Suffering & Rejoicing

…so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.  1 Cor 12:25-26

What is my concern for the other members of my local body of believers?  Do I have this level of care for each and every member?  To be honest, the answer would have to be no.  It isn’t that I look at certain people and just say, “I don’t care about you.”  It’s more that I don’t make it a point to truly know what they’re dealing with. 

As I pray through our church members every morning, there are certain names that really stand out to me.  I know their needs.  I know their struggles.  I empathize with them, and pray whole-heartedly for specific needs.  There are others, however, who I lift up by name but often have no idea how to lift them up specifically.  I life up their names and ask the Lord to draw them closer to Him, but I am, in truth, neither suffering nor rejoicing alongside them. 

The members of my church may or may not be open and forthcoming about either their sufferings or their rejoicings.  But, if my heart is focused and dedicated in prayer for these fellow believers, the Lord will guide my heart as I pray for them – and in turn possibly begin opening the relational doors with them as well.  My challenge is to be intentionally sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit in prayer for my fellow church members that I may truly learn to care for each one.