Not many things can equal the sense of awe and amazement as the realization that you have just been the answer to someone else’s prayer.

This isn’t a call to faith so much as it’s a call to service and the awareness that’s required to be a blessing in someone else’s life.

Opportunities exist all around us to help others in need. These needs don’t have to be dramatic in order to count. The point here is that we can make the crucial difference if we are actively seeking opportunities to serve.

Too often, our own selfish wants and desires create a kind of tunnel vision that can prevent us from seeing the bigger picture. Like any other skill, with practice we can develop the ability to recognize opportunities to serve others.

It all starts by inoculating ourselves against selfishness. 

Hold the door for people. Let someone into traffic. Stop and help someone change a flat tire. Choose to forgive another. Pay for the car behind you in the drive thru.

Simple service to others sharpens our awareness and ability to recognize the needs of those around us, even when they’re not asking for help. 

It is also a guaranteed lift to your own spirits whenever you’re feeling down. It’s so simple that it’s easy to overlook. 

And yet, like many of life’s greatest treasures, we have to experience it to believe it.

Few words can simultaneously humble and lift us like hearing someone in need say, “You were an answer to my prayer.”