A couple of years ago after speaking at a Gideons meeting a woman approached me to give me a timely row. ‘How can we pray for you if we don’t know what is happening?’. She told me that she loved the work I was doing and that whilst she did not have the opportunity or ability to speak in the public arena, she wanted to do what she could – and that was pray. Given that prayer IS the work – I agreed with her and from that day I have produced a monthly private prayer letter for those who will pray. For me this explains the extraordinary opportunities and open doors that keep happening.
I have seen many great answers to prayer in my life – not least when I was ill – How Prayer Impacts Lives.
I was reminded of this after that wonderful meeting in Menai Anglican last month. Someone sent me the prayer that Margaret Hudson prayed at the end of the Q and A. It was very moving and I have kept it as a reminder of what I should be praying for. I hope you will find it helpful. Its a great prayer for all of us…..
Margaret Hudson’s prayer at the end of the Q&A session:
We come before you, Sovereign Lord, so thankful for this evening and all it has raised for us to consider, to pray about, to engage in. And we ask that in these changing times where the darkness is tangible that you would please help us to be thoughtful, gracious, and courageous followers of Christ. We know what we’re like, Lord – easily prone to doubt and fear, discouragement and disillusionment. Please help us. We long to be found faithful to you. Help us never to lose sight of the incredible hope we have through Jesus. Help us to love your word and ground ourselves thoroughly in truth so that we can be ready with a wise answer. May we be a community of genuine love, first to each other, and secondly to those around us who are lost without knowledge of Jesus.
Father, we thank you so much for David and Annabel with us tonight. We pray for David as he defends your Name in the public arena. Please give him a strong sense of your enabling power in every opportunity that you give him, especially in those battles that overwhelm. Please bless him with wisdom, clarity, humility, and protection from the evil one as he serves you. We ask that you would renew and refresh him in every way during his time in Australia. And Father we ask that you would bring great fruit from his ministry to the glory of your Name. We thank you, our Father, for all the blessings we have through Jesus and the bond of faith in him that we share. May we go now in his Name to serve you with joy. It’s in Jesus’ Name we pray.
Amen.
(If you would like to receive the prayer letter – I had stopped it for the sabbatical – then let me know – theweeflea@gmail.com – I confess that I feel in desperate need of prayer for guidance, wisdom, grace, strength and love! Please note that this is a prayer letter – not, as so often happens, a disguised request for money! It is also not for public information – it is for prayer!)
Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:1-4)
Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should. (Ephesians 6;19-20)
And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. (Colossians 4:3)
Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may spread quickly and be held in honor, just as it was with you. (2 Thessalonians 3:1)
It’s Saturday morning, 7:00am, here in Rochester, MN, USA. The sun is shining, the neighborhood quiet. I can hear the birds churping. I read the prayer ;I am refreshed! Thank you for sharing, for caring, for reaching, for praying. Love you all!
Amen to your prayer …. Margaret Hudson’s
Psalm 91 New International Version (NIV)
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Many thanks for your wonderful work and witness! I follow your blog closely, and now I will do my best to include you in my prayers.
Blessings on you!