Thoughts Are Worth Sharing - Prayer Matters
Knowing God's Will - How important is it to you?
© May 2012
Some days start out badly. This was one of those days. I hadn't felt like getting up because I'd stayed up too long the night before. In the evenings after dinner I often get on the computer to browse and relax. Usually my "Me" time is spent searching eBay looking for a great deal on beads, choosing favorite items on Etsy, searching for contacts on Google+, or catching up with friends on Facebook. To some this may seem like work, but to me it's kind of therapeutic and fun.
Well I ended up leaving the house in a hurry this morning since my husband started fussing at me. I was making a quick get away before he had a chance to push anymore of my buttons and upset me any further than I already was in the moment. In my haste to get out of dodge, I left the breakfast and lunch I'd just packed for myself on the kitchen counter. Unfortunately I didn't realize that I'd left it until I was too far along on my way to work to turn back. Our department had just had a meeting the day before and tardiness and leave abuse had been addressed with staff. I didn't want to be the one coming in late immediately afterward the next day. To most being without your breakfast and lunch though inconvenient isn't a serious problem, but for an insulin dependent diabetic, it's not a good thing.
The thoughts that were floating in my mind at first weren't very Godly ones, but as I began to listen to the station on the radio that I normally do, the Fish, it was as if the Lord were speaking directly to me. Tears were soon streaming down my face as I conversed with God and turned my situation over to Him. I began thinking about the prayer meetings that had been implemented a couple months before that recently had been discontinued in favor of a more hassle free, read it when you can, email version that had been dubbed the "Cyber Prayer".
When I got to work and signed in there was an email in my inbox already. It was that daily cyber prayer. I don't always read it, but it had been a rough morning, so I decided to make time.
After reading, I sent the following message to the author of the prayer article:
"Your message is heartfelt today. On the way to work this morning I was listening and singing along praise songs of worship to our Father God. He is Awesome and Glorious. He lights up our lives and brightens our world. He is our "Morning Star". I had a rough start this morning as I was leaving the house to come to work and as I was letting Him know how I was feeling, I could sense the comfort of Him being with me, listening and understanding. I turned my hurt feelings over to Him and my heaviness of heart was lifed in that very instant away. Now the day is bright and all is well and good in my life because I know He is with me. It's a wonderful, incredible, miraculous thing that He (The Almighty God) is in our corner."
You see not only had the Lord been speaking to me this morning on my way in, He was also touching the hearts of some of the others I work with, and he was prodding a few of us to get together again in a small group instead of just doing our now regular daily email "cyber prayer".
There is an amazing power in the united gathering of Christians (no matter how few) when we come together to pray. A tangible feeling, that touching of hands with words spoken out loud audibly in the presence of God and those others in the group.
Without plagiarizing, I will share a few excerpts from the cyber message this morning that reflect the way God works. You see, the one who wrote the prayer wrote "I miss the days we made time to gather and lift our voice in one accord". Wow - That's what I had been thinking too on the way to work while I was having my teary eyed conversation with God. I was wishing that we were still getting together, meeting in the conference room instead of just receiving those emails although I did find them helpful. The one who sent that prayer went further though, and in boldness he called us out letting us know that "It seems to the eye from an outsider that all has fallen apart" and "You know what God is in your face today and He is saying TALK TO ME!!!".
I was amazed reading those words to realize that I wasn't the only one. It became clear to me that the gatherings had fallen by the wayside because we hadn't made them the priority they should be.
A coworker responded to the many requests to start having meetings again that she would be out at the picnic tables every day at 10am and anyone who wanted to come join her to pray could do so. I asked God for His help knowing that I am weak, but He is strong and the only way that I would be faithful in making this a priority would be with His divine help.
So today we gathered together in a circle in the parking lot near the picnic tables and we joined hands and prayed for expressed needs, and for God's protection and His will to prevail in our lives and in the workings of our organization.
And now as I draw this hub to a close, I pray that God will make us courageous and that He will give us the strength and steadfastness to bravely do all the things He has set ahead of us to do according to His wonderful and perfect plan.
May God richly bless all of you reading this. In His name I pray, Amen.
