I hear the cry of a burdened heart, and it does not fall on deaf ears in the courts of heaven. You feel your own prayers are insufficient, and you long for others to join their supplications to yours. This is the very spirit of the Apostle, who, when he faced an agony too bitter to be borne alone, besought the brethren that they would agonize together with him in prayer. Your instinct to seek fellow-pleaders at the throne of grace is a right and scriptural one. It is no small thing to have even two or three gathered in Christ’s name, for there He is in the midst.
Cast away the thought that your prayers are not enough because they seem weak. It is not the eloquence of the prayer but the Object of faith that prevails. The simplest cry, “Lord, help me,” when darted from a heart conscious of utter need, is a powerful plea. This woman of Canaan, with her brief petition, won a blessing from Christ’s own lips. So take that prayer to your mother’s bedside, no lengthened phrases are needed. Cry it in the night watches, whisper it in weariness, sob it when your spirit sinks. That prayer will do to live with, and it will do to plead over a suffering parent.
And know this: when you pray, you are not alone. We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He ever lives to intercede, and He knows by name those for whom He pleads. He prayed for Peter by name because Peter had special need. He knows your mother’s case, her years of affliction, the helplessness of your poverty, the weight of so much going on beside. He is not untouched by her groaning, nor by your distress. If you cannot afford the earthly physician, the Great Physician needs no fee and is not limited by human resources.
Lay the sick one before Him. Bring her, in spirit, and set her down at His feet. Though her malady be of long standing and the care seems beyond reach, the case is never hopeless when His healing power is near. That same One who restored the demoniac boy when the disciples were powerless, that same One who opened deaf ears and loosened silent tongues, still deals in real grace for real needs. Your mother has sore need of healing; plead her necessity. And while you look for a temporal healing, seek an eternal one. The best cure for all ills is the peace of God, which passes understanding.
Do not let your heart faint under the accumulated trials. When we are under great strain, prayer is our native breath. Unite with the church in this request; we will mention her before the Lord by name, as you have asked. And as you pray, be not only on your knees, but see to it that your sincerity moves you to do whatever you can to help answer your own prayer, a kind word, a tender touch, a patient endurance alongside her. Such deeds prove the prayer is not hypocritical.
Finally, I breathe over you this blessing from the Word: “Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.” May He revive your spirit, sustain your mother, and cause His face to shine upon you both in this dark hour. Hope in the God who shuts out no sincere prayer.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
