“ … I feel a peace within my soul; somebody said a prayer for me, I’ve never felt this good before. Somebody prayed that I’d be well; somebody cared to send me strength; somebody wants me to have faith; I’m feeling healed once again.” (Copyright © Francyl Gawryn)

   The folk-gospel song quoted above, Somebody Said a Prayer For Me, was composed by Francyl Gawryn, an accomplished singer and performer, also recognized for her songwriting ability. She has worked hard to perfect it and just completed her college senior project in composition. I have heard many of Francyl’s songs; the lyric, Somebody Said a Prayer For Me, has long been one of my favorites. It puts into words an experience that I’ve had a couple of times in my life.

   The “somebody” she describes as praying for her doesn’t have to be a friend, family member or a fellow human being in every case. That someone who holds you lovingly in his or her prayers could be the indwelling Spirit Helper, or your angels who guide you.

   “… the urge to pray so often experienced by God-conscious mortals very often arises as the result of seraphic influence.” (113:4.4, pg. 1245) 

   “Jesus consistently employed the beneficial influence of praying for one’s fellows.” (144:4.6, pg. 1621)

   One morning upon waking to a winter sunrise through gray pines, I experienced a moment of cleansing. A feeling of forgiveness for all, and our human failings swept through me. In response to this sudden wave of spiritual uplift, I said a prayer specifically for my sister. Years before, we’d become estranged after a family quarrel and parted without resolving it, withholding any expression of forgiveness from each other. But we continued to exchange polite Happy Birthday notes and Christmas cards.

   This sunrise moment released me from the burden I’d carried. For a brief time, everything sparkled before I had to return to my job in the tense, workaday corporate world.

   That night after the same morning I made the prayer of forgiveness, my sister wrote to me for the first time in years, a real (email) letter of contact that seemed to prove there was a kind of circuit connecting us, as if she heard or felt my prayer and responded to it. This circuit must be there ready to be used at any time, even by those who couldn’t forgive each other in the past.

   “You become conscious of man as your creature brother because you are already conscious of God as your Creator Father … Fatherhood becomes, or may become, a universe reality to all moral creatures because the Father has himself bestowed personality upon all such beings and has encircuited them within the grasp of the universal personality circuit.” (16:9.14, pg. 196)

   I can recall another experience like it, only it was with a stranger the next time. I met Jim for the first time at a party celebrating a friend’s music studio opening. People came from many different towns to the open house gathering. Most of us didn’t know each other. I was in a group of three or four men talking together, meeting for the first time, when Jim, who was the oldest, suddenly told us he had leukemia, announcing he had six months to live. He said it without emotion and with no expectation of a response. He simply stated it as a fact and didn’t seem to be asking for sympathy.

   It was not a moment when I felt comfortable about answering him with something real and direct. Apparently none of us did. However I was aware in my mind of an immediate sensation that I’d conveyed a message of strength and support to him. Though I was hesitant to voice it out loud, I transmitted it to him over the “air waves.” All this occurred unconsciously at first, that is, until he spoke up as he left the party. Then I consciously realized what had happened.

   He expressed gratitude to the group in a manner that struck me as unusual, thanking us for the “quality of the conversation.”  “Especially you,” he said, turning to face me. Somewhat astonished, I went over what I remembered about our talk. The only thing said that could truly be described as having “quality” was the silent message I’d sent. I realized that he must have been aware of receiving my prayer sent to comfort him.

   “When you pray for the sick and afflicted, do not expect that your petitions will take the place of loving and intelligent ministry to the necessities of these afflicted ones. Pray for the welfare of your families, friends, and fellows, but especially pray for those who curse you, and make loving petitions for those who persecute you. ‘But when to pray, I will not say. Only the spirit that dwells within you may move you to the utterance of those petitions which are expressive of your inner relationship with the Father of spirits.’” (146:2.11, pg. 1639)

   I asked my wife if she’d ever had the experience of praying for someone and feeling that it was recognized or received. She confirmed it had happened to her before. I think probably many of us must occasionally have these experiences of spiritual connection with each other. There are cases when we have the capacity to communicate effectively, even telepathically, with another person who is in danger or in need. I do believe that the effectiveness of prayer, its capacity for binding us together, is something that improves with practice.

   As Francyl’s words say, “I felt so awful and alone; it seemed I’d lost my light upon the path, and I just couldn’t get back home, when hope came flying in at last. Somebody said a prayer for me.” (Copyright © Francyl Gawryn)

   Francyl Gawryn,  is a director of youth and children ministries at Grace Community Church, in Boulder City, NV, where she works with Sunday school and after-school programs, one of those tireless laborers in the vineyard who receives occasional attention for her ministry. Of course, she doesn’t do the work to earn personal recognition. She once said she uses “music, dance, or any way we can worship God, since that's what I'm going for."  

   Somebody Said a Prayer For Me, from her album Love Songs of Heaven and Earth can be heard or purchased at: http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/artist_songs/2611990

(This article is modified from the original that appeared on examiner.com site in October 2012.)