I got home from church tonight and was standing at the kitchen counter when all of a sudden my heart was instantly heavy and burdened. From a spiritual standpoint for me personally….I know what time it is J Time for me to pray. But as I stood here in silence……the theatre of my mind started playing. Let’s press rewind and then play so you can get a glimpse of what ran through my mind in a matter of minutes giving you a better understanding of why my heart is burdened. In no specific order……
-Steve Jobs, founder of Apple dies today at 56 of cancer
-A young girl’s mother goes to jail and her step-father commits suicide
-A woman has been told she has an aneurysm and is on the way to the hospital
-A couple is having marital problems
-Someone’s father is in ICU with internal bleeding
-A young girl in pain….from life itself
-Another young girl struggling with finding her place in life
-A man struggling with loneliness
-A young woman asking God for strength
-A young girl mad at people….and simply wants someone to listen and to understand
-A man in the hospital who is having problems understanding why it has to be him
-A woman who has been tested and stretched in every direction and is about to break
-A woman asking God to move the mountains (situation/circumstance) in her life
-A man expressing his heart and hurt of losing his bride way too soon
-A family who just lost a grandfather
-A woman not feeling well
-A sick child
-A woman and her children with no home
-Men and women struggling with the pain and fear of rejection
-People who are tired of their jobs
-Families with car problems who don’t know how they are going to pay for the repairs
-Families living in neighborhoods where gunshots are fired often
-A woman asking God to help her family and believing Him to restore it
-A woman whose husband is publicly cheating on her
-A woman struggling with who she is and who she was created to be
-A man who has found his identity in what he does…and wants the world to know that his “work” is “who he is”
-A woman who just wants her husband to love her
-A broken and hurting man who once loved the Lord and now spends most of his time trying to prove His non-existence
-A woman who is contemplating divorce because her husband isn’t meeting her “needs”
-Both single men and women…. Lonely and “just want to be loved”
-A woman who is overweight and feels worthless….and helpless
-A young man who is addicted to pain killers
-Single men and women (young and older) giving themselves away to “fill a void” and to “feel” loved, wanted, and accepted
-A woman whose child is in prison for life
-A family who has lost a child and is trying to find a way to cope with the pain
-A woman who is overcoming breast cancer
So, these are just a few of the things I have seen or heard today….either on Facebook, from a friend, from someone I have talked to personally, or someone I know that I thought of today. This, my friends….makes my heart hurt. Putting into this perspective I would guess most people would say it does theirs to…..but….if it really hurts our hearts…..are we doing something about it? Life happens. Life happens for all of us. I wish I could say I have all of the answers and all of the solutions (if I did I would be GodJ). But I don’t. There are days where I am so overwhelmed by all of the people I know, the things I hear, the people that come to mind, the things I see, the things I sense, the things/people God shows me…..that NEED PRAYER….it is almost impossible, and often times overwhelming…..to find the time to fit them all in. However, I do what I can when I can. It may be a split second prayer…but out of the love in my heart for the God that created them all….with the help of the Holy Spirit inside of me, I do what I can in the time I have. Prayer has been serious to me ever since the day of my salvation. It made me realize how much the prayers of a few faithful people…..saved my life. It made me realize that even though I was making stupid choices of my own….those few faithful people sent out prayers that even if I wasn’t completely taken out of a situation….I KNOW now…those prayers cushioned the blows in my life. I have always been very selective in who I ask to pray for me….because when I ask for prayer….I’m BANKING on their prayers for me to be prayed, to be received in Heaven, to be heard by God, and to be answered. But if something in my life is important enough for me to ask someone to pray for it…..I like to know that prayer and the power of it means something to them as well. From my experience virtually every person on the earth, believers and unbelievers alike, go through something in their life which brings them to ask for prayer. It’s important that if someone asks you to pray for them that you only say you will….IF you are going to do it. Don’t over commit yourself. It’s ok to be honest J They will appreciate it as well. I know I would. I remember reading about how the Israelites rejected Samuel when it came to crowning him as king and….they ended up begging him to pray for them. They realized how much more they needed his prayers than even his kingship. Samuel’s response was, “Far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.” I love how Wesley L. Duewel puts it, “you can’t be a person of God without being a person of prayer.” Take a look around you. Over half of what I listed above came off of Facebook….today. Instead of getting frustrated at the negative comments in your newsfeed…..those who are in Christ….you’ve got to see with the eyes of Christ J Recognize the need. Recognize the pain. Recognize the brokenness. Recognize the hurt. Often times as I’m scrolling through my newsfeed….I’m saying either out loud or to myself….”bless them”, “heal them”, “love them”, “provide for them”, “protect them”……whatever the case may be. It may not seem like a lot….but our Father in heaven hears the voice of His children. He awaits our voices in heaven so He can release a blessing into someone’s life on your behalf J And when His people who are called by His name will humble themselves and pray…..it may be your name they declare a blessing over as they scroll through their newsfeed J
Blessed….to be a blessing ♥
