Last night, I had an anxiety attack right in the middle of Bible study. The friends on either side of me glanced over with concern as I dismissed myself to race home and crawl into bed and pray for sleep to come. This morning, I woke up to this text from my friend Nita. It read: "I drove around your house after Bible study and prayed over your house and every window and door. Hang in there girl. Love you." I had no idea that, as I lay buried under the covers, crying out for relief, she was there in her little car, circling my house, covering me in prayer. And you know what? I was able to fall asleep more quickly than usual when I'm dealing with these awful things. (Thank you, dear Nita.) It has taken me nearly 30 years as a Jesus follower to truly believe in the power of prayer, and it has taken me that long to learn how vital it is to have other humans in my corner who are committed to lifting me up when I have a need. We hear so often, "Thoughts and prayers are with you," but how often do we know that a person is fighting for us, believing for us, desiring our good no matter what we go through? I didn't used to ask for prayer in my struggles; just dealt with them on my own. But if my darker years taught me anything, it was to absolutely believe that prayer makes all the difference in the world. At one point, my husband had little hope that I would live, and now, I am very much alive, and determined to share this hope with anyone who feels discouraged. There were loyal friends and family -- even people I barely knew committed to help me fight a spiritual battle I couldn't see. When I couldn't even form a sentence, their prayers were lifted on my behalf. And yes, it's true, our prayers may not be answered in the way we hope; it may take awhile because God's timing is different than our own, but we can be sure that every prayer is heard; a connection is made, and God enters into whatever we are going through. If you don't have these prayer warriors in your life, find them! Pray that God will bring them onto your path; find a church that believes that miracles still happen; send me a message -- I will lift you up daily! We were never meant to walk this road alone.