Prayer doesn’t have to be BIG to catch God’s ear or His heart. God cares about the “big” things– war, cancer, broken relationships. And we must be persistent in our prayers about such things. But God also cares about stubbed toes. He cares about the illness of pets and the pop quiz at school and “that noise” the car has been making lately. And we are not just encouraged; we are commanded to come to Him about the ordinary and “little” things in life.

I was challenged in this a few weeks ago when someone disparaged the prayer group I belong to. We meet every Wednesday morning to pray. And we have a running list of concerns that have been brought to our attention– some requests come from our members, some from prayer cards and requests that have been turned in after Sunday Services at our church. Some of our requests are about “big” things– social issues, wars, the persecuted Church around the world, etc… And some of our requests stay on the list for months. We don’t give up– we rejoice in God’s timing. For instance, we were praying for several months for a dear sister who was having housing issues. She was in assisted living because of her many health issues. But she wanted to live independently. So, we prayed. Miraculously, many of her health issues disappeared, and it seemed that she would be able to move out of the facility, but she didn’t know where she could go on her limited budget, and she still had some issues with mobility. So, we prayed. We got updates– it seemed that a situation would be opening soon, only to find that she had been denied. And denied again! Still, we prayed. Then, a couple of weeks ago, God acted by taking her Home to Heaven unexpectedly. It wasn’t the answer we imagined, but it was God’s perfect timing to answer her greatest needs.

Often, the stories are much smaller. One of the children in our church filled out a prayer card asking for us to pray for their pet cat, who was ill. So, we prayed. There was more to this request than just an animal feeling sick. This child had just lost a grandparent. The family was already dealing with loss, and this child did exactly what Faith tells us to do– call on the LORD in our distress. Bring “everything” to God in prayer (“Do not worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7)And as brothers and sisters in Christ, we were encouraged by this child’s faith and willingness to share. We pray for twisted ankles and hip surgeries. We pray for broken-down cars and those who are struggling to buy groceries this week.

And when someone seemed to disparage our group’s efforts, I was confused and a bit hurt. The other person wasn’t saying that the requests themselves were wrong, but they felt that we might be “wasting” time on such requests at the expense of “more important” issues. Instead of praying for “uncle Joe’s stubbed toe,” we could be praying for social change in our community. “Uncle Joe” was on our list, but world peace was not. Their approach was that such “small” requests might be dealt with in a more personal and immediate way. And that shows another marvelous aspect of prayer. We don’t need to wait for Wednesday, or Sunday, or for a particular group to pray for our needs. In fact, on the strength of their suggestion, our church now announces that there is a “prayer team” at each Sunday service who will take time to offer immediate and personal prayer for those who want it. And both the weekly prayer group and the weekly prayer team can joyfully bring prayers before the Throne of Grace– no matter how big or small, dire or fleeting, personal or corporate.

Our group still offers to pray for “Uncle Joe’s stubbed toe” or Wendy’s car trouble, or Alice, who would like someone to help with yard work. Some of these requests also get passed on to or from our “Help” team, connecting them with practical help from volunteers in our congregation AND prayer support. Because it is our privilege to pray for others– to share their sorrows, struggles, and joys as we travel life together. And we also pray for war-torn areas, our persecuted churches around the world, and spiritual battles taking place in our congregation– addictions, ruptured families, stroke victims and their families, and much more.

Jesus told the three stories of people facing “loss” in Luke, chapter 15. The first story is of the lost sheep and the shepherd who is willing to abandon 99 sheep in order to look for one sheep that is lost. The third, and most famous of the three stories, is of the Prodigal Son, who runs away, spends all of his inheritance, and returns home to find that his father not only forgives him, but celebrates his return. Tucked in between is the story of a woman who loses one silver coin and sweeps through her entire house looking for it. When she finds it, she wants to celebrate with all her neighbors. THAT is what prayer can be–we don’t pray for lost coins or stubbed toes because they are earth-shaking events–we pray because that is how we share life with our neighbors, our brothers and sisters around the world, and the God who Loves each and every one with boundless, eternal, extravagant Love!