Praying in 2011

We had a great message at church today about supporting missionaries and the need for prayer. Two verses that were very enouraging to me were:

Ephesians 6:18-19 "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel."

and 2 Timothy 2:3-4 "You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the afairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier."

Wow! That is powerful and encouraging!

We also found out our church supports a missionary family in Eastern Europe, so we'd like to contact them.

My husband and I finished listening to our audio book Radical and have been inspired to pray for unreached people in all of the world with our kids for 2011.  We picked up a bunch of bookmarks with missionaries photos on them and are excited to start praying for them too.

Our friend, JJ, also spoke about praying not only that God would provide for missionaries but that they would be content with what God has provided for them. His family of 9 spent the last year visiting all of the 50 states in the U.S. in an RV sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They sold everything and went!  That's pretty Radical!  We are praying that God would give us discernment about spending what He's given us wisely and that we can be content with less and give more!

Also, last week I was driving and the Lord brought to me the verse: "The effective fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much".  (James 5:16- I couldn't recall this at the time) This doesn't happen out of the blue very often so I was reflecting on it and felt God speaking to me about how beneficial praying is for the person doing the praying- in this case, me! My prayers don't help God decide what to do, but boy do they bring me to dependence on Him! They humble me, they give me peace, they release my burdens, they bring me into God's will, they encourage me, they strengthen me, they empower me.  When I'm praying, I am reminded of who is in charge and He is able to work through me and I don't get in His way (well, at least not as much!).

Well I hope you've been enouraged as much as I have been today. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers and for joining with us in the battle!