicemail that addressed one of her primary concerns, which had never been mentioned, so directly.

The circumstances didn't change, but God gave us both an affirmation that He was working even when we couldn't see how the story was progressing. Even when we couldn't be involved, He was answering our concerns for these people with such specificity. And He would continue to do so. Prayers matter, and our God is kind to show us their power.

We didn't need that affirmation to trust Him, and yet He gave it to us to steady us, to encourage us, to remind us that He has us and He has them too. When we had done absolutely nothing, He worked in their hearts and all we had to do was receive the blessing of answered prayers and affirmed trust, knowing that was just a small piece, a mere starting point, for the work God was doing. The prayer, the person, was safe in His hands.

Isn't it beautiful how often God will let us glimpse the answer to our prayers over someone else even when we're on the outside? Isn't it beautiful that He not only answers, but He gifts us with the ability to behold the answer, whether in all its fullness or as an empowering peek inside? Isn't it beautiful that the God who doesn't need to prove He is trustworthy, who doesn't need to prove that He's our comforter, that doesn't need to prove that He cares about our heart and even specifically our heart for others, gives us evidence of His work in the specific areas of our prayer? 

He's in it with us. He cares about our prayers, and He cares far more for those over whom we are praying than we ever could. He sees more than we ever could, and He's doing more than we could dare imagine. The heart He's given us for them is only a dim reflection of the heart He's already pouring out over them. 

He calls us to trust Him--with ourselves and with others--but He is gentle to remind us over and over that our trust is not misplaced. 

He is kind to us.