Praying With Kenny

by Jim Stern

See that no one repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God (our Father) in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit.   —1 Thessalonians 5:15-19 

Last Wednesday I had to have a sensitive conversation with someone I love dearly. I had to humble myself and hear some difficult things about how I handled a couple of situations. Earlier that day I had to record five, twelve-minute sessions for a radio program in July. I have never recorded anything that was twelve minutes. 

So, before I did either, I called one of my close friends, Kenny Waldt, and asked him for prayer. Because he knows me and my rhythm, I didn’t have to give him much back story. When I called him, he was at the hospital getting some tests done. He stepped out of the waiting room into the hall, listened to me, asked me some questions, shared some encouragements, and then prayed for me! Then I prayed for him for the tests he was about to go through.  

As he was praying for me, my internal weather changed. I was moved from partly cloudy with a storm on the horizon to sunshine and a good breeze. His prayer affected me. 

The Apostle Paul trains Christians in the city of Thessalonica to “pray without ceasing.” We are to be so in tune with the Holy Spirit that we live in prayer. Prayer is not adjacent to life. It is not nice to do. Prayer is a weapon on the battlefield of life.  

We are not only to live in prayer for ourselves, but also for one another. And our relationships on the front line of the Kingdom are not limited to having people who can pray for us but having people that do pray for us. We should have an arsenal of men and women with whom we call midday and say, “I am about to walk into this thing, will you pray for me?” And, instead of telling you they will pray for you when you get off the phone, they pray for you in the moment.  

And you trust the authenticity of their faith and their Kingdom passion so that when they pray for you it is coming from their well of Divine intimacy. One branch abiding in Jesus praying for another branch abiding in Jesus. 

Kenny and I met in Cuba years ago and our Father wedded our hearts together. I have seen his faith in action. We have shared many, many things over the years. I trust his passion and his praying. He prays in the current of the Holy Spirit in him and I am the beneficiary.  

We need people like this in our lives! If you do not have any, you can start by being this kind of person to others. When someone shares something from their lives with you ask them if you can pray for them right then. And then pray for them! Oftentimes they will be back for more.  

You can also pray and ask our Father to bring brothers and sisters in your life that can “pray without ceasing” alongside you in your journey.  

But notice that I am not calling Kenny to pray just to pray. I am calling Kenny to pray because I know Kenny’s prayer will affect me! I open my heart and mind to him and what the Holy Spirit wants to do in me. And as he prays, the “light” of his prayer works in my heart and mind with respect to the issues I shared. I am changed because my heart and mind are opened to change.  

If I pray, or ask for prayer, with a closed heart and mind, then my prayers will not work even though the language and passion of my prayer are accurate.  

My recording sessions went super well – all five in twelve minutes each the first time through. And I think what I said made sense! And my sensitive conversation was smoother than I expected. A relationship with strains was healed and we left in joy!  

God our Father has made us sons and daughters, which means we are brothers and sisters. He intends, through the Holy Spirit’s work, to draw us into deepening love relationships with each other such that calling Kenny midday is not a disruption. I didn’t hesitate to call. And God our Father has given us prayer in Jesus’ name to affect our hearts and minds. We reap the powerful Kingdom benefit of people we love speaking words of prayer and life over specific issues in the flow of life! 

Brothers and sisters, praying without ceasing for ourselves, and for each other, is one of the game changing realities of running God’s race in the overflow of His love!