“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. ” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Twinning. It’s a concept born in the mind of Mother Teresa, the famous little Albanian nun who gave her life to helping people with the severest of needs. Over time, several thousand nuns were called by God to work with her. One of her most often repeated sayings was that they could do nothing without prayer.
So, when a friend of hers wanted to join the work, but was sidelined by physical limitations, Mother Teresa asked her to found an organization made up of others like herself who couldn’t go, but could pray. They called it The Sick and Suffering Co-Workers. Each person from Sick and Suffering was assigned to one of Mother Teresa’s missionaries, and the two became “twins”. When one suffered, the other did, too. When one was on the front lines for God, the other was, too – through their prayer connection.
They prayed for one another daily. They wrote to each other at least twice a year. One twin was homebound and had the time and heart to pray. The other was busily working humbly and daily with the needy and dying, relying on the prayers of her twin.
Do you have a “twin”? A person who prays for you every day? Who suffers when you do and celebrates when you do? Who connects now and then by text, phone, or email? Who will take your call no matter what? I do. For several years now, God has used each of us to do through prayer what neither of us could do without it. Maybe we all need a spiritual twin!
“A true friend is the greatest of all blessings.” – Francois de La Rochefoucauld
Walking Together on Holy Ground 
Bev, thank you for sharing this story from Mother Teresa. What a sweet concept! Twinning. I like it. I have several “twinning” relationships. Now I have a new word for them.
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Thanks for your comment, Carol. We all need each other!
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An excellent reminder to take a moment and absorb the deep gratitude I feel in knowing I have “twins” that pray for me when I struggle and battle. I need to be more deliberate about that and do better at letting those I pray for know that I am, regardless of the fear of it appearing self-serving and insincere.
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Interesting thoughts. Society talks so much about “thoughts and prayers” that I can see how “I am praying for you” could be perceived as insincere. Those who know us, though, would understand the sincerity. Thanks for sharing!
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Bev, I so love what you have written! You are so right. I love the Hudson Taylor biography, “Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret”, that describes him becoming sick and having to return to England. He was paralyzed from the waist down for a period of time. He had someone hang a map of the world on the wall at the foot of his bed, a map that had China at the center, and he prayed for hours daily for the work going on there, work that he had started. He was used so mightily by God during this time he was bedridden to pray for God to gather in to Jesus the people of China. God healed him, and he returned to China for several more years before dying there. I love reading what you wrote about this twinning.
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Thanks for taking time to share the Hudson Taylor story! It seems that those who have accomplished the most for God’s Kingdom are those who take seriously the power of prayer.
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