Have you ever wondered what happened to the Wise Men after they found the Baby Jesus? It's an odd enough story as it is, just from what we get in the Biblical narrative: God apparently brings a group of pagan astrologers (already we're in strange territory) to the infant Christ to worship Him. To make things weirder, God tells them not to return to Herod; the result of this is that Herod orders all the male toddlers in the area killed. Definitely not the most comforting of narratives!

But what interests me right now is what these magi did after they left Bethelehem and returned home. These unbelieving foreigners had worshipped the true Savior of the world, and we hear nothing more about how it changed them and their lives! Did they preach the Gospel of Christ to their families and friends? Were they persecuted for it? Did they manage to plant seeds of faith? Did their disciples recognize the Gospel years later when Christianity arrived in the area? What role did they play in the spread of the Gospel?

In fact, have you ever wondered how many of us are descended from one or more of these men or of their families and friends? Surely some of us can count as ancestors people who actually saw and worshipped Jesus our Savior! Like these Wise Men, their lives were never recorded for history except in the Book of Life, but their testimony has been passed on from generation to generation, and the prayers of all these generations have no doubt left their mark on our world today, just as ours will on the generations still to come. How then can we take our part in the God's work to shape the future for the praise of Christ?

Last week (see "Praying on Down the Line") we talked about praying for the people you come in contact with everyday: customers, clients, people on your mailing list and in your rolodex, etc. Each person has family, friends, acquaintances who would all be touched by our prayers for their lives. But consider as well how many people have already entered your life without you ever knowing their names--the people who made all the things we use every day. They too have families, friends, and acquaintances who could all use our prayers. I challenge us to ask ourselves this week: How can we learn to pray for these people as well?

Let us take just one example. Think of the clothing you're wearing: how many people have you come in contact with just by wearing what they helped make? There are the people who raise the crops and animals, the people who spin the material into fabric, the people who design the clothing, the people who sew the materials together, the people who transport the clothing to the stores, the people who sell you the clothes, etc. etc. etc. And in each of these steps, there are countless others, such as the people who make the machinery on which our clothes are sewn. Now step back and think of these women and men: each of them has a circle of loved ones, so important to them but so unknown to us.

Almost everything we touch, see, or even remember is in some way the product of human action. Even the unmolested forests and prairies owe their purity to individuals in the government! Every day our lives intersect with the lives of millions of other people, all of whom, like the Wise Men, have entered our daily lives through a gift and then left, anonymous and untraceable. Have we considered this? Are we grateful for their contributions to our daily lives? Are we mindful of their daily struggles and joys? Are we far-sighted enough to see how many other people they have come in contact with besides ourselves?

Do we understand the implications of this? Let's look at the last question above: consider how many people the average factory sewer (to continue our example) comes in contact with once the clothes leave her/his station: inspectors, packers, shippers, salespeople, et al. Now imagine if every person who touches those clothes prayed a blessing on the sewer: can you imagine how much prayer s/he would receive? And if God grants every prayer, as he promises, imagine how much grace would be poured out in the lives of that one sewer and her/his family and friends!

What do we pray for? We pray for blessing, mercy, strength, hope, peace, joy, life, love, the very presence of God in their lives--all without ever knowing their names. And we can also do this for the people who built our cars, our computers, our houses, etc. Now, can you imagine that anyone in this country would be left untouched by these simple, anonymous prayers? And can you imagine how far our prayers would reach across the globe? It is truly mind-boggling to think how much influence we could have if we prayed for all the anonymous people in our lives.

You know, in my years attending church, I've heard many comments about the devastating effects of even a small sin: there is tremendous power unleashed by our actions. But is this not also true, or even truer, of our prayers? If sin can cause so much damage, could not faith create even more good in the world? I think so. I believe that by praying for the anonymous people in our lives, we can learn to see beyond our daily settings and into the world as God sees it: webs of influence that criss-cross the globe and connect everyone to each other. By doing this, we begin to see how great God's love and power are: He so loved the WORLD, that he sent his only begotten Son. We will learn to see ourselves not in the context of our cultural identities -- American, Southerner, WASP, etc.--but in terms of our true citizenship in the Kingdom of God. And, I believe, the fact that we may never see the results of our prayers in this life only makes them more powerful -- they are truly sacrifices of faith.

I'll close with my favorite way of doing this: When I go to restaurants (which I do a lot, thanks to my graduate-student schedule), I try to remember to say Grace. But I do not stop with the food: I thank God for those who prepared, who served, and who will clean up the food. I ask God to bless them with his very presence, that by his mercy and grace they might find salvation in Christ Jesus. And then I actively trust that God will do it, even though I may never find out for myself how he has granted the prayer.

What ways can you find this week to pray for the people who have entered your life anonymously? Does it help you see the world from God's point of view? How does this affect your daily interactions with others? As always, write me and share!

Next week, we'll look at ways to bring constant prayer into our activities at home. Until then, have a great week!

S.D.G.

in Christ, who binds us together in fellowship,
steve