Never underestimate the power of prayer.

She is a 31 year-old woman who most likely will never be 32. I met her as part of my secular employment where I work in a cancer treatment center. I've been in this position for almost two years and she has been part of the scenery long before I got there. It started as colon cancer and has since metastasized to her liver and bone. The standard pain scale runs from a benign 1 to an unbearable 10. She has spent most of the past 6 months around a 14. She hurts when she sits, hurts when she stands, hurts when she walks, hurts, hurts, hurts.

I had the chance to sit with her Friday afternoon while she waited her turn in the infusion room. A few weeks ago I mentioned her to the church. I couldn't mention her by name but I could give enough of her story to ask the folks to remember her in their prayers. My sister-in-law is a missionary in the Ukraine; she and her team have joined us praying for a nameless woman they will never meet.

I told her about the church praying for her. She thought it was remarkable that they would be praying for someone they did not know; no name or face to associate with the need. I told her about the Ukrainian Christians who were praying for her like she lived next door. Imagine the look on her face when she realized as she tried to get some sleep someone half way around the world was already awake and praying for her.

She was in today for another round of chemo and a consult with the radiation oncologist. She had slept well over the weekend and felt good enough to get up early and bake cookies for everyone in the department.

She does not know the Lord. Our prayers for her physical relief are tempered with reality of her need for a Savior. Would you join me in praying for her heart to be receptive to the Gospel? Will you pray for relief from the pain that dominates her waking moments? Would you pray for the Christians working in the oncology department so, collectively, we can be a powerful witness for Jesus Christ.

And they were sugar cookies with pink M&Ms.