The last few days I have been anxious, well overwhelmed even. Not the overwhelmed I get when facing depression, but overwhelmed with the great need around me and the sheer amount of hurting people in my life.
I wonder if anyone else has experienced this…but in the last year or so, when God has been growing in my heart a desire for prayer, He also has heightened the burden I feel like I’m carrying through prayer. I just am spending more and more time praying for others…especially in a season when so many are suffering.
I asked God yesterday to give me some scriptures to cling to…to pray over my friends…to help me to rest in Him and not allow my anxiousness to overtake me. He is faithful!
The very title of this blog comes from Phil. 4:6-7, and I read this in the Message yesterday and remembered how much I LOVE this passage in the Message! I hope it will encourage you, too!
Celebrate God all day, every day.
I mean, revel in Him.
Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side,
working with them, not against them.
Help them see the Master is about to arrive.
He could show up at any minute!
Don’t fret or worry.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayer,
letting God know your concerns.
Before you know it,
a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ
displaces worry at the center of your life.
Phil. 4:4-7, the Message
I don’t know about you, but I need Him to settle me down sometimes!
Here is another passage He showed me a few hours ago.We will all have our share of suffering in this life. Only by the power of God can we keep on keeping on.
Take your share of suffering for the Message along with the rest of us. We can only keep on going, after all, by the power of God, who first saved us and then called us to this holy work. 2 Tim. 8-9, the Message.
Tonight, as I head to my prayer closet, please help me lift up my friends. {My precious friend, Fran, recently diagnosed with cancer after celebrating 5 years being cancer free! Our amazing friends, DJ and Rebecca, who are dealing with job loss right now. Our small group at church, there are many families really struggling right now. There are so many needs just in our church, then when I start thinking of you, my friends around the world, and all the needs in your life and your churches, WOW…I think I need to be on my knees 24/7!}
Please leave me a comment with how I can pray for you or your loved ones, too!
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