Pray Without Ceasing

Last night before I went to bed I read the Daily Bread for the day. It was labeled the Five-Minute Rule. It went on to talk about a lady that would gather her family together 5 minutes before it was time to leave each day and they would pray together. The woman would pray for each one of her children by name, asking for the Lord's blessing on their day. The mother would even include neighborhood kids that would come over.

Prayer is a crucial part of our day and yet as each day goes I forget to take the time to do it. God wants to hear from us no matter what and he cares so much about us. All we have to do is call upon him and he will answer our every request. Now, I know that he may not answer the way I want always but he always answers us.

I experienced prayer in a wonderful way on Wednesday. I woke up with every intention of making it a great day. However, nothing seemed to be going right. Our door handle on the KIA broke and so we couldn't get in the door and it had to be fixed. Our other car's battery stopped working last week, and our dishwasher stopped working. We also had to have work done on our house due to some damage due to the snow/wind storms from November which cost quite a bit of money. The life of a homeowner, right?! Well, Ive been very frustrated since I lost my job, that extra income helped with the extra expenses of life.

I posted on Facebook, "Where is the restart button for today?" However, as the day would begin to unfold God's hand was present in my day. Not too long after I posted on facebook, my freshman roommate/friend from college sent me some of the most encouraging words that brightened my outlook and forced me to go to my knees in prayer.

Now, what I may say is very personal but I want to share because it is an example of God's amazing power and it shows the need for Him. After that email from a good friend, I emailed two of my cousins and shared the situation and asked for prayer from them because I felt so overwhelmed. After sending the email, I spent the next few hours in prayer specifically asking God to find a way for these things to be resolved. I spent some of the most intimate moments I have ever spent with Jesus in a long time even with my eyes open and while I was watching Addy. Addy probably thought, who is mommy talking to???

Not too long after this, I got a call from the State of MN indicating they were going to pay me unemployment(this was something that was very up in the air prior to the call because I was working from home doing work). The man on the other end said "I hope this helps you and your family and I normally don't call but knew you would want to know."

I could barely respond to the man, I was in tears. Immediately I called Ben and I could barely speak and Ben knew exactly what I was calling about...of course he said don't make me cry at work...hahahaha...I knew after that call that because of my prayers and the prayers of my cousins the Lord responded.

So God revealed to me on Wednesday that I need him more then ever...Even the small things like cars that don't work or dishwashers that don't work end up getting resolved and he cares about those small things.

Ben and I have truly been blessed that God has ALWAYS provided for us in every way possible. He has honored that we have wanted to raise Addy with me being able to stay home.

Imagine what God will do with the big things in life if I just pray to him more. It doesn't take a lot of time to pray, all we need to do is seek him throughout each day and know he is there for us whenever we need him.

Psalm 102
A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD.
1 Hear my prayer, LORD;
let my cry for help come to you.
2 Do not hide your face from me
when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
12 But you, LORD, sit enthroned forever;
your renown endures through all generations.
13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her;
the appointed time has come.
14 For her stones are dear to your servants;
her very dust moves them to pity.
15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion
and appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
he will not despise their plea.