“And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent around into all the surrounding country and brought to Him all who were sick and begged Him to let them merely touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were perfectly restored.” Matthew 14:35-36 ->me: Passages like this one always get me thinking. Here, Jesus gets off the boat in this area called Gennesaret (South of Capernaum), and people who knew Who Jesus was, ran into the countryside to grab those who were plagued by sickness. These people just needed hope and that is what Jesus offered. I was explaining this passage to Marianne and as usually happens, she has a great point of view on the topic. As I was talking to her, I realized that it was the faith of the ‘bringer’ that led to the healing of the people they brought. Whoa! This adds so much to the power of my prayer for others. Marianne also reminded me about the book we both just finished ‘The Praying Life’ by Paul Miller where he talks about all the examples in the bible about people of faith bringing loved ones and friends to Jesus (the man lowered through the roof by his friends as a great example). When I persist in my prayers, God is listening. My intensity and commitment to that person, matters to God. Don’t stop petitioning the Lord for that loved one. Then Marianne said another thing that was soo good. These people saw what Jesus could do. If I lived back then, and I knew there was this person who was healing people left and right, wouldn’t I take my friend Ted, with cancer, to them? I can! I do know personally this person Jesus, Who is not just capable of healing but is all knowing enough to know whether that healing is the best thing or not.