A woman in my church, Rachel, lost her twenty-three-year-old daughter in a tragic accident; she lost her legs and then took several weeks to die. Rachel said, “I can’t pray. People think I’m terrible because I can’t pray.”

Lay off her! I thought of those who would criticize. Insisting that people be able to pray at all times is one of our false expectations of each other, as human beings, as Christians. “That’s all right,” I assured her. “We’re praying for you. You don’t need to do it yourself.”

She looked at me hopefully, and I continued, “There have been times in my life, too, when I have been unable to pray, but other people have prayed for me. That’s what being part of the body of Christ is about.”

from Traveling Mercies