A Powerful Prayer

We had a lovely summer at the lake. Most of our weekends were spent in relative peace and quiet, with day long fires and sunbathing by the lake. We truly relished our weekends there and plan to do it all again next summer.

However, our retreat to the lake precluded our attending regular church services on Sunday. This wasn’t a problem for us, as we aren’t of the mind that we will be damned to hell for not attending church services in a building. What we did do was listen to Charles Stanley on Sunday mornings. He is a good teacher and I always learn something when I listen to him.

This past Sunday, he talked about “prayer with impact.”

I remember growing up in the Catholic Church and sitting in Mass watching the grownups pray. I always wondered what they were thinking or saying inside their heads. As I got older and started to go through the sacraments, I came to my first communion. I remember going up and receiving my first communion and coming back to my pew, kneeling down to pray and then wondering “what am I supposed to say?” I don’t remember ever being told how to pray. Oh, I knew how to say the “Our Father” and “Hail Mary,” but that never seemed appropriate after receiving the eucharist. It always seemed to me a rigid, monotonous prayer that really had no meaning to it. So I would often just kneel there, after communion, and let my mind wander to whatever plans I had for after church.

It wasn’t until I was an adult, wandered away from my childhood faith and then found my way back to God that I figured out prayer was a simple conversation with Him. But sometimes, people will ask me to pray for them and I just don’t know what to say or what to ask God for. And this is what Dr. Stanley was talking about on Sunday.

He stated that he often has people come up to him and ask him how they can pray for him, and he always has a specific request for them; he asks them to pray Colossians 1.9-14 for him.

For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Wow.

Can you imagine having someone praying this for you?  Isn't this prayer exactly what we are all striving to be in our lives?

I have since asked two people to pray this for me. And I have started to pray it for others I know, especially when I am at a loss for words.

So, my dear friends, would you pray this for me?

Thank you so much.

I will also pray it for you.

May we all walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, with all spiritual wisdom, bearing fruit and loving others.

Know that God loves you so much…and so do I.

A Prayer...

for those affected by the earthquake in Japan.

Father in heaven, Creator of this precious world we live in, please hear the prayers of your saints.

Our hearts break for those who are suffering right now from the earthquake that hit Japan and we lift them up to you. Please comfort those who are hurting and may be trapped in the wreckage, send rescuers to find them quickly. Comfort those who can't find their loved ones as they wait for word on their survival...or not. Please keep the waves at bay and the aftershocks to a minimum.

Please be with the leaders who coordinate rescue efforts and then rebuilding efforts, giving them guidance and wisdom as they deal with this terrible tragedy.

And protect the countries who will be affected by the resulting tsunami. I pray that the distance it will travel will allow it to lessen the height and strength of the wave. May everyone in it's wake be alerted and have time to get to higher ground.

Lord, we love Your children here on earth and we pray for your mercy and healing touch.

Please hear our prayers that are asked in the name of your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.