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"I'll pray for you," is a common line used by Christians, but it's not a line I've heard during my time in Guatemala. All I've heard people say is, "Let's pray," no matter where we are and no matter what time it is. The people of Guatemala pray for people on the spot; they don't wait and chance forgetting when they get home, and they don't wait until they can be home alone in their prayer closet. I'm all for alone time with the Lord, but since being here, I have seen the power of praying with people in the moment.
Some of our time in Guatemala has been used to make house visits, where our site group (my site is Creative Arts) drops in on a family to see how they are doing. I've had the privilege of making house visits in El Gorrion, a community of Magdalena that lacks running water and paved streets. The people that live here live in extreme poverty, with complicated familial situations and education that usually ends prematurely. The problems they face here are real: women are vulnerable while their husbands are away for work, and parents struggle to pay for food and necessary medicine for their children.
What's been so refreshing about the people of El Gorrion is their willingness to share their struggles; all I'm used to seeing are minor life inconveniences blasted on Facebook while the real problems are hidden. At the end of the house visits, after everything has been shared, my site leader, Alvaro, always tells the family, "Let's pray." The families are never leery to pray with us strangers; they are thankful for more people to come before God on their behalf.
So why has this affected me? First, I've been guilty of telling people that I would pray for them, only to forget by the time I was home. Second, I've wondered why I don't offer to pray for people when I see them, whether they have a pressing need or not.
After my first day of house visits, I told the rest of my team that I want to do this at home. I know that dropping by someone's house unannounced is not a cultural norm for us in America, but I can pray with people when I do see them. So, the next time you see someone who needs prayer, don't wait; say, "Let's pray."