Comfort and Compassion

May your unfailing love be my comfort,

according to your promise to your servant.

Let your compassion come to me that I may live,

for your law is my delight.

Psalm 119:76-77

Heavenly Father,

You are the comforter. Your compassion pours out on your children. I pray that you would pour out your comfort and compassion on the Eaton family as they grieve the loss of a loved one. I pray especially for the kids. How hard it must be for them to understand. There is no way to comprehend why something like this would happen. We live in a fallen and imperfect world. It’s not what you had planned for us, but our free will and free choice led us down this path. In spite of our sin and disobedience, we are your children. You have made a way through your own Son for us to be called sons. Let your compassion fall on your children in this time of need. Help us all to always look to you for answers and comfort and whatever we need.

I continue to pray for my brother. I pray the vision you have put in him would collide with his career. I pray that monetary support would come from somewhere for him to be able to carry out that vision. I pray you would make things very clear to him what he should do.

I pray for the kids at camp. I pray for the speaker that he would be anointed. I pray you would put the message in him that so many kids need. I pray that you would break bonds that are forming. The age is so tender. It is such a hard time to be so tender an age. Help them find you this week and build a solid foundation that they can start a new life on. Give them new hope for their future. Give them strength and vision for their future. Give them purpose for their life besides the usual things 13 and 14 year olds do. Empower them with your presence. Let them know there is more out there than video games and dating.

I pray for those in my Sunday School class. Be with Travis at work. Help him to show love to those he works with. Be with Taz and his wife and their health issues. Touch their bodies. I pray for April as she will be at camp next week. I pray for Scott’s uncle who hasn’t been feeling well. I pray for his friend that he is going to talk to in a few weeks. I pray that you would prepare him to hear the truth. Give courage and wisdom to Scott as he talks to this man. I pray for Barb’s son as he is trying to make a new path for his life. Encourage him and surround him with support in friendships. I pray for Kelly as she steps out of her old life. I pray you would protect her from old patterns and relationships. Begin to heal those wounds that led her into that lifestyle.I thank you for hearing these requests. I thank you that you care about even the littlest detail of our lives and you hear our cries, and you see our tears.

It’s in Jesus name I pray,

Amen

Healing and New Life

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

Heavenly Father,

I sit here and search for the words to address you properly. There is no way for me to absorb how great you really are. I pray you will help me absorb a little more each day.

I thank you for the opportunity to talk to my brother yesterday. I pray that you would be with him this week at camp meeting. Anoint him as he leads people into your presence for worship. I thank you for the vision you have put in his heart. I pray that you would help him to see clearly the steps he needs to take from here to make that vision become a reality. Help him to know the steps of faith and grant him the support from family, friends and co-workers to carry out those steps. I pray you would give peace to all those involved in the decisions that will be made in the next weeks.

I pray for Betty Cardin as she will be having surgery this morning. I pray you would direct the surgeon’s hands and mind as he rebuilds what this world has torn down. I pray she would be able to dance for you when the recovery is over.

I pray for Janice’s niece who was injured on the job. I pray that she would get the compensation she deserves from her employer to cover not only the time off and medical expenses but also the physical and emotional trouble she is facing.

I pray for our congregation. I pray for good health as well as healing in joints, bones, sinus, muscles, blood pressure, diabetic issues - whatever the ailment, we know there is a name ABOVE all other names. Your word says by your wounds we are healed. By the power of the shed blood of Jesus, I pray healing all over the Englewood Church of God! Thank you, Lord Jesus for your sacrifice!

I pray for Pastor Scott as he enjoys this time at camp meeting. I pray that you would bless and encourage him this week. Give him strength for the things ahead.

I pray for our kids who are going to youth camp. I pray that you would prepare them now to receive from you the lessons and blessings you have in store for them. I pray that whatever they receive would fall on good ground and take root right away, so that it will stand through all the trials and hard times of their real world. I pray you would give them a desire in their hearts to seek you and learn your word, so they will not be led astray by “another gospel.” Help them to open their hearts to receive all of you they can.

I pray all this in Jesus name!

Amen

I Saw the Lord

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Isaiah 6:1-5

Heavenly Father,

Isaiah saw you seated on your throne in all your glory. At that point, he realized how unworthy he was, because he understood how holy you are. How great it would be to see you the way Isaiah did. The angels said that the whole earth is full of your glory. You have not hidden yourself from us, yet we so often turn a blinded eye. Help us, Lord to open our eyes to see your glory around us. Help us to be aware of our own sin and repent and be willing to go and do what you want us to do. We are the temple - we should reflect your glory in us!

I want to pray for my Sunday school class. First, for Ivan and Kathy. I pray you would be with them. Bless them for stepping out to do what you have put on his heart to do. Comfort them as they have been used to being close to Jason, Jessica and the baby. Encourage them in the hard times to push through and remember the promises you have given them in their time in Englewood.

I pray for Travis - that you would help him at work to be the witness that his workers are looking for. Show them who you are through him on the job. I pray for Taz and Pat with their physical problems. I pray that you would touch them and bring healing. I thank you for the testimony they have.

I pray for the mother and son that Jim talked about who both have cancer. I pray they would be a comfort to each other, but I also pray that you would do a miracle in their bodies. I pray you would minister to their minds, bodies and souls.

I pray for Betty as she will be having surgery in a few days. I continue to pray for those who went for healing and deliverance last Sunday. I pray that you would continue to heal and deliver. I pray for Kelly as she fights an uphill battle with the life she is trying to leave behind. I am thankful to see her making the effort by her desire to attend church. Meet her right where she is, Lord, as she reaches out to you for help.

I also continue to pray for my brother as he continues his job search. Keep him safe as he travels to the churches he is interviewing with. Make the choice clear to him where you want him to go. Help us all know that you are with him.

I thank you for what you are doing in my back. I believe you are healing me. I will continue to pray and believe that you are able!

I love you, Lord. I thank you for hearing me when I call out to you with my prayers and my praise. I pray that my praise would be pleasing and that my heart would be lined up with yours as I make my requests known to you.

In Jesus Name,
Amen

Stand Firm and See the Deliverance!

"O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.

7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend?

8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying,

9 'If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'

10 "But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them.

11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance.

12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."

2 Chronicles 20:6-12

Heavenly Father,

So many times, we find ourselves in a similar situation as Judah found themselves in these verses. They did not have the army power to defeat the enemy. We look and can see no way out of the mess we are in. The prophet tells them this:

15 He said: "Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: 'Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's.

16 Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel.

17 You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you.' "
18 Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the LORD.

19 Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the LORD, the God of Israel, with very loud voice.

How often do we try to fight our own battles - that we cannot win? Teach us Lord to depend on you. Teach us Lord to praise you and bow our head to the ground in respect and honor to you! You can do the amazing things that we cannot even imagine! THEN you will show up with the victory in your hands!!

22 As they began to sing and praise, the LORD set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

23 The men of Ammon and Moab rose up against the men from Mount Seir to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.

24 When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped.
Not only will you defeat our enemy, but you will bless us as well - doing far greater than we ever asked or imagined.
25 So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing [e] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it.

The enemy defeated themselves - with no survivors AND they got all their stuff. Who would have imagined that outcome? Only You Oh Lord! I pray that you would help me to be faithful and keep my eyes on you, so I can experience victories like this in my life - not just once or twice, but a lifestyle of victory!

I pray you would give my brother this same peace and victory as he entertains job offers. I pray you would direct him and give him wisdom to know where you would have him go. My personal prayer is that you keep him close to home, but not my will but yours be done.

I pray in Jesus Name and for His Sake,
Amen

I have heard your prayers

In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death.

The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said,

"This is what the LORD says:

Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover."

Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

"Remember, O LORD, how I have walked before you faithfully

and with wholehearted devotion

and have done what is good in your eyes."

And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Before Isaiah had left the middle court,

the word of the LORD came to him:

"Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people,

'This is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says:

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.

II Kings 20:1-5

Heavenly Father,

I thank you, Lord that you hear us when we pray. I thank you that you are not only able but compassionate and willing to heal and bless us. I thank you for the great services we had yesterday. I believe people were healed and set free of all kinds of things. I pray for those who went up for healing last night (myself included). I pray that you would complete that healing in each one. I pray that you would encourage and strengthen us when doubt creeps in about the things you have done and are doing. I pray for those who went up to be set free of things - especially kelly. I pray that you would help each person find the truth they can hold onto in order to fully put what binds them under their feet. Help them understand that it is not by their own strength, but by leaning and trusting on you. Provide people in their lives who can guide them in your word - teach them the truth that will become the solid ground that they can stand on.

It was great to see the framework starting to go up for the new sanctuary. It has been a long time coming. I am more thankful for the preparation that has been taking place in the body of believers at the Englewood Church of God. A new building can look nice, but if your presence is not there, what is the point. I believe we have been learning to worship you. We have been learning to wait and expect you to show up and do great things. While we have been making preparations to build a church building, we have been building a temple in our lives for you to dwell. I pray this process would continue even after we have moved into the new building. I pray for Pastor Scott as he leads us. I ask you would continue to give him vision for the future. Keep him strong and healthy, and give him wisdom as he makes decisions. I thank you for the men who are by his side guiding him and helping him in the church decisions.

I pray for those who were mentioned in Sunday school. There were those who are facing the news of their bodies full of cancer. Jim mentioned a mother and son both with cancer. Scott told about a woman who on the same day learned of her own cancer and her husband’s death. I also pray for Barb’s son as he is redefining his life with new relationships and a new place to live. I pray that you would blind the eyes of those who might be a stumbling block to him. Don’t allow them to find him or be able to contact him. Protect him, Lord. Help him to grow in the word and become secure in his relationship with you. Strengthen his roommate and enable him to be a source of help and accountability. Lastly, I pray for Ivan and Kathy. I pray you would be with them as they follow you. I thank you for the preparation you have done in their lives while they have been here. Use them in this new season of their lives.

I pray all these things in Jesus Name,
Amen