Prayer Dates

It was my first teaching job - I had been there a few years. There had been changes. I don't remember what the issues were - conflicts with admin, perhaps, or students I was having difficulty with - whatever it was, I was complaining again to my friend Judith, who taught at the same school.

Judith - who also attended the same church as I did - suddenly interrupted.

Maybe, instead of complaining all the time, we should pray about these things, she said.

I was surprised at the idea, but agreed to give it a try.

So instead of just complaining, we complained to God... and felt a bit better. So much better, in fact, that we decided to do it every week: have dinner together, and afterward, as we talked over coffee, if we had any problems, we would ask God to help us deal with them.

Eventually Judith and I moved on to different jobs in different places, but the memories of those prayer "dates" with this friend of like faith are with me still.

Since then, I have found a few other people - not many - I have felt comfortable enough to have "prayer dates" with, friends I could trust, who were struggling with some of the same problems I was. Each time, I found the experience helpful.















I also found it helpful to write down what we prayed about to review the next time we met. It is so easy to forget what problems loomed so large in our lives just the week before. The changes can be quite amazing.

And, of course, confidentiality is essential. Praying together is a sacred trust.