Declare His Faithfulness

I promised that I would write solely about God’s amazing works.  So here we go.

 

Prayer of the Saints: Those of you who know me well know my heart for prayer.  So when I came here, I discovered that the staff used to pray together regularly and then stopped after the schedule was complicated several weeks in a row.  After talking with Susan Wadley (co-founder of Bridges of Hope ministry) about how I wished they all prayed together, she encouraged me that maybe I would be used by God to help start that up again.  We prayed about it together, and then I continued praying.  Praying that God would lay the same thing on the staffs’ hearts and would give me an opportunity to make the suggestion, if it was his will.  Then one day, Jenni walked up to me and asked if Caleb and I would take all of the kids for devotions the next morning.  Just the two of us?  All of the kids?  Well, if need be, then okay.  She said that she decided that the staff needed to be praying together more, so they were going to do it every Wednesday morning, starting the next day.  WHOA.  Okay God, this is really cool that you laid it on her heart, too, but what about me?  I wanted to be a part of it!!

Clearly not his will.  Okay, God, now what?  Now I have 25 girls, ages ranging from 10-20, English levels every place on the spectrum.  What do you say to that range of girls?  I prayed, nothing.  I prayed more, nothing.  I went to sleep.  Woke up Wednesday morning at 6:15, praying.  “Pray.”  Um, yeah, God, I’m doing that.  “Pray.”

Oh…them. 

So I arrived at the school at 7:25, had the girls divide themselves into tables 4-5 girls each, a youngest girl and an oldest girl at every table.  Then we did 30 minutes of directed prayer.  It was beautiful.  Thanksgiving, Scripture reading, Intercessions, and Supplications. 

I am going to continue to do that every week, and I pray that God would continue it even after I leave.  I really do believe that this is his will.  He took my heart for prayer, that I could play a role in allowing both the staff and all the girls to spend that time in corporate prayer.

 

Prayer Request:  Pray for guidance in how to best use those 30 minutes every Wednesday morning.  Pray for God’s mighty answers to those prayers, that the girls and staff may see prayer’s power. 

 

God speaks:  One of my favorite things about spending time with God is the fact that he talks back to me.  So as I have been taking my 8/9 grade small group through Joshua, we discussed this last week (last night, actually) that we must learn to listen to what God has to say to us if we want to grow in our relationships with him.  Additionally, my devotional group (8/9 and 2 10th grade girls) is going through Hebrews, so of course we must deal with “Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”  So I keep reminding them that God DOES talk to us – we just have to be listening and then pray for the ability to discern his voice from others. 

So this morning, after devotional group, Mimitha came up to me with a huge smile on her face.  She said that the other day she was praying and she thought she heard “Give us clean hands.”  She said at first she just thought maybe the song was coming into her head, but then when she kept praying, she heard it several more times, repeated again and again.  BEAMING, she said she’s pretty sure it was God.

I, now also beaming, told her to pray and ask God to tell her what it means.

You all, I cannot even tell you what a huge blessing this was for me.  This is why I am here.  I want to leave only the marks of hearts and lives more fully Christ’s.  I want to leave and know that I am leaving behind more disciples of Christ, people who are more deeply rooted and established and more IN LOVE with their God.  There are few things I would rather have heard.

 

Prayer Request: Pray for discernment and wisdom for us all as we seek the Lord’s voice to us.  Pray for Mimitha as she is seeking with her whole heart.  Pray that God would bless her desire to know him more completely and intimately.  Pray for the rest of the girls, too, that a hunger would grow in them to know the Living God.

 

O I could just go on, but I know most of you don’t block out an hour just to sit and read my blog.  J Rejoice and praise the Lord with me.  He is filling me with his joy and patience and peace and endurance.  I continue to ask him for just one piece of hope every day, no matter what else might happen. Please pray the same.  Oh, how I pray he is delighting each one of you with such joy as you witness his power and glory all throughout the earth!