「我會在禱告中記念你。」當你聽到有人這麼說，也許你會懷疑他是否真的會這麼做。但若亞娜．戴維斯這麼說時，你就完全不必懷疑。在這個只有一個紅綠燈的小鎮上，大家都知道亞娜太太的黃色手札，一頁又一頁，寫滿一個又一個名字。每天清晨，這位老太太都會開聲禱告。禱告之後，雖不見得名單上的每個人都能實現他們的願望，但後來有些人在亞娜太太的葬禮上做見證，表示自己的確看見了上帝在他們生命中的作為，而他們將這一切歸功於亞娜太太的懇切禱告。

上帝藉由使徒彼得從監獄脫困的經歷，展現了禱告的大能。當時彼得被希律王的士兵關進監獄裡，被「交付四班兵丁看守，每班四個人」（使徒行傳12章4節），看似絕無可能活著走出監獄，但「教會卻為他切切地禱告上帝」（5節）。他們在禱告中記念彼得，而上帝則施行奇妙的作為！上帝的一位使者在監獄裡向彼得顯現，使捆綁彼得的鐵鍊從他手上脫落，並帶他平安通過重重關卡，走出監獄的鐵門（7-10節）。

的確，「在禱告中記念」可能只是有些人隨口說的話。但天父知道我們的想望，祂會聽我們的禱告，並會按祂完美的旨意為我們行事。當我們服事這位偉大全能的上帝，無論是接受別人的代禱或是為別人禱告，都是不容小覷的事！

“You’ll be in my thoughts and prayers.” If you hear those words, you might wonder if the person really means it. But you never had to wonder when Edna Davis said them. Everyone in the small, one stoplight town knew of “Ms. Edna’s” yellow legal pad—page after page, lined with name after name. Early each morning the aging woman prayed out loud to God. Not everyone on her list received the answer to prayer they wanted, but several testified at her funeral that something God-sized had happened in their lives, and they credited it to the earnest prayers of Ms. Edna.

God demonstrated the power of prayer in Peter’s prison experience. After the apostle was seized by Herod’s men, thrown into prison, and then “guarded by four squads of four soldiers each” (Acts 12:4), his prospects looked bleak. But “the church was earnestly praying to God for him” (v. 5). They had Peter in their thoughts and prayers. What God did is simply miraculous! An angel appeared to Peter in prison, released him from his chains, and led him to safety beyond the prison gates (vv. 7–10).

It’s possible some may use “thoughts and prayers” without really meaning it. But our Father knows our thoughts, listens to our prayers, and acts on our behalf according to His perfect will. To be prayed for and to pray for others is no small thing when we serve the great and powerful God.