18 thoughts on “Prayer Requests 2-23-13”

  4. In an email, Michelle wrote about being “forceful and deliberate in your decision to trust God”. That’s where I am this very day. Chrissy does not want to come to church anymore, & has hinted that she no longer believes. So I feel like I’ve “lost” both my daughters, even as they live with me.

    And last night, while babysitting, I gazed down at my little grandson’s sleeping head, with that adorable mess of curly hair, & felt a stab of fear – both of his parents, as well as his other grandparents, are atheists. It seems the spiritual cards are stacked against him, but I have to remember that God is far, far greater than even entrenched atheism.

    My constant prayer has been that God be glorified in each of our lives, & in our home, that closed eyes & closed hearts be opened, & spirits awakened. Move by Your Spirit, oh God!

    So right now, Lee & I are the only believers in our family. That feels like such a burden, even though I know that God is the one who saves & works in hearts. Even so…God help us!

    Prayers greatly appreciated!

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  5. Praying for your family Karen.

    And now a word of encouragement for you. If you have been reading my posts over the last couple of weeks, you can see the mess of a family life that I left when I was 17. And I have not even written the half of it.

    I grew up going to church, but it was a copartmentalized kind of church in a liberal mainstream denomination. I left it there every Sunday morning and I could not articulate what I believed or why I believed. My mother and siblings all attended church, but not all the time. Mom was a regular until she divorced my father after I left home.

    When I left home, I left all of that home too. I walked as a prodigal until after I was married and had 2 children, a period of about 4 years. My husband was also walking as a prodigal when I married him, and my return to the Lord, and true repentance happened long before his.

    Upon my graduation from high school, my grandfather (father’s father) gave me a beautiful leather bound King James Red Letter edition of the Bible with my mane stamped on it. It sat on the shelf for the prodigal years. The inscription on the card read – “To Karen from your Grumpy Gramp who has loved you even since before you were born. John 3:16” I know that he prayed for me over the years until he died when I turned 18.

    I began attending chapel services to comfort a grieving friend who had lost a son just 3 days after he was born, due to aspiration pneumonia. I did not go for myself because I believed the lie straight out of hell that I had done too many bad and immoral things in the past to be ever loved or accepted by God again. I finally started going to Bible study with my friend and forced myself to learn King James English. And somewhere along the way, I cannot pinpoint a date, I discovered that church was a 24-7 proposition, and Jesus did love me and I was forgiven.

    I look back at my family and the mess that it is, and I pray for all of them. None of them are “churched” these days, and it shows. I have not given up on them, and sometimes I wonder how it was that I ended up in such good shape. How was it that I am not in the same mess as they are. I believe that most of their problems are spiritual, and certainly of their own making. But truly , there, but for the geace of God go i.” For that I thank Him, and not often enough.

    I believe that there is power in the prayers of a grandparent for their grandchildren, and for their children. Do not ever lose hope. Keep praying. Jesus will never lose those who are His, even though they might make some unwise decisions. And as long as they draw breath, there is always hope.

    (My brother should have died from his aortic dissection, about 3 years ago, and he is living on borrowed time.) I keep praying for all of them, but I see what Jesus has done for me and I know that it was because people were praying for me, especially at least one grandparent. Prayer makes all the difference.

    Keep praying for your children and your grandchildren, Karen, and know that Jesus loves them more than you do. I know trust is so difficult in that situation. Ask Him to grow your faith, but know that in so asking, he will test your faith. He knows You will grow more faith in the testing. The test of faith is not for him – it is for you. I will be praying with you.

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  6. Just another word of encouragement. Nosy, interferring step-mother (that would be me) reach out to Mr. P’s youngest child last night. K was supposed to be joining the Navy but he lied to his father about it and didn’t join. He has been afraid ever since the middle of October to talk to his father and the father has been stubborn in thinking the son needed to come to him and ” man up”. Yesterday morning before surgery they had Mr. P on some heavy drugs for the pain. He was a little loopy and looked at me and said he wanted K to come see him. He said he wouldn’t even scold him if he came. (through FB I have been keeping all the boys up on what was going on). K and I texted back and forth a few times last night. Today while I was at the hospital he showed up to see his father. He has a job and is buying a car. He is living with a family he knows. They have helped him find a good job and he will soon start earning $15 an hour. After the summer is over he is supposed to go to work on an oil rig (we shall see). In the conversation he told his dad he has been attending a church. It is really casual and laid back and the minister just talks to them, but they are having a young adult cook out tonight. He has to work on Sundays but he goes on Wedsnesday nights.
    I walked him back to the elevator and told him his father wasn’t mad he didn’t go in the Navy he was mad because he lied. I told him not to ever lie to us again and that we loved him and he was always welcome in our home. God does work in mysterious ways doesn’t He?

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  7. I’ll be praying for you tonight Tuchicus. If I wait till tomorrow, it will be too late. 🙂

    KBells, keep praying, that’s all you can do. Don’t try to do too much, Let the Spirit lead you because it’s in His hand. Both of them have already heard what you have to say.

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  9. okay, so I will add some less encouraging words. But not about grown children coming back. I have read some experts who say it is not possible to heal children with attachment problems if there are more than one in a home. We have at least five with most of the symptoms and the diagnosis for it. And we know God can work. And He can heal miraculously as well. Feel free to pray for us any time you think of us. We have had some major setbacks in the younger four in the past two weeks. Behavior we saw when they first arrived has returned though not quite as extreme as before. We withdrew our only public school child in order to deal with it.

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  11. Thank you for all the encouraging words. Don’t worry – I’m not pushing anything or “preaching” at them. Just trusting & praying. And through all this, even in the pain, I am finding my faith growing. Of course, God is all I have to hang on to, & He is enough.

    Oh, but a little promise & hint of the good things to come would be nice. 😉

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  13. Okay, so not going so well for them either. Getting reports of nightmares, bad thoughts, etc. Please pray for the occupants of the nest. Seems like some sort of spiritual attack bringing up all of their old stuff.

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  16. Karen–happened to see the name, Emily Forrest, yesterday and could not help but think of your family. 😉

    Klasko–thank you for that comment.

    Kim, so nice to hear there seems to be some progress. “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

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  17. RW: The Sunday service went very well – thanks for your prayers. We are very encouraged with the progress of the church plant. We will actually be taking a position at John Brown University next school year (before returning to the CR), and will eventually make it down to SA/Austin, so I could possibly get together with you somewhere in the DFW area. That is, if we’re still on speaking terms after this year’s playoffs. 🙂

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  18. Thanks for the report, Tychicus! We have enjoyed hearing the traveling chior from John Brown University in the past. Please let me know when you will be around Fort Worth. I would love to meet you. I will always get along with Spurs fans. My mother and my son are Spurs fans.

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