Refreshment Anyone?

This morning, as I stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops to get some work done, I ran into a friend of mine named David.  I first met David my junior year of high school when I would help to lead worship at a local church in Glendora on Tuesday nights.  David was a volunteer small group leader with a heart for the Lord and a passion for ministry that made him one of the key leaders of the group.  Week in and week out, he would continually put himself in a place where God could move through him to reach the local junior high and high school students.

Simply put, he has allowed God to change lives through him.

We got to spent a few minutes catching up and during our conversation, the marathon that is Easter weekend came up.  I got to share with David my excitements and concerns regarding Easter and when I had finished, he said of one the most refreshing things I have heard in a long time...

"I will be praying for you."

I have noticed a trend lately in the Christian community that has made the phrase "I'll be praying for you" almost a greeting rather than a sincere statement of love, but this time was different.  These words were different.  They were genuine and true, and had weight to them.  They were a promise.

I immediately thought of Philemon 1:7, which says, "Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord's people."

Without a doubt, one of the greatest forms of love is to go before the Lord on behalf of someone else, and I'm honored that David would do that for me.  To bring someone before the God of the universe is not something to be taken lightly, and it was refreshing to once again hear those words in their true, genuine nature.  

So thank you David, I appreciate it, and I'll be praying for you too this Easter.