My Prayer Family by Craig Ruhl

I was honored and blessed to be interviewed this week on the Talking With God podcast hosted by our good friend Scott Dunn. During the interview, Scott asked me about my prayer life and specifically if there was an area in which I struggled with prayer. Full disclosure—Scott gave me a heads-up on what questions I would be asked, so I could prepare in advance. The one aspect of prayer I believe to be most difficult for me is asking for prayer for myself. I’ll talk more about that in a moment.

My memory of my youth is that we were taught to pray for others and not specifically for ourselves. Family prayer time for my sisters and me consisted of bedtime prayer, the “now I lay me down to sleep…” type of prayer. We prayed out loud with Mom or Dad as they tucked us into bed. Now that I think about it, my family didn’t pray much, just at bedtime and at holiday meals. My parents were Christian, raised in families where faith was an important part of their lives. My paternal great-grandfather was a Baptist minister and a collegiate teacher of religious studies. Perhaps they came from a more stoic generation where open prayer was not common.

Growing up, after being too old for daycare, we attended church services with our parents, what we called “big church.” As we entered our teenage years, we also were members of the youth ministry program at the church. Certainly, there was prayer during church services and group meetings, but we did not have fully defined personal prayer lives. Oh, I might add that the bulk of my prayers outside of the church were before, during, and after school exams.

After coming home from active military service, I limited my church participation to occasionally going to Sunday services with my mom and dad, especially at Christmas and Easter. Over the years, there were also several church weddings and a few memorial services. I have never actually attended a funeral service. For much of my life, I did not belong to a church, and I wasn’t much of a Bible reader or prayerful person at all.

Fast forward to when I met my wife, Karen. I was fifty-one years old when Karen, her son, Chris, and I became a family. Shortly afterward, we began going to church regularly. We were now members of a unique family—the church. Besides regular Sunday services, we became active in small study groups. Chris was active in youth fellowship programs. This period was the first that I had been exposed to corporate prayer. The concept of people, many strangers, holding hands and praying together was foreign to me and quite unsettling at first.

“Again, I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20 NKJV)

Our “family” was growing rapidly as Karen and I continued to meet and get to know more and more Christians who were what we refer to as prayer warriors. Karen became an active leader in women’s study and prayer groups. I got involved in men’s ministry programs at church. At that time, our church had a congregation of approximately 1,0400 people. Suddenly our family and friends expanded, and we were a part of something much bigger than any one of us had imagined or foreseen.

Karen was a member of prayer groups much earlier than I. She led groups and has formed many fresh groups over the years, many of which still meet regularly and faithfully. Karen is definitely what I would call a prayer warrior. She is also my faithful prayer partner who is always ready to stop what she is doing and join in petitioning the Lord in prayer.

The men’s ministry I was a part of for several years had over 150 guys—aged from teens to 90-yearolds. It was awesomely powerful when 75 to 100 men stood, held hands, and entered into prayer as one. I was nervous the first time I experienced group prayer. One man started in prayer by lifting the group up and invoking the presence of the Holy Spirit to be with each of us. One by one, around the room, each man would pray for a specific person, event, cause or need. I could physically and emotionally feel the Spirit in the room during this time. In my turn, I could pray for the group, but not for my own needs. This is what I mentioned earlier; I had not been taught to pray for myself. It felt strange and wrong.

One weekend not long after joining the men’s ministry group, during a men’s summit meeting (called that because real men don’t retreat), one man, whom I came to know as a true prayer warrior, took me aside. He asked me if he could pray for me and then what, specifically, did I need prayer for. I confessed my reluctance to ask for prayer. He touched my shoulder and gently said, “Let’s pray about that then.” With his hand still on my shoulder, he prayed, asking that I be freed of any reservations about personal prayer, that I accept that the Holy Spirit would act on my behalf and that I would understand the importance and power of prayer. Afterward, we sat down at a table and he opened his Bible to this verse:

“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27 NKJV)

Wow, what a breakthrough! I was a part of a growing number of people who would faithfully pray for each other, not just in times of great need, but also on a regular ongoing basis. From that point on, I could open up and tell others of my needs and concerns. I came to understand that the church is not a brick and mortar building we visit for worship services. The church is made up of people, like you and me, who are united by our Christian faith. Our family goes well beyond our personal genealogical trees. It extends back to the time Christ walked the earth and began assembling His believers and followers; it extends into eternity.

In the time Karen, Chris, and I have been a family, we have lived across the country. We are still members of church prayer families from each location we have lived in. In 2017, we launched Faith On Every Corner magazine. It has now read in over 77 countries. Our contributors come from all over the world. What an amazing blessing to now have prayer warriors in our family encompassing the globe.

Countless times we have called upon our extended prayer family to lift us up in prayer for specific needs and concerns. We have been the recipients of numerous miracles that can only be attributed to the grace of God answering those prayers. Above all else, we ask that God’s will be done. Along our faith walk, we have learned to ask for what we need and want. It is our blessing to pray for those who ask. If you, a friend, or a loved one needs prayer, please let us know. You can reach us at Team@faithoneverycorner. com.