Prayer Meeting

I have started writing this post at least a half a dozen times, and I can't seem to get past the first sentence. How do I begin? What do I say? Do I really want to open myself up for...I've done this before and... It didn't go very well.

Some months ago, I wrote about how what seems good might not be good and what seems bad might not really be bad. I also wrote about praying specifically and honestly. I wrote about how sometimes those specific and honest prayers are not socially acceptable, and some of the reactions and responses I received  served to prove my point. One comment from a person on a "Christian social site" (not here on my blog) accused me of praying for people to die so that I might have gain.

Whoa! Hang on a minute! I'd never do that.

Her remark does make me think though...If a mortician asks God to bless and profit his business, isn't he actually praying for... Ahem. Okay, let's not go there today.

Apparently I didn't do a very good job of expressing myself before. Yet here I am again, asking my readers to join me in prayer. Am I one half stupid and the other half dumb?

Before you answer that, I want you to know that I have taken to heart everything each of you said in your responses to my previous post. I've asked God to search my heart and show me if there is any wickedness or sinfulness in me and in my prayers. I'm certainly not without sin, but what He has shown me concerning my post is that I could have been a little more careful and precise in choosing my words, and also that no matter how I say something, there will be people who don't understand.

He reminded me that most people will only pray for those things they believe are good for them and their friends. That's only natural. I know it is difficult to pray specifically when you don't completely understand all the details of the situation. I now know better than to tell you I'm praying for a storm, but the best thing I know is that God hears my heart when I pray because of the work of the Holy Spirit--my interpreter. God never misunderstands! Hallelujah!!

Today I'm asking you to pray for us. Again, work (storms) has been scarce and the bank account is almost empty. Our need, as I see it, is great! Since God never misunderstands, and since I am trusting Him to answer all our prayers for His glory and our good (as only He knows good), you can pray just as specifically or generally as you like. If one of you wants to pray that money mysteriously show up in my mailbox, and another simply prays that we get work or that our needs be met, and someone else thinks we should give up and find a new career and you want to pray for God to give us guidance, that's all fine. If you feel a little bold and want to pray for a storm for us, then go for it! God can't be confused any more than He he can misunderstand.

I don't want you to think that I'm self-centered and care about only my needs. Not at all. I desire to see God move and show himself mighty in your life, just as much as in mine. I want to pray with and for all my readers. I want to have a good old fashioned prayer meeting, and here is how we can make that happen with a modern day twist.

If you don't have a blog, you can just post your prayer request as a comment here so I and all my readers can pray for you. Remember to subscribe to comments so you will know when other readers post and you can add them to your prayer list. If you do have a blog, feel free to comment, but also leave your prayer request in the linky tool below. Then, copy the code for this linky. Go to your blog and write a post about your need for prayer, and while in HTML editing mode, past the code. Be sure to put the name of your blog and your URL in the appropriate place. That way, all our blogs and prayer requests will be linked up and it will be easy for us to visit each other and pray for one another. Encourage your readers to join in and we will have a big, modern day prayer gathering! It'll be grand!

Let us encourage one another through the rough times in our lives. Let us rejoice together over what God is doing. Let us gather together and agree in asking God to meet out needs, guide us, teach us, and bless us--his children. LET US PRAY!