What Jairus Teaches Us About Intercessory Prayer
In the gospel of Mark, we read about a synagogue official named Jairus who seeks Jesus out because he wants his daughter, who is close to the point of death, to be healed. I wrote previously about this particular passage in my post, “Little Girl, I Say to You, Arise!”
Clearly the obvious event in that story is that the little girl, who has been declared dead by the time Jesus arrives, is ultimately healed and gets up and begins walking about. Today I want to talk about her father, Jairus, and what he can teach us about the power of prayer, specifically, intercessory prayer.
The little girl needed someone to go on her behalf to find Jesus and “plead earnestly” with him to come heal her. She could not go on her own. It is the little girl’s father who does this important task, and while the girl would not have been healed had it not been for Jesus, she also would not have been healed had it not been for her father’s effort to seek Jesus out and to ask for healing on behalf of his daughter.
I was listening to a podcast some time ago with Stephanie Burke, Christine Rich, and Simone Rizkallah. One of them said that “Some things in this world may never come to be without our prayers.” And that really struck me. Jesus desires that we all be like Jairus and “plead earnestly” for assistance, healing, peace, comfort, clarity, direction, or for whatever it is that we need. Our prayers are necessary. Our prayers are efficacious. Our prayers are powerful. Just as Jairus went to Jesus, we too can go to Jesus for ourselves and for others.
When my children are preparing for their First Confession and First Holy Communion one of the questions and answers they must memorize is this:
Question: What is prayer?
Answer: Prayer is talking to God to adore Him, to thank Him, and to ask Him for what we need.
I visit with them about what that means in reality in our day-to-day lives, so God does not seem like a foreign concept or being, but a Person who really loves them and cares about them and desires to listen to them just as a friend listens attentively to the needs of another friend.
Prayer is being like Jairus and being willing to go to God for whatever we need, as well as to courageously go to God on behalf of others. Intercessory prayer means we are willing to make that effort to “plead earnestly” with our Lord for others and trusting that He wants to take care of whatever it is we are praying about.
Even when Jairus begins to worry because he has received news that his daughter is dead, Jesus says to him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” Jesus says that to us, too. Place your name in that sentence, “Do not be afraid [name]; just have faith.” That’s what Jesus says to you, too.
Though we can sometimes feel like Jairus, full of fear, worry, sadness and a full range of emotions, we can also dig deep just as he did for love of his daughter.
Is there someone in your life who needs you to dig deep and be an intercessory prayer person for them? Is there someone who is struggling, sick, suffering, worried, lost, facing a difficulty or challenge, who is away from the Faith, or who is facing a big decision and needs you to “plead earnestly” on their behalf? Remember: There are some things that will never come about in this life without your prayers.
Scripture passage quoted from Mark 5:21-24;35-42, New American Bible