A NEW DAY 0F PRAYER
Going along with my call to prayer, I have decided to write a prayer to begin my day with. I have had some excellent instruction in prayer beginning with my sweet grandmother, Eunice Jernigan Gillis of Brewton, Alabama. Whenever she came to visit she slept with my sister and me in our big king-sized bed. After we all bathed together (a joyous time with lots of laughter and giggles), we climbed into the bed and waited for her to rub down with Ben Gay and take her teeth out and put them into the little container I had given her personalized with "MUDDIN'S LITTLE CHOMPERS." And then she would begin to pray.She always began with the President, something I wondered about then, but appreciate now. The security of our country was important to her. My grandfather was killed when the chains on a log truck broke leaving her with five children 13 (my mother) to 6 months old. Those were depression years and times were hard. He had served in the Mexican conflict and then later in World War I. The President was Commander in Chief, one who needed our prayers, and she certainly did so. The prayers continued for those in his service, but more of a blanket covering, and then down to the state. Our governor was prayed for. Then came every child, grandchild, niece and nephew, followed by friends, the sick and suffering.
I must admit that I did not stay awake for the whole thing. And that may have been a part of the method. You must stay still and quiet during prayer and before long we were sound asleep.
My mother had us kneel beside the bed to say our prayers. I did the same with my own children. We sat on the floor beside the bed first. There we would read a book (Berenstein Bears were a favorite, Miss Twiggly's Tree, The Muffin Twins, another, and I read the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to them as well). Then we said our prayers. That was our nightly ritual. The girls sat quietly. Our son, the middle child, climbed over my shoulders onto the bed, down on the other side, up and down throughout the entire process, listening all the time.
Perhaps the most memorable prayer I ever heard was at a prayer breakfast at a black church that I attended when running for the school board. An old gentleman, bent and grey-headed, prayed:
Lord thank you that I woke up this morning
That I had eyes to see,
That I sat up on the bed and could put my feets to the floor,
That I had shoes to put on my feets,
That I had strength to stand
That I had a church to come to
That I had friends
That I could eat breakfast here with those friends
And make new friends.
He went on thanking God for the things we most often take for granted. My husband and I were moved and constantly remind ourselves not to forget to be grateful for ALL of our blessings.
I also had a wonderful Sunday School Teacher (many, truly wonderful Sunday School teachers, but one in particular) in Pat McClendon at First Baptist in Dothan. She was a true prayer warrior. She taught us how to pray. "Imagine," she said, "that Jesus is sitting in the chair opposite you and you are talking directly to Him."
Sarah Gene Johnston was another prayer warrior God granted to me as a friend. She wrote the names of those she prayed for on index cards that she stacked next to her chair. Every day she prayed for those people and marked them when the prayers were answered. Not everyone in that hefty pile got prayed for every day, but by the end of the week, I am assured everyone did get prayed for.
She also had the gift of hospitality, inviting people in for lunch at her very modest little home. And there, together, they would also pray. I am reminded of the Clapham Sect I told you about in one of my previous posts. The world needs more of this.
Jesus instructed us to pray:
Matthew 6:1-13
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5 ¶And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
6 But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
7 But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.
8 Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
This has been our warm up for the rest of our praying. Our eyes are focused and our senses centered on our Lord and Savior.
I learned from the most ardent of prayer warriors that we should be specific in what we pray for, that the prayers of the righteous will be heard and answered, and that it is our obligation to our Lord to pray because he longs to have a relationship with us.
So, I will continue my prayer and hope you will share this part with me ....
Father God, our nation is under assault by the enemy. We need your presence in our lives and your mantle of protection over our leaders. Grant our President wisdom, guide him with your presence, please set your angels about him and his family to shield and protect him, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren. Grant him advisors who are loyal to him and guided by You. Please set Your angels about them and their families. Thank you, Lord for his godly Vice President who has given our president his uplifting prayers and advice as they work together with our Congress to do Your will in our land. I ask for angels wings to cover them and protect them from the assault of the enemy. Give them spiritual advisors to encourage and exhort them. Grant our Congress a spirit of purpose and co-operation so that our people in our land can prosper. Open the hearts and minds of world leaders and fellow Americans to Your Words and Your Guidance.
Set your angels about the schools of our lands that have been so seriously under assault. Grant our little children opportunities to learn outside of the indoctrination of agnostics, mystics, revolutionaries and spiritualists who have gained access through our schools and its curriculum to the hearts and minds of our children. Protect Betsy Devos as she battles not only establishment education but those of the spiritual realm who want to defeat her in freeing our children. Please send her an army of supporters and cast the blinders from the eyes who have refused to see. Guard her family.
Give us all the courage to do what is right and to seek your Will and your Presence in our lives.
From here I will go on to my own family and friends in my own life as I urge you to do with yours.
I pray that God will set his angels about all who heed this call, because whenever you step out to fight for what is right, you will come under assault. So, "take heed where ye stand, lest ye fall."
God bless you all, my friends. Remember: "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
God bless you all, my friends. Remember: "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world."
