Love expressed in prayer

Linking with Tuesday at Ten

What are you gifted at? Do you sew, crochet, knit? Recently, I offered to use my talent of sewing to help a friend, I am making scarves to be used to honor some women who have helped serve by helping to launch a book. I recently made my granddaughter some American Girl Doll clothes. Emmy was so delighted. Needless to say, I am quite versed at sewing until it came to the other night when I was sewing with invisible thread. I bought the thread with no color so that while making the scarves I could sew the various flowers without having to have all the different colors of teal, pink, red, blue, rose, etc. Threading the needle with invisible thread challenges me to bring out the magnifying glass. The sewing of the flower and the cutting of the invisible tread only to have the machine eat the thread or become unthreaded. I knew the thread was there but I couldn’t see it. The process frustrating yet when finishing sewing the flowers beautifully sewn to the fabric making such wonderful scarves.

Just as I am gifting my time and talent in sewing, prayer is a language of love and a gift that we can give to friends, family, and yes, even strangers. [Tweet “God’s love is best express in prayer for those who are hurting.”]

Praying is a gift that is given anywhere and anytime. Do you have a special place to pray? Do you journal your prayers? Do you have a prayer list?

In Matthew 6: 9-13

“ ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ’

Jesus gives us this model prayer consisting of praise, and requests. Beloved, we need the Holy Spirit not only to convicts us and keep us on the straight and narrow, but to deliver us from temptation. Just as invisible thread finally worked for me we have an active Holy Spirit working for us in Romans 8:26

Tweet “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”]

Beloved, do not discount praying for someone as showing an act of love. Sometimes, prayer is the first and the last thing we should do.

Father God, thank you for your Son and the Holy Spirit. Thank you that you demonstrated your love that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Thank you that you have given us this language of prayer to talk to you and that you want to have a relationship with us. Lord your love for each of us is amazing. Help each of us to be faithful to our friends and strangers that need our prayers. Lord for those that are dealing with chronic illness give them strength to face each day and keep discouragement from beating them down. Lord for those dealing with a new diagnosis of cancer, let them trust in their tomorrows. Lord for those of us dealing with chronic pain let us have enough courage to greet each day and live with purpose. Lastly, thank you for Dr. Bengtson’s book, Hope Prevails releases on August 16. I personally ask that you make it a best seller and everyone that has an illness from depression will be helped from this book. In Jesus’ Name Amen.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13