Pray The Impossible Prayer

Luke 23:42 –

‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’

My grandpa was a tough man, his heart hardened by losing his shipmates and his hearing (key detail: klaxon!) on a minesweeper during World War II. My grandma had met him in church and understandably assumed that – like her – he knew Jesus. Turns out she was wrong. When my dad became a Christian in his late teens my Grandpa became increasingly antagonistic. We all loved him but he was not the easiest man to be around. My grandma died some years before my grandpa with half a century of faithful prayer seemingly unanswered. But the story doesn’t end there.

In his dying days I sat by his hospital bed and quietly prayed. I prayed in tongues knowing that, as he was deaf, a) he would not be able to hear me and b) if he inexplicably could, he would have no idea what I was saying.

Suddenly he stirred and said, ‘Bless you, do carry on.’ I was startled. This was not how my grandpa usually spoke but I continued praying! A couple of days later my dad had a similar experience and – forced to shout the message of Jesus – led his own dad to the Lord. The first thing my grandpa did was apologise for the way he had treated my dad. Just like the condemned man hanging on the cross next to Jesus, my grandpa’s last breaths brought reconciliation and forgiveness.

There is no situation, no person beyond the grasp of Jesus. Please be daring today. Bring the hardest, most heart-aching prayer to the heart of the Lord who hears you.

Prayer – Lord, we thank you that you hear us and you’ve always heard us. We cry out to you again with the impossible prayer – the one we struggle to even utter – and we invite you to do what only you can do.