We come alongside the sufferer and bring God and the suffering together. We bring light into claustrophobic darkness, where our friend might be alone and without hope. We remind her that God hears. We revisit the promises of God. And we do all this in a way that leads with compassion. That simple call to prayer is crammed with spiritual realities. Since it is so crammed, expect this request to be awkward at times, or hard, or impossible. Spiritual battles, previously in the background, now show themselves, which means we might find ourselves praying that we could say, “Let’s pray now.” But if
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