Praying for someone is also helping

We often say 'I pray for you' as what slips out when you can do nothing else, half as an obligation. As if praying were the consolation prize of real help. And it is not that: it is a concrete way of sustaining someone. Whoever has experienced it notices it. A patient in hospital recounted feeling 'an army praying for me', and that gave real strength, physical and in spirit, to endure. It is not magic, nor does it replace doctors, but knowing you are carried by others before God changes how you go through the ordeal. Praying for someone who suffers does not excuse you from being present or lending a hand practically. But when you carry their name before God, you are doing something real for them, even if it is unseen. Accompanying is also done on your knees.