When people ask me to pray for their loved ones’ healing I feel like I’m giving the widow’s mite. While it’s easy for most people to take a moment and fervently pray for healing for someone’s parent, child, sibling, or other relative, it’s like climbing a mountain for me.
I remember those last few days of Howard’s life when we thought he could still pull through. I’ve talked about praying incessantly before, but I’ve never gotten close to that until those frightening last days when I prayed for God to heal Howard. I read Bible verses, I begged God, I bartered, I challenged, I cried tears of desperation and I screamed out for the nightmare to end and God’s glory to shine through in healing. I even made promises I could never keep…but God had other plans.
Now, when someone asks me to pray for healing, especially from Covid, I feel like I have to reach into an empty purse and seek out some copper coins that might not be there. The bag’s a tad bit empty. Not to say that I don’t pray, I DO! I pray with intent and feeling. It just takes a little more gumption to get it right in my heart when approaching God with a healing request. And, I DO believe we are called on to pray for one another, so I take it seriously. But, my prayers for healing for others, when my own request was denied, are still copper coins.
Maybe you’ve felt the same? Tell me about it in the comments.
For those of you unfamiliar with the story of the widow’s mite, here it is from Luke 21:1-4 (NKJV): And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.”
[Seeking commentary on the passage, I used this article for the insights below.]
There are important lessons in this story that go beyond the obvious.
First, God sees when humans do not. While others paid attention to abundance the rich gave to the offering, Jesus noticed and pointed out the widow depositing her copper coins into the box. Others overlooked her enormous sacrifice, but Jesus did not. He saw. When we feel like we’re sacrificing greatly and no one notices our difficult walk, we have to remember that God sees our struggle. He knows.
God’s evaluation is different than ours. God saw the proportion of her giving, that while others gave some of their wealth, the widow gave it all. This should not be confused with rich people are horrible and should give away all their wealth, and poor people are noble, that’s not the point. The point is to ask: what are we giving? What do we give generously in time, in actions, in prayer, in service, in tithing, in relationship with others and in sharing the Gospel? Or, are we taking a little off the top as an offering, not sacrificing our comfort or lifestyle to live out the Gospel in our communities and the world? A thought to ponder.
God commands giving in faith. In the Widow’s Mite story, this is a woman who needs support and assistance, yet she is the one giving her last pennies. Did she leave the Temple destitute? No, God took care of her, just as he took care of the widow who gave her last meal to Elijah. Interesting that these two widows gave all they had and were blessed by God. (Based on what we know of God, we assume that He took care of the widow who gave her mites.) God commands us to give, and he doesn’t check our wallets OR our hearts first. We’re to give out of what we have, be it tangible or intangible.
So, while for me it’s hard for me to pray for healing for others, and brings up some painful memories, it’s not impossible. I might not have a pile of riches in my heart to offer, but I can kneel at the cross and pray, knowing that God understands my situation.