Prayer

Tonight is my monthly get together with a few friends and we'll spend about an hour to an hour & a half in prayer. One of my prayers is the group grows larger but I'm not complaining about the size - there are at least 3 of us who are there every month, we have been as many as 5 - it's a good size. I would just love to see God join us together, more women, on a regular basis. Perhaps it is because I live in a house surrounded by two men, one boy and one male dog that I crave female companionship. I'm not sure. I've been trying to get back to my Monday night study but there is something out there that, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to want me to get back with that group. Each week it has been one problem after another and for the next three weeks Mom & I are taking tennis lessons on Monday & Wednesday nights so it'll be August before I can try again. ::sigh:: But...I rabbit trail... prayer night.

We spend our time praying for whatever it is God has put on our hearts. It seems the bulk of our prayers, though, have been for America at large and the leadership we have and will have come January 20, 2009. We know no one is a leader who is not God-chosen for the role (Daniel 2:17-23 and Romans 13:1-7) so we pray that whoever God places there will turn to Him for wisdom, guidance and comfort. We pray, too, that the American people would turn back to the God who was with those men who established this country. Not one of those men of the first Continental Congress thought they could rely on anyone before God. They knew it was only the Almighty that would help them to succeed or allow them to fail. It was by that faith, I believe, they were able to stand strong in the face of so much. When I think of men and women with that kind of faith and courage, I often try to put myself in their place and I wonder if I would be as willing to take such risk. The answer is usually I don't know. Perhaps a person just doesn't know until they're put in that position. I don't know.

We also pray for our community, our families, our friends and even for complete strangers. Nothing is really off limts here. This group is meant as a support, a strength for prayer. I know how easy it is to get distracted enough that you don't pray. I do it constantly. I forget to pray a lot. I am also good at talking when I pray, sitting silenty is a struggle for me. However, like all good conversations with friends, it is a work in progress and is getting better all the time. I am trying to spend more time listening instead of talking. Anyone who knows me knows how big a struggle that is!!! I don't like to be quiet normally - at least not for too long. I remind myself constantly that prayer is my communion with God and my communication with God. Ultimately, it is a form of communication FROM God and in order for that to work, I have to shut myself up on occasion. I would be (and am when I realize I've missed it) genuinely devastated if I missed something He has to say to me.

On a lighter note...I was going through the files on my computer, looking for a picture to add to this thing for fun and came across some older I thought I'd share. They were taken in 2003 and I still can't believe it's been 5 years since we did them. Feels like yesterday.