"Preventative Praying"

“Preventative Praying”

 

I recently read a summary of the life of Dr. Sara Baker. She was born into a well-to-do family in the Hudson Valley region of New York in 1873. In 1889 her father and brother died of typhoid fever as a result of drinking tainted water from the Hudson River. This loss prompted her to go to medical school from which she graduated in 1898. The bulk of her career was spent working in the poorest sections of New York City, serving those society had all but forgotten. Due to the procedures she put in place as Chief of the Division of Child Hygiene, it has been estimated that 82,000 lives were saved in 15 years. Her goal was simple: Prevent disease rather than have to treat it after it struck.

As Dr. Baker dedicated her life to protecting the public, especially children, from the ravages of sicknesses, so we as God’s people are called upon to aid those in need (“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless….”—Psalm 82:3). How can this be done? One way is through preventative praying and God-directed actions. We’ve all heard of people in the throes of serious illness who regretted not having had a medical check-up or immunizations. Similarly, we’ve been caught in the trap of prayerlessness and reaped the results (“You do not have, because you do not ask God.”—James 4:2).

At our former church in New Hampshire we provided a number of opportunities to get together with one another to practice preventative praying. None, however, was more crucial than the Heritage Groups, which God raised up to keep the groups’ members’ and others’ children before Him. The name comes from Psalm 127:3 (NKJV): “…Children are a heritage from the Lord…” Doesn’t it make more sense to pray for their protection rather than have to intercede for them when they get in a jam? If we think so, let’s commit to pray for our children (as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren) regularly (aka daily) and “stand in the gap” for the next generations.

 

Blessings!

Jim McMillan