My friends and I were praying over the prayer requests from people in our church, which they have submitted online. We do this once a week as a group. The requests are many, often anonymous, always heartfelt, often overwhelming, usually filled with a mixture of pain, despair, uncertainty and hope – perhaps hope in this desperate, last-ditch effort of sharing their deep need online with strangers.

Ours is such a large church and so many of the requests are anonymous, that I don’t know if I have ever known any of the people we are praying for each week. But of course, that’s the beauty of this thing called prayer – I don’t have to know. God knows everyone perfectly. He knows every situation and every need. How can I be sure of this? Well, the prophet Isaiah describes God in this way –

“He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” (Isaiah 40:26)

Do you know how many stars there are? Google tells me there are one septillion stars. I can’t really get my mind around that number. Just our own galaxy alone, the Milky Way, has over 100 billion stars, including our sun. So I guess if God knows the names of all those stars, He also knows the names of all the people who have submitted prayer requests, anonymous or not. And then there’s this –

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)

If God knows the number of hairs on my head and on your heads, dear readers, then I can be assured that He knows the names and the situations of all those I am praying for, even though I don’t know those things. The NLT translation says, “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.”

God knows. I don’t need to know in order to pray. I don’t need to know because God knows it all, sees it all and watches over it all. Nothing escapes His notice. He is omniscient. The author of Hebrews confirms this, saying –

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13)

So, this week there was a request for prayer for someone’s son who is now a paraplegic. No names or details were given. I found myself wondering how old is this son, how long has he been a paraplegic and what caused his condition – accident, illness, sports injury – what happened to him? What is his story? BUT – curious as I am, I don’t need to know all this in order to pray for him. God knows this person’s story and is continuing to write it even now.

I couldn’t help but think of the story of the paralytic told in Mark and in Luke. He was carried by his friends on a mat – this was before wheelchairs – to a place where his friends thought he might receive healing. His friends had heard the rumors of someone called Jesus who was healing people. They were willing to help their friend by transporting him to where Jesus was preaching and teaching. Here’s what happened –

“One day as He was teaching . . . Some men came carrying a paralytic on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus. When Jesus saw their faith, He said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven.’ ” (Luke 5:17-20)

Not exactly the response they were looking for – they sought a physical healing for their friend. That was their priority – that their friend would once again walk. Instead Jesus told him his sins were forgiven. Some in the crowd, namely the Pharisees, took issue with this response saying – “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” Our story continues –

“Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, ‘Why are you thinking these things in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . . ‘ He said to the paralyzed man, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’ Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.” (Luke 5:22-25)

So how did I pray in response to this mother’s request for prayer for her paraplegic son? Before me was the desire for a physical healing. But her son needs more than this temporary fix. We all do. You and I and this paraplegic son, like the paralytic on the mat in front of Jesus, need a spiritual healing much more than we need any physical healing. A spiritual healing, which begins with forgiveness of sin, lasts for eternity. Any physical healing we experience in this life is temporary at best, as our bodies will eventually wear out. Even Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, did eventually die a physical death.

The paralytic asked too little of Jesus. He desired a temporary healing. Jesus wanted to give him an eternal healing of his soul, which is why Jesus forgave him of his sins. How could I best pray for this paraplegic? I thought of God’s promise to me, to you, to this beloved son –

” ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ ” (Jeremiah 29:11)

Currently, her son is suffering from depression due to this change in his circumstances. BUT – God wants to give him hope and a future irregardless of his physical circumstances. God didn’t take away the apostle Paul’s “thorn in the flesh” (whatever that was) BUT it didn’t change the call of God on Paul’s life. Paul’s life was full of meaning and purpose as he lived out God’s purposes for him rather than his own.

I prayed that God’s truth would set this paraplegic free to live out God’s good and eternal purposes for his life. I prayed he would find his identity, purpose, place and calling through knowing Jesus, his Savior and ultimate healer. God wants to give him “hope and a future” – that’s a direct quote and a promise. I pray that he will receive all that God wants to give him, starting with forgiveness and eternal life and all the good gifts God’s presence brings to us each day – His peace, comfort, wisdom, provision, protection, hope, joy – it’s a long list.

Joni Erickson Tada has lived a life full of meaning, purpose, accomplishment and service to so many people around the world – author, artist, activist for those who are disabled – her list of accomplishments is long. And she has done it all from a wheelchair! I pray this for the paraplegic son on today’s prayer list – a life full and overflowing with all his Creator wants to give him. I pray he know the truth – that God’s love for him is unwavering and that God’s call upon his life remains intact despite any physical disability. God’s answer to this paraplegic son is perhaps the same as His response to Paul –

“My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.”

Paul’s response?

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)

I pray this son, this child of God, experiences God’s limitless power in his life, a life that is truly made perfect and strong because of, not in spite of, his newly weakened state.

sincerely, Grace Day