God has been doing some VERY amazing things in my life and those around me because of the power of prayer. I have talked about this during my Uganda trip and seen SO MANY prayers answered while I was there. Prayer is something I sometimes take for granted. I know God knows what I need, He is all knowing, but some times I forget to ask Him. Prayer is something God tells us to do, not because He doesn't know already, but because (I think) He wants to be asked. He wants us to humble ourselves, even get off our high horses and acknowledge that we can't do it on our own. Of course He can do it for us, but we live in a world of people who feel like they are in control of their own lives and can do everything on their own. Asking God for what we need, even what we want, acknowledges that we know we are not in control and that we do need His help to do it. I need to be reminded of this sometimes, even in the "little" things in life. Its easy (easier) to pray about "big" things but even the "little" things need prayer too. The more I realize this, it seems, the more peace I have about even the day-to-day. God is a BIG God and cares even about the sparrow (Luke 12:6 & 7). I love reading Mark 11, especially verse 24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." It's the belief part that I think I need to work on. BUT I know God is working in my life and can see very visibly by the answers to prayers He has given, especially lately. With that in mind, can I ask you to join me in praying for a few things? I am learning more and more what a powerful tool the internet can be and how it can be used for good, so I am writing a list of prayers on my blog for those that want to pray. I know there are literally millions of things you can be praying for, but if you remember, think of this list while you pray:
The entire Saunders family - they have been through an INCREDIBLE amount of stuff in the last year and I cannot believe how unswerving they are in their faith. Their house burned down, their son is going through MAJOR procedures to correct his legs, their daughter has a brain tumor. The father, DW, is the pastor of the River Church and led the team I was on to Uganda. He is struggling with some VERY serious health issues since returning from Uganda and they are in the process of adopting a little girl from China and need prayer for that too! (I probably even missed something) Just pray for them. If you are interested, you can read more about them here: A Place Called Simplicity Make sure you give yourselves a HUGE chunk of time if you want to read about everything - it is an amazing blog!
Cindy - she is battling cancer and has a family of 10 kids! I know when I was going through my cancer almost 11 years ago, that the prayers of others is often all that got me through! You can read about her story here: Faithful Promises and also about a fast Linn Saunders (from the above link) is organizing this Monday, July 27.
Dan and Melody - this is a couple from my church. Dan has been diagnosed with a variant of prion disease. The doctors are baffled by his case, but it has been over a year now and no clear help or improvement has been made for him. They have 3 young kids and Melody is carrying their family for over a year now. Dan's memory is not good and he has lost a ton of weight and the outcome for prion disease is not good. Doctors say he will continue to deteriorate until his body shuts down. It could be months or years BUT God can change all of that!
My Family - We are adopting from Uganda and need prayer for it all - details to be worked out, paperwork to come in a timely manner (Alberta is causing some problems), a speedy court date, finances, trips, care for our other kids when we travel - just that everything around this whole thing work (more on adoption stuff in a later post).
I know these are just a few of the things that I am praying for, but they are on my mind right now in the forefront. If you will/can, please remember these requests when you pray. I appreciate you taking the time to even read them now and SO appreciate you praying with me for them!!
Teach