Four Friends

Four Friends

A young man named Omar had been through a severe depressive episode that left him unable to pray, attend church, or read Scripture. He couldn't reach Jesus himself. Four friends from his small group carried him — literally and figuratively. They drove him to appointments, sat with him in silence, prayed on his behalf when he couldn't, and brought him to Sunday services without pressure to perform. Three months later, when the fog began to lift, he read Mark 2 and wept. 'That's what you did for me,' he told them. 'I couldn't dig through my own roof. You dug for me.' His healing was their faith. Their faith was expressed in four pairs of hands that refused to let him stay on the mat.

Mark 2:5 contains one of the most striking phrases in the Gospels: 'When Jesus saw their faith.' Their. Not his — the paralyzed man's faith. The four friends' faith was sufficient to produce the miracle. This opens a profound window on intercessory prayer: we can carry people to Jesus when they cannot come themselves. In seasons of depression, grief, doubt, or spiritual paralysis, some people simply cannot pray for themselves. They need others to dig through roofs on their behalf. This is what intercessory prayer is — not extra points for the spiritual elite, but the most practical act of love for those who are lying on mats. Who in your life needs you to dig through the roof today? Jesus still sees and responds to the faith of the carriers.