“To pray for another is an act of charity.” St. Thomas Acquinas
I’m sharing this story because it is a recent real-life example of the influence prayer can have on complete strangers when we remember to pray through uncertain times.
Recently over spring break, my family stopped in a hotel overnight during our long journey. As we prepared to leave early the next morning, we couldn’t help overhearing a commotion coming from across the hall. The guests in that room were engaged in a very loud argument which could be heard all the way down the hall. Their voices continued to escalate and became verbally abusive. Though it was disturbing, I never felt in danger. However, it crossed my mind that there are many crazy people in this world and what if one of them had a gun and decided to use it? At one point, the male voice yelled, “No one ever f**’ing loves me other than you.” That statement just about broke my heart.
I couldn’t even begin to imagine feeling that the only one that could ever love me was another human being. To feel that alone and dependent on another led me to believe this person didn’t have God in his life. Of if he did, he definitely forgot about Him in the heat of the moment. I made a snap decision to say a quick prayer to our Holy Father and Blessed Mother. Within 15 seconds of finishing the prayers, the argument settled down to regular voices. I stood there in disbelief.
I’m not saying my prayer was the only reason these people stopped arguing, but the timing was almost too good to be a coincidence. They were in the heat of battle when I began and almost instantly after I finished, their voices calmed. I have a couple similar examples where prayer has calmed a crying baby or diffused other uncomfortable situations.
The takeaway is praying for complete strangers may not even be on your radar. I’ll be the first to admit, I’ve rarely thought to do something like this in other situations in the past. Since becoming more focused on prayer and tuned into those situations that annoy, frustrate, or make me uncomfortable, I’ve come to observe there is certainly power in praying during these moments.
Imagine the impact we could make if we stopped for a minute or two each day to pray for a complete stranger that we’d encountered during our day (ie, the cashier at the grocery store, the elderly person slowly limping along, the mom trying to silence her toddlers during church, whoever God puts on your heart). We may never know the impact those silent prayers may have on their lives. But God will. Who knows? Maybe someday, you’ll be in a situation where someone you don’t know will pray for you. It could be life-changing.