Spoke with my little brother last night. He's a wonderful, wonderful person, great husband and father. While catching up on how his wife and kids are, realized I needed to bump up my prayers for he and his family. He works in the prison system. When I told him he is in my every prayer, he said he needs it. While the prisoners usually just go after each other, he does sometimes get their ire. His wife has some health concerns, and two of his boys are really in need of sustained prayer. It's really because of them that I decided to morph this blog into a larger effort.
Spoke with an 89-year-old woman who came to the church for help. Over the last year, church help has drifted off but I've stayed in touch with her. She is fragile and easily overwhelmed but is in denial, I think, of how bad things are. I suspect whenever she talks to family and friends, she is perky and "all is well". To me, 90% of the time, it's "I'm about to give up, so many worries", and yet, because if you give her an inch she'll take a mile, I don't always inquire and dig into her problems. She burns people out because she calls five times an hour when she first gets acquainted with you, and she lives in near-constant crisis so she'll call last minute with urgent needs. She somehow lost or misplaced her purse Saturday and had to call the police to let her into her house. She has no money for a new lock, no one to help her. So I told her I'd get her a new lock and I expect to ask a neighbor to help install it if I can't do it myself. Watched a YouTube video yesterday to see how it's done.
Spoke with a friend who has had lymphoma recently, hasn't yet had her six-month checkup. She was feeling very sick and thought she had a bladder infection. Yesterday, she and another friend called to get my advice on where to go for no-insurance urgent medical care. They wound up self-diagnosing a kidney stone and she decided to wait it out. I urged her not to put herself through that and gave her some places to go. She called while I was on the phone with my brother last night, didn't leave a message, didn't answer when I called back, so I don't know what's up. She did make an appointment with her oncologist to get in early for a checkup, just in case.
So, in other words, lots of prayer needed. My commitment is to pray for all of these prayer concerns daily, and to note impressions and manifestations of God moving in their lives.
My prayers sometimes are a direct prayer for someone's behalf, and as often as possible is thanks for what I see happening for that situation.
Always...
- For the prophet
- For countries to open their lands to the preaching of the gospel
- For people to have a chance to get to know the Savior and to know of his redeeming love
- For the people of Haiti to be protected and to recover, and to praise God for holding back the severe weather as long as possible
- For those who suffer and are in need
- For God's intervention in stopping the oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico, to inspire and motivate any involved who are listening to Him, to give them power to make the right things happen
- For Mariah Proctor, student and Meridian Magazine columnist, who is in Thailand working on a documentary to stop [child] human trafficking, for her safety
Bumping up for more specifics with my family prayer
- For nephew D -- Alma the Younger -- [his father] prayed with much faith concerning thee that thou mightest be brought to the knowledge of the truth" Mosiah 27:14
- For nephew B -- Recently graduated, for "a future and a hope" Jeremiah 29:11
Here it is, in context:
Jer 29:10-14 (NIV) This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the Lord, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."
- For sis-in-law K -- Health and well-being through surgery and family challenges
- For sis V -- Ability to provide for herself, jobs and income, always health and well-being
- For bro S -- Recently laid off again, for his encouragement and ability to see opportunities for employment perhaps beyond his desired field
For intervention in resolving my mortgage stuff and financial woes
For my ability to resolve some spiritual obedience challenges
For keeping peace at work and resolving a thorny personnel dilemma at work (and praying for C and MW and K and M and, well, all of them)
For J - 89-year-old mentioned above
For J - Friend with cancer mentioned above
For P - Old friend and co-worker who contacted me this week for prayer in her behalf
For Gabby, kitty recently fostered from a friend who died in April... she and Tigger escaped into my crawl space and haven't come out for weeks... I thought they were coming into the kitchen at night to eat and get water but I found Gabby yesterday and she was dehydrated and starved and thin... she is now isolated in my front bedroom and is responding to good water and kitty supplements and food and attention...
For Tigger, that I can find him and take care of him, as well... I've now put food and water in the crawl space and so far, [it's only been 18 hours] it doesn't look like he's eating it
For Kirby, bladder infection, took her to the vet last week, she's on meds...
Yes, I do pray for my cats!
Here are the scriptures I opened to today, in preparation for my prayer request...
Psalm 18-19-20
The Lord hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;
Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; (20:1-2)
We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the Lord fulfill all thy petitions.
Now know I that the Lord saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses [a reference to war]: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
They are brought down and fallen [the enemy]: but we are risen, and stand upright.
Save, Lord: let the king hear us when we call. (20:5-9)
The message is, right here on the "Official Day One" of my 365 Days of Prayer, that the Lord will "fulfill all my petitions"!
