Pray Network Forum

Crisis situations often make us wonder if God sees our suffering or hears our cries.  God can seem distant and unconcerned with our troubles.  But Scripture shows us over and over that nothing could be further from the truth.

Joseph must have wondered if God cared about his ordeals as he was carried off into slavery and again as he languished in prison.  He must have questioned why God would allow his brothers to sell him into slavery, why the lies of Potiphar's wife could land him in prison, and how Pharaoh's cupbearer could forget him for two years.  But all along, God was weaving these events into a tapestry that only He could see.  In time, God revealed his design to Joseph, so that he could tell his now fearful brothers, "You intended to harm me but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives." [Genesis 50:20]

The Israelites groaned in their slavery for 400 years, likely wondering if God had forgotten them.  They had no idea that God was building them into a nation within the relative safety (though difficult) of the borders of Egypt.  He made their women so fruitful in childbirth that the Egyptians came to fear them because of their numbers.  God had a master plan that included the punishment of the sin of the Amorites as well as the establishment of Israel (Genesis 15).  When the time was right, God raised up Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, telling Moses, "I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt, I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering." [Exodus 3:7]

We could go on about how God raised up Israel's greatest judge, Samuel, in response to the distraught pleas of a barren woman; how He heard David's entreaties for the baby born out of his adultery with Bathsheba and responded by providing another child who became Israel's wisest king; how He used the martyrdom of Stephen to launch a missionary movement that changed the world.

Our trials are unlikely to have such earth-shaking impact.  But God can use them to shape us and to impact those around us, if in our prayers we can move beyond ourselves to long for God's glory above all.  The one who prays, "God, heal me" can see only a yes or not to that prayer.  But the one who prays, "God, use this" opens the door to virtually unlimited answers.

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God Bless our country today as we remember the attack of September 11, 2001. 2,996 People were killed, over 6,000 people injured, and an entire country affected by 19 hijackers. We pray for our country today, and for the families of the injured and the lost. May it NEVER happen again, and may this country grow stronger and united as we mourn the losses we suffered that dreadful day.

Prayer Walk Guidelines

Position yourself in humility to follow God and commit this time to Him (You are blessed to follow God’s direction in this re: taking communion, anointing yourself with etc.)
Ask Him to open your eyes to see all He would have you to see and to give you the words of forgiveness and blessing He wants you to pray.
Always be aware of your surroundings and obey all laws of the land, especially making sure you do not block roadways.
Wear comfortable shoes
If someone asks what you are doing, be honest and tell them you are praying blessings. (If it promotes a positive dialogue, it’s OK to use that open door to minister to them. Bless them and love on them, but do not allow them to draw you into any negativity.)
As you walk forgive the sins and the people who committed the sins and apply the cleansing blood of Jesus to the sins. (Remember, He became ALL sin for ALL of us, so that we that we can become the righteousness of God in Him.)
Guard your mind and heart against critical thoughts and conversation.
We bless all of those Christian people who have prayer walked before on this land and link our prayers with theirs and honor Arthur Blessitt and Ed LaRose and all the others that have walked and prayed for the healing of our land.
As you walk and pray see depressed areas that reflect poverty and crime, bless the ones living there to everything they need physically, spiritually, emotionally and financially.
Forgive the sins in these regions in the name and with the blood of Jesus Christ and bless the land and people to be healed and delivered from the offenses.
Forgive every evil, idle, negative and critical word and deed committed on the land in Jesus’ name and forgive the people involved and declare the cleansing blood of Jesus to wash those sins.

Blessing Our President

Bless our President to fulfill God’s destiny plan and purpose for his life.
Bless him, his family, and cabinet to Psalm 91 protection from every evil work.
Bless him to the wisdom that comes from above.
Bless him to the soft answers that turn away wrath.
Bless him to prosper and be in good health even as his soul prospers.
Bless him to seeing his enemies flee before him 7 ways.
Bless him to creative strategies from heaven regarding resolving national issues.
Bless him to the peace, provision and grace of God in all of his ways.
Bless him to wise counselors surrounding him.
Bless him to discernment as to who he should trust and those not trustworthy.
Bless him to having every trap and snare set for him and our nation pre-triggered
on the enemies head, while he/we pass over and escape. Psalms 141:9-10
Blessings for our Nation

Father we honor you as the God who created this land and every tongue and tribe and nation that lives within its borders.
This day, we rededicate and consecrate the land and people of this nation to You.
As your ambassadors we bless each and every one of them to having the eyes of their understanding enlightened to know the hope of the high calling of Jesus Christ and a saving encounter with His Love.
We bless our land and its people to the life, healing, blessing and restoration of Your son, our redeemer, Jesus Christ.
We humble ourselves before you and admit as Daniel did that we and our fathers have sinned and done evil in your sight. We repent, renounce and forgive the 5 things your word says brings a curse upon the land: shedding of innocent blood, covenant breaking, moving ancient boundary stones, sexual immorality and idolatry. Again we acknowledge and repent for every one of the sins we and our ancestors committed. We declare that we break all agreement with these sins and forgive every way we have cooperated, deliberately and ignorantly with the curses on our land.
We bless the land to be released from all offenses it has been carrying because of these sins.
We bless the people of our nation to: moral purity, covenant keeping, respecting your boundaries , respecting life, and keeping the golden rule to love God and love their neighbor as themselves.
We forgive the sins of those who do not honor You and are deliberately cursing us and our nation. We bless them to salvation and deliverance.
We forgive every sin that has been committed by and against the people of this nation that has brought the curses of division, lawlessness, strife and confusion.
We bless our executive, legislative and judicial systems to alignment with the Biblical principles of justice it was founded on.
We bless our justice system to cooperate with Heaven’s redemptive purposes for the lives that it is in place to affect.
Bless our judges to righteous judgements in all decisions.
Bless our justices to rightly uphold and interpret the US Constitution
Bless our legislators to truly represent the people who elected them and to be delivered from the political processes that put them in the pocket of special interests, whose interests are not in the best interests of our nation.
Bless all offices to be filled with righteous men and women who walk in integrity and truth and understand that they are accountable to God for their actions.
Bless our economy to come under the principles of wise management.
Bless our nation and its people to get out of debt and have integrity in all of its financial dealings.General National Topics.

Bless our front line defenders, army, navy, air force, marines, coast guard, national guard, police, sheriffs and fire fighters to supernatural protection, direction and provision. Bless their marriages and families with the peace of God as their loved ones are serving.
Bless the Lost to salvation and deliverance. Bless their minds and hearts to the revelation of God’s love for them and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Bless the eyes of their understanding to be opened to the good news of the gospel and breadth and depth and width and height of God’s love for them that passes all understanding.
Specifically bless those deliberately cursing our nation and forgive the curses and sins behind them..
Bless the business’ in the regions to prosperity and wise stewardship.
Bless our families to healthy and happy relationships with each other.
Bless our media to integrity, purity, truth, and joy
Bless parents to understand that they are the one’s with God given authority to love,
teach and protect their children.
Bless parents to setting good examples for their children.
Bless family priorities to be aligned to that family members needs are being met according to the God-given design.

Blessings for our Civil Leaders

Bless our leaders to physical, emotional and spiritual health and strength.
Bless the leaders to the grace, peace, and wisdom that comes from above.
Bless them to wise decisions for the best of all citizen’s in the community.
Bless them to wise time management, integrity and truth.
Bless them to a strong support system around them and healthy family relationships
Forgive every wrong word and deed committed by civil authority, past, present & future.
Forgive the community for idolatry to the government and its leaders, through our silence in the face of that which violates God’s standards. 
Release blessing for Godly authorities to occupy the seats of office in the upcoming 
election.  
Bless our Civil Authority structure to the authority of the Bible on which it was founded.
Blessing our Civil leaders to wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge and the Fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom.
Forgive the community for abdication of our responsibility to vote.
Forgive all sins of cursing those who are in authority.
Bless those stewarding our electoral process to truth, integrity and wisdom.
Blessing for the Church and the Body of Christ

Corporate prayer of agreement of rededicating ourselves to God as His children and ambassadors to our communities and nation.
Prayer of releasing God’s blessing to prosper and be in good health as their souls prosper, to the Corporate Body of Christ in the Region!
Blessing , protection, provision and wisdom to those serving in every capacity in the Body of Christ and their families.
Prayer of Blessing every joint in the Body of Christ in the region to supply!
Prayer of blessing, protection and provision for the body of Christ individually
and corporately.
Bless the gifts and calling of every believer to thrive!
Blessing of the marriages, homes, families and individuals in the body of Christ.
Bless the Body of Christ to represent Jesus rightly in Spirit and in Truth in our society
Bless the body of Christ to God’s heart of love for our lost and dying world.
Release forgiveness and the blessing of salvation and deliverance to all enemies of the Cross of Jesus and the Body of Christ.

Blessing for Marriage, Home and Family

Bless marriages to truly reflect the relationship between Christ and the church according to Heaven’s design.
Bless marriages to God’s definition of what they should be
Forgive the cursing of Christian marriages, homes and families.
Bless the home to be a healthy place of love, joy and safety
Bless the family to be a support system that undergirds its members towards
growth in maturity, truth and blessing.

Bless our Medical Community

Bless all of our health care professionals to the true healing work of God with their patients
Bless our medical institutions to be true healing centers.
Blessings for our Schools

Bless our schools to the original foundation, intent and principles that they were established on.
Bless our schools, teachers and students to protection and deliverance from violence and lawlessness of every kind.
Bless the students to teachableness and a healthy desire to learn.
Bless them to a safe environment to have the freedom to learn. Psalm 91 protection around every school and all those who are a part of it.
Bless our teachers to physical, emotional and spiritual health and strength.
Bless the teachers to the grace, peace, and wisdom that comes from above.
Bless them to wise decisions for the best of all the students in their classrooms
Bless them to wise time management.
Bless the students and teachers to integrity and truth.
Bless the administration and the teachers to a "team mentality"
Forgive every wrong word and deed committed on the school campus
Forgive all words and deeds promoting the state as the authority which undermines the authority of the parents
Bless the administrators to be good stewards of the finances and resources they oversee, as well as being responsive to and respectful of the parents and students they serve, keeping their best interests always first.
Bless the parents to support their children's teachers and work together as a team for the good of the children.
Bless the teachers to receive the honor and respect.
Bless the curriculum to be covered in the blood of Jesus so that all anti-truth will not affect the students.
Bless the minds of the students to rightly divide truth from lies.
Forgive all negative, evil, idle words and deed committed on school property and forgive the people doing them and bless them to the truth that will set them free.
Bless the Christian clubs on school campus’ to revival above and beyond anything that has every taken place in history.

Blessings for our Senior Citizens

Bless the wealth of wisdom within their spirits
Bless the student of life that they have been, to embrace being a teacher and passing on the foundational experiences that we the next generation need to build upon.
Bless their physical bodies to receive from Christ the healing He purchased for them, (ie. to have the blessing of Caleb and Joshua youthfulness) to participate in the harvest
Bless their minds to the mind of Christ
Bless them to not only hear and but have the grace to be Spirit led.
Bless their stewardship abilities of their callings.
Bless what God is calling them into regarding any unfulfilled destinies.
Bless their emotional health to be full and prosperous, to the releasing of any old wounds, traumas.
Bless our seniors with being seen and known by the God who sees
.Bless them with knowing their life has meant something, that they are valuable.
Bless them with letting go of the world’s definition of success (perfection) and embracing God’s standard of excellence.
Bless the treasure trove of experience our seniors carry to be seen and received.

He’s Not Thwarted By Our Politics

He merely changes his tactic.

Stop, and consider this for a moment.

Where are you on the photo above?

When you consider politics, are you:

• SAD
• MAD
• HAPPY

Where are you?

Maybe a better question is, “Why Are You?”

You see, this is my concern in the church. I expect the world to act like the world, and so should you. But the church is what concerns me?

What Is Going On In The Church

It’s diabolitical (Sorry, Freudian slip) It’s diabolical.

But, do you see it?

Regardless of the side of the aisle we prefer, we are all plagued with THE SAME DECEPTION, namely, the priority our political goals play in our life.

NOTE: We think that if we get more people who think like us in positions of power then we will live peaceful and quiet lives (1 Timothy 2:2m).

Have you ever considered that the promise of that verse is NOT THAT GOD gives us peace and tranquility by giving us the right leaders, but He gives you the peace and tranquility BECAUSE YOU’VE PRAYED, regardless of whether or not your circumstances change!

But, that’s a message for later.

Getting Back To Our Deception

The deception in our politics is our focus.

I have a few friends that work in various positions in Washington D.C. One of them recently shared with me, “The only thing that will fix Washington D.C., is Jesus.”

Before you say, “Yah, yah, Mark, of course.” I want you to consider what winds you up more:

• The political news you see on T.V., or
• Your heart hurting for the unsaved in D.C.?

Depending on your answer, you  might want to stop for just a moment and ask the Lord for forgiveness. Or, you may not want to, but you should.

You see, that’s the problem isn’t it? We’re more wrapped up in what we want, than what God wants.

The Fallout From This Deception

Getting what we want does not thwart sataN.

Do you really believe that sataN packs his bags and runs away when more and more of your political party enters the city limits of Washington D.C.?

NOTE: I’m not speaking out of the other side of my mouth when I say that, if you are in politics, you are to work as if you are working unto the Lord and not man. Meaning, do what you do with excellence.

The evil one will not cease until Jesus throws him into the pit.

So what does sataN do now, if he doesn’t pack his bags and leave, when your guy/gal wins?

Simple

He changes tactics.

And we in the church are missing this. When we “win” at the ballot box, we think we’ve won in the spiritual realm.

Friends, to use a line from a completely different context, when we think this way, “We above all men are to be most pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:19)

So, be on guard, for the evil one roams around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

And be aware that he may fool you, when he comes to you as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14)

Whatever else he does, expect him to return to you at an opportune time. (Luke 4:13)

Then What Should We Do

Simple: Follow Scripture.

Instead of telling God what you want, let His Word tell you what He wants.

We like to abide in His Son and in His Word so that we can ask whatever we want and get it, right?

STOP! That’s not what John 15:7 says!

NOTE: It really says, “If you abide in Me (Jesus) and [YOU LET] MY WORDS ABIDE IN YOU,  then you will ask whatever you will and it will be given unto you.”

Do you see the focus? The focus is His Word/s abiding in you. The reason you will get what you pray for is because you will be asking for Christ’s will, Christ’s words, because YOUR words will change to match His words.

Do You Believe The Bible

THEN DON’T READ Romans 13:1.

Why do I say, “Don’t read it?” Because you will be faced with an indisputable fact that the guy leading us in Washington D.C. is who God put there, and who God wants there.

And there’s another indisputable fact that you’ll be stuck with:

THE PASSAGE WAS TRUE THE PREVIOUS 8 YEARS ALSO.

So What

You may ask.

Here’s the “So-what.” Are you blaspheming God, by the way you are praying for the current leadership?

Or, did you blaspheme God by the way you prayed for the previous leadership?

How you answer that, will tell you why you are, whichever face you are, from above.

But more than that, I hope that you will hit your knees and ask for forgiveness, either for the way you pray, or the way you prayed.

Further, I hope you will pray for all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity, regardless of political results.

Blessings,

It is important to see hope as something that makes a difference in our daily lives. Among the things hope affects are discouragement and depression. Most of us have experienced depression from time to time. Some of my heroes dealt with personal disconsolation. Among them Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great nineteenth century pulpiteer. On several occasions as thousands who came to hear him on a Sunday morning sang hymns and waited for him to come to the pulpit, the great preacher wouldn't appear. Finally, his deacons would go and knock on his study door. “Dr Spurgeon, you must come out. It is time for you to preach.” He would answer, “I can’t.” And the deacons would take up an offering and send him for several weeks on the French Riviera.

Depression can have a terrible hold on our lives. I am no exception to that, but it was not a major problem for most of my life. However, depression is a side effect of some of my cancer treatments. And I have had to learn to break out of the gloom. I have not always been successful, but I believe that what I have learned about this from Scripture will be helpful to many people. Psalm 42 is a great place to start. The psalm concludes with these words.

“Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my salvation and my God.”

Many of you are familiar with a gospel song that comes from Psalm 42, Why So Downcast O My Soul, by Marty Nystrom. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA-S_0LcRWs Listening to this music always lifts my heart. Psalm 42 calls us to put our hope in God. Let me point out some means of putting our hope in God.

• Praise

Praise is a major theme of the Psalms from beginning to end. The Hebrew people sang these songs in wonderful worship. You may be familiar with the story from the writings of Josephus about Alexander the Great ascending the Temple Mount on his white charger prepared to destroy the city. But as he did he saw the people dressed in white ropes singing the Songs of Ascent as they worshipped and prayed for the Lord to spare their city. Josephus says Alexander got off his horse and bowed with them in worship.

Praising God will certainly be counterintuitive to you if you are suffering from depression. But that is the very first thing you need to do to break depression's hold. Another gospel song that declares this truth is Praise The Lord, made popular by The Imperials https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfTQg9whI-s . The lyrics read,

“For the chains that seem to bind you

Serve only to remind you

That they drop powerless behind you.

When you praise Him.”

Praise is an act of the will. You can praise God even when you are feeling down.

• Remembering

Psalm 42 begins as the heart cry of someone who feels far from God. But in verse 4 the psalmist remembers glorious worship he has been part of in the past. Remembering is crucial to walking with Christ. We need to remind ourselves of what we know about God. We need to remind ourselves who God is. We need to remember what He has done for us. Remember His promises. In Psalm 42 we are called to remind ourselves of worship when we did feel like worshipping. Have you ever thought about this? When your heart is stirred as never before in worship, you are making memories that God can use to break depression when you are plagued with it?

• Talking to Ourselves

In verse 5 of Psalm 42, as in the final verse, the psalmist talks to his own soul. “Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Put your hope in God.” The world, the flesh, and the devil will speak constantly to your heart. To counter those words you need to talk to yourself. You need to tell yourself to hope in God.

• Corporate Worship

Psalm 42 speaks of the joy of corporate worship. Ephesians 5:18-20 relates worshipping together to the filling of the Holy Spirit. I seldom think of the filling of the Spirit in these terms. But my idea that the filling of the Holy Spirit is something that only happens to individuals relates to a major American heresy. We think of spiritual growth, and service, and devotion as things we do alone. But we are filled with the Holy Spirit in communion with the family of God.

• Listen to God

Listening to God is another important tool in overcoming depression. I do not mean simply remembering precious things God has told me in the past. I am also talking about actively hearing His voice in the present. I do several things to hear God’s voice. First, I listen to great preaching. I thank God for the technology that brings me teaching and preaching by great preachers like Rick Warren, N.T. Wright, Michael Ramsden, Ravi Zacharias, Tim Keller, and the list goes on.

It is also important to listen directly to God in His word. God regularly speaks to His children in Scripture. And when I memorize a verse or a passage, I store God's word in my mind for Him to speak to me again and again.

• Meditation

I need to list meditation as a separate discipline here. When we spend time thinking about God's character, promises, directives, and assurances, He plants those things deep into our souls. In Psalm 119 David said he hid God’s word in his heart that he might not sin. God changes our character as we meditate on His truth. God will use this to transform our lives through the renewing of our minds. And breaking depression requires new thinking.

• Rest

In our modern world we seldom think of rest as a spiritual discipline. However in Genesis 2:3 the Bible says God sanctified the Sabbath. Rest is Holy. When Elijah was discouraged and exhausted in 1 Kings 19, God gave him food, and He gave him rest.

I indicated earlier that some of my malaise has physical causes. I do not believe you have to have cancer for this to be the case. One of the physical and spiritual causes of depression is lack of sleep. I can devote time to rest. That may mean putting my cell phone out of reach, or even closing the computer, or turning off the TV at night.

Psalm 127:2 has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It says God gives his beloved sleep.

I had a chemotherapy treatment today. I often can’t sleep at all the first night after chemo. I can spend my wakeful hours in God’s word. And I can pray for my family and other prayer lists. But I also ask God to help me sleep.

• Fellowship

Christian Fellowship is also an important tool for getting our minds off our own concerns. This can be difficult because when you are depressed you do not wish to be around people. But it is important to remember that we need one another in the family of God. Loving them and being with them is a blessing.

• Giving

Giving will lift your spirits. In Acts 20:35 we are reminded that Jesus told us “It is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Giving someone else a gift brings more joy than receiving. This is especially true when your giving is being stretched by needs that God shows you. I am aware many of us no longer believe this. You have to put it into practice to realize how great this blessing is.

• Praying for Others

Praying for other people is an important discipline for our spiritual lives. And it is an important means of getting our eyes off our own feelings. Several days ago I was feeling particularly down. I had gone with my wife to a large grocery store with a coffee shop. While she shopped I set outside the coffee bar and tried to pray, not only for the people sitting at other tables, but for people entering and leaving the store. I cannot think of anything I've done in a long time that made me feel better.

• Obey

Obedience is a crucial means of lifting our spirits. In Luke 16 Jesus told a parable about being faithful in small things. When you are down it is good to look for some small thing you can do to obey God. When we stand before God, we will will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” But we can already hear Him whispering those words into our hearts as we obey even small things He has told us to do.

• Giving Thanks

Finally, I believe the most powerful tool for breaking depression may be saying, “Thank you.” Thanking God is at the heart of this. I occasionally try to devote and entire day to giving thanks that God is working in the lives of people I meet, that he is present in my life, that he is worthy of my praise.

It is also good to formally thank other people for things they have done for us. It is worth sending someone a card or going to the trouble of writing a letter to say “Thank you,” to someone who has blessed you.

I know I have given you a long list. But small measures are seldom enough to break the hold of moods. I recommend that you print out this list, and try to do most, if not all of these things. I do not want you to feel guilty because this is too much. But I do encourage you to work hard to break the hold of depression. Depression protects itself by keeping you from wanting to be freed from it. Your depression itself will fight anything you do to break it. Pray that God will change your desires and behavior as you ask Him to deliver you from depression.

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I am the one who strengthens you. I will show you the way. You do not always need to rely on other people to grow in my wisdom and love. You need Me more than anyone or anything. I am the great I AM. I am your healer when you are hurt or sick. I am love when no one is around to love you. I am everything you need. I will lead you when you look to me and depend on ME to lead you. My glory shines over you. My will is the only thing you need to seek after. I have your life in the palm of my hand, watching every move you make to assure your success and safety. My hand covers you and protects you. Believe in Me and I will guide you through the wilderness. I will show you a life more precious than you can imagine. My people know a love so great, they can barely tolerate the impact of it on their lives. They bow down in honor. Not that I demand it, but only because my love is so pure they are made grateful and filled with generosity and forgiveness. The experience of my love alone is more than any human can bare. I share with you in small doses so that you will be able to tolerate it.

I am bringing new things to pass very soon. You will see new doors open and new projects that only you can fulfill. You are ready for a new season of LOVE, JOY and PEACE. You will honor me in new ways because I will pour out so much love upon you. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Stay the course I have given you. Do the tasks I give you and lean into my presence. Do not allow distraction. Focus on the task as hand and you will see My glory on your life.

Seek My face daily for your daily download of love and perspective. I will show you the peace you have been seeking. I will show you joy instead of mourning. Your day will begin anew. Your day will contain sustenance in me and only me. I will declare goodness and mercy over you. I will declare stability, joy, peace, forgiveness and love over you. You are my joy. I look at you and see my work in you coming into it’s fruition.  Your time is here. You are about to shine like never before. Your obedience and dedication have paid off. You are ready to join in the season of fruitfulness and prosperity. You are ready to receive the fruit of your labor.

Recently I was thinking about my grandchildren going back to school, and the story of baby Moses kept coming to my mind from Exodus chapter 2.

At the time Moses was born, Pharaoh was killing all the newborn Hebrew boys in Egypt.  When Moses was three months old, his mother hid him by making a basket, coated it with tar and pitch. His mother placed the child in it and then put him in the river among the reeds with his sister standing nearby watching. Pharaoh's daughter saw the basket as she was walking near the riverbank and sent her slave girl to get it. When she opened the basket, seeing that he was a Hebrew baby boy crying she felt sorry for the child.

Then his sister said she knew a Hebrew woman who could nurse and care for the baby for her. Pharaoh's daughter asked the girl to get the woman. When she arrived, Pharaoh's daughter asked her to nurse the baby, and she would pay for her service. When the child grew older she took him to Pharaoh's daughter, she adopted the child and named him Moses.

It amazes me how God orchestrated this whole story.

• Think of the risk Moses' mother took of hiding him for three months.
• Then the danger of putting him a basket in the river knowing that if he were found he would probably be killed.
• Knowing her time was short, Moses’ mother taught him about God before she had to release him to Pharaoh's daughter.
• She entrusted Moses to God as she released him to Pharaoh’s daughter.

Our grandchildren are at risk living in our post-Christian, troubled, unstable environment of racism, violence, hate, transgender influence, God-hostile system, etc. It’s a place, where we fear our grandchildren and their parents could drown, just as Moses mother risked his life-placing baby Moses in the river.

A mother of 2 public school children shared with me how her children have lost their best friends due to their Christian position and not wanting to participate in LGBTQ activities.

The Intercessor for America issued an informative post on August 18, 2018, by Capitol Prayer Partners about our educational system. https://www.ifapray.org/blog/prayer-for-schools/

There are times in the lives of our grandchildren that their parents and we as their grandparents have to place them in the basket in the water of the world. We have to let go and entrust God to protect them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. We must let go and allow God to draw them from the waters to fulfill His purpose for their lives. God loaned us our children and grandchildren for us to teach them to love Him and prepare them for their future; they were HIS first.

 This is why Christian Grandparenting Network is asking grandparents to unite in prayer for their grandchildren and their grandchildren’s parents. This day is scheduled to coincide with National Grandparents’ Day, which falls on September 9, 2018.  We desire to make this day a day of prayer for our grandchildren.

Listen to this video to learn why we must call grandparents to intentionally pray for their grandchildren and their parents.  https://vimeo.com/232681065

Please check our websitehttp://www.grandparentsdayofprayer.com for more information, testimonials, promotional materials and free downloads.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

Prayer

Dear Lord, I pray my grandchildren will:

• Guard their hearts.
• Have a desire to do their very best.
• Respect for their teachers.
• Choose friends, who will have a positive influence.
• Recognize the deception of worldly thinking.
• Have eyes blinded to the temptations they face.
• Have a balanced view of their beauty, charm, and strength.
• Learn to be responsible for their actions and behavior.

In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

By Lillian Penner, Co-Prayer Director, Christian Grandparenting Network

lpenner@christiangrandparentinng.net

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