Proverbs 15:29

A few years after I decided to follow Jesus, my friends and I were challenged to find a prayer partner. I don’t remember much about the details of the challenge or if any of my other friends followed through on it, but I think our Sunday School teachers were trying to teach us about the importance of prayer and building relationships with more “mature” believers in our church. Well, you see, I’m greatly motivated by a challenge and so I figured, as a middle schooler, I was going to choose a prayer partner who was going to be as serious about this as I was. And believe, I was serious. Little did I know what would become of this. That morning after class, I skipped up the steps leading into the sanctuary confidently knowing who I was going to ask to commit to pray for me everyday. Sitting on the front row tucked behind the organ with his suspenders and harmonica was Souter. I remember sitting down beside him and asking, “Souter, would you be my prayer partner?” After a brief explanation of the challenge, he agreed to pray for me every day. I, too, agreed to pray for him.

Many years later, Souter’s niece Mary Margaret Freeman recalled that very Sunday. She said, “When we were getting ready to head home after service, Souter turned to me and asked, ‘Now, who was that little boy that asked me to be his prayer partner?” While Souter may not have heard all the details initially due to the fact his hearing was starting to decline, I am confident God was listening to every word Souter prayed for me in the years to follow. This conversation began a relationship between Souter and I that my life so desperately needed.

For those of you reading (or listening), I’m assuming many of you knew Souter or have heard stories of his faith, his love for young people and his prayer life. From spending time alone in the orchard talking to God to praying in local bars during a season when folks were trying to vote Rush Township dry to praying for me, Souter believed in the power of prayer. I witnessed it first hand. The following Sunday after our conversation and countless Sundays to follow, Souter would ask me how he could pray for me and without fail, would remind me that he was praying for my dad, who at that time was not following Christ. I can’t quite describe what those conversations meant to me just to know I had someone in my corner praying for me.

All this reminiscing about prayer partners, conversations with Souter and my dad later coming to faith in Jesus all remind me of a verse circled in Souter’s Bible. The verse, Proverbs 15:29 says, “The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.”

The succinct and contrasting statements found in the book of Proverbs, and this verse in particular, are perhaps why I love them so much. And here I am drawn to the word “far.” The word describes a great distance or separation. I mean think about the chasm stretching across the Grand Canyon. Or many of us are perceiving the distance back to normalcy in the midst of this COVID19 pandemic if “far” away, right? We understand the word, but I think what makes it stand out to me like a flashing billboard is when it gets paired with the “Lord’s” name. Those words describe an awful fate. Yet that’s exactly what the verse says in regards to the wicked, “The Lord is far from the wicked.” Now, don’t get me wrong here. I don’t think this means that God is unaware of the prayers prayed by “the wicked” nor do I think we are talking about things in a spatial sense. Simply put, for the ungodly, God’s blessings and fellowship are distant.

But the proverb promises He will hear those who turn to Him and live in a right relationship with Him. It’s as if He turns up the volume on His headphones to listen closely. God “pays attention” to the prayers of those who have decided to place their trust in Jesus. This proverb appears later in the Bible in Peter’s writings, “For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil” (1 Peter 3:12). I don’t know about you, but I like the phrase “his ears are open.” It sets my soul at ease.

And I think it set Souter’s soul at ease, too. Watching Souter’s life, it was apparent he believed that God was listening and responding to his requests. I hope being reminded that God listens to His people encourages you to keep praying, perhaps even enough to accept a challenge to find a prayer partner. If you don’t have someone praying for you daily, ask. You might just have a story to tell many years later.