I am starting 40 days of prayer for the orphan, widow and impoverished.
I've been challenged on two things recently...
1. To pray BIG prayers and to look for answers eagerly.
2. To love the things that God loves.
God's word is filled with commands, promises and thoughts to the orphans, widows and impoverished... yet I know I ignore them much too easily.
I once heard it said (can't remember who authored the quote) that,
"Prayer is the precursor to mercy..."
That quote has stuck with me! Have you ever experienced that... you can't find it in yourself to love or forgive or care for someone... until you start to pray for them and then naturally (or supernaturally) that love, forgiveness and mercy just seems to well up in you? I sure have.
So that is what this is about. Intentionally putting myself in a place to let God fill me up with HIS love for those He says I need to care for and grant mercy to. It isn't about "do-gooding" or being extra Spiritual, it is about acting in obedience and faith that God will give me what I don't have and enable His love to be given to others through me.
"But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him." - 2 Corinthians 2:14
Furthermore, there is more than one way to be fatherless and impoverished. Just think about it. Jesus talked a whole lot about people like that (me) that think they have a father/heritage or think they have all they need materially or spiritually... but really don't.
Today's Prayer:
1) Today, pray that the Lord would give you a personal sense of responsibility for the next 40 days (and beyond) for praying for orphans (widows and the impoverished), your pastor, your church, and your community. Ask Him to break your heart for the orphans. Ask that He would help you to see orphans with His eyes and His heart. Ask Him to use this 40 days of prayer to change you.
(I'll probably not be able to post daily... but I'll post as often as I can the 40 Days to Pray for Orphans.)
"He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing." - Deuteronomy 10:18
1 comment:
Thanks! I'm not sure how I have come across your blog but I've been reading it for some time (I think since your number three was born). Your timing is pretty great for me :-). We are adopting a little girl from Ethiopia. We are waiting for a court date to travel over and meet her. We are praying it will be within the next 40 days! I will be praying, not only for our little one but for those in her country, in ours, and all over the world! Thanks for the challenge and for sharing your heart.
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