By: Amy Hafner

"The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;

    he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

    and saves those who are crushed in spirit."

Psalm 34:17-18

This past fall, I had the opportunity to testify about my three-year battle with anxiety and how God had miraculously healed me. I felt delivered and made new, hoping to encourage those in the same place.

Two months after sharing, out of nowhere and after four years of being anxiety-free, it came back. I'll spare you the details, but it was three terrorizing days—the worst I had ever experienced. It would not stop, and it left me in a state of complete inner chaos. 

I grabbed my Bible, began to pray and did all my breathing exercises. I cried out to God, but no matter what I did, it would not stop.

Feeling so desperate, so broken and so at the end of myself, I began to text a few people and asked them to pray for me. I was so embarrassed, and I felt like the biggest burden. I'm usually the one praying for people. I felt weak, I felt broken, I felt unworthy of prayer.

But I needed prayer, finding it hard to say the words for myself. I needed someone to carry me to the feet of Jesus.

In Mark chapter 2, while Jesus was preaching in a packed house, "four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn't bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, 'My child, your sins are forgiven.'"

Jesus saw not the paralyzed man's faith, but friends' faith—and his friends had some pretty raw faith. They lowered this man, knowing that to get out of that room, he would have to walk. He would have to be healed.

My friends, my spiritual sisters at Grace Family Church—have faith like that.

After three days, once again, He healed me. As quickly as it came on, it was gone and hasn't returned since.

But I learned something so beautiful: Ask people to pray for you. I bet someone reading this right now needs prayer and is afraid to ask. But praying for a sister or brother in the body of believers is a privilege and an honor. We were created to love and serve God and others, and prayer allows us to do that. 

And if you are reading this, I'm writing this to you. You are worth praying for. So Father, I pray for the person who is reading this right now. I pray for peace, healing, strength, community, joy, direction, protection and provision. Father, I pray they continue to grow in wisdom and favor. I pray that Your presence overwhelms them and engulfs them with love. And Father, I pray that they are not afraid to ask for help when they are in need. Thank You for Your grace, Your love and Your Son, Jesus. 

Amen.