When he saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” Luke 5:20

            “I’ll believe for you,” I said to the young widow in my office. Having had her entire life turned upside down by the sudden and tragic death of her husband, I had shared our confidence in life after death. She replied, “Pastor, I’d like to believe that, but I just can’t seem to believe anything right now.” That’s when I told her that my faith would, through prayer, lift her up until she could believe again.

            Jesus, in our text, establishes the power of our believing for one another. Jesus saw the persistent faith of the paralyzed man’s friends and responded to their faith. We don’t know, frankly, what faith he had. It is only when he responds to the command of Christ to take up his mat and walk that we see any sign of his confidence in Jesus.

            We are like the friends of that man. We have those that we would bring to Jesus by our faith, in our prayers. When they are touched by Christ’s love and compassion, their faith can be activated and, by God’s grace, they too will come to believe.

            In the meantime, we are called to be persistent in our prayers and the sharing of God’s love in Jesus Christ. And we are invited, by this text, to not expect people to be where they are not. When a person, like that young widow struggling with her own grief and caring for her children by herself, is not able to feel the confidence of her faith, we have the incredible opportunity to “believe for them” until such a time that their faith can come to life again.

            I wonder who God is calling you to believe for? Who is that person that you know needs to experience the touch of Christ but they simply aren’t there yet? Will you pray for them? Will you be persistent is letting them know that you seek God’s blessing for them?

            Lives change because God’s love becomes real. Our confidence is in the experience we have had of the reality of God’s love. That’s what we pray for others. That’s what we dare to believe for others – until they can know it themselves.

Lord Jesus Christ, we know that ultimately each of us is called to faith for ourselves. But empower us to be like the friends of the paralytic. Help us to have faith for others and bring them into the presence of your love, Remind us not to give up. Amen