Have you ever watched a friend or loved one walk a path fraught with pain, only to feel completely helpless?

Or have you tried—again and again—to help someone make better choices, only to have that person throw it all back in your face?

Been there. Doing that.

So I pray (to cover the worry). I pick up my Bible (to fight back the fear). And then I turn to music (to help put words to my anguish). One particularly dark night, I hurriedly typed “prayer” into the search field of iTunes, hoping to quickly access a particular Casting Crowns song, Prayer for a friend, that quiets my soul and gives voice to my anguish in times like this.

I’d heard this song many times before. And yet, when I listened this time, the words seemed brand new… and exactly what I needed to hear.

Lord I lift my friend to You.
My best friend in the world, I know he means much more to You.
I want so much to help him, but this is something he has to do.

This person, who means so much to me, means so much more to Him. (How is that even possible?)

If I believe what I say I do—that I serve an all-knowing, all-loving God, all-powerful—then He knows this person (and everything she’s dealing with), He loves her more than I ever could, and He has the power to get her through this.

Not me.

I can’t fix this. It’s not up to me.

Lord I lift my friend to You.
I’ve done all that I know to do.
I lift my friend, to You.

Amen.

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Portions of this post were originally published in 2011 on my personal blog.