The power of prayer

Colossians 1:1-8
Psalm 52:10, 11
Luke 4:38-44

I love the way that Scripture is so direct in letting us know how we are to live our day to day lives as followers and imitators of Jesus Christ.

In today’s first reading we see an example of one person giving thanks to God for them and praying for them. Many people do this for others when they are ill or under some significant stress, but here we see how we are exhorted to do this at any time, for anyone.

The gospel reading is the story of Jesus curing Simon's mother-in-law of a fever. You can almost feel the concern of the family in the days before modern medicine. The way Luke tells the story, I was left with the impression that the “fever” was much more serious—something along the lines of demonic possession, as evidenced in the next paragraph when the demons Jesus rebukes recognize Him as the Son of God. Without doctors, aspirin, hospitals and so on to diagnose and treat fevers and serious illnesses, they humbly appealed, (or prayed) to Christ for His assistance, which gave evidence of their faith and hope.

I also think it’s pretty interesting that even the Great Healer, Christ, prayed both before and after He cured Simon's mother-in-law. When He was first approached about her illness, He was coming out of the synagogue. Once the healing had taken place and after He spent some time with the family, He again withdrew to a deserted place. We can never underestimate the significance or power of prayer. Else we are giving glory only to ourselves, a gesture that is not only against the 1st Commandment, but one that will disappear almost as soon as it is done.