"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people."
Ephesians 6:18, NIV
I will confess, that in my attempt to avoid slothly behavior yesterday, I failed to take on the work before me of properly responding with prayer to a couple of messages about my family in the area affected by the storm. Don't get me wrong, though, I did pray for them. But the response of "Yes, I'll pray" is an important one... and it is one I forgot to give.
This real world example, delivered from me to me yesterday, is exactly why we must remain vigilant at all times. The failure to communicate on my behalf turned into an argument, and that was not only unnecessary, but 100% avoidable. All I had to do was say, "I'll do it," and that was (apparently) too difficult for me.
Here's the inside scoop, though, folks: it wasn't too difficult. I was lazy. I assumed that it was understood that of course, I will certainly pray for them. I assume that far too often. It's like the assumption that someone knows that you love them, and so you choose not to say it, because they should know that. Sometimes, friends, those words are exactly what you should say in the most powerful and vulnerable moments, so that trust and deep, abiding love can be forged and strengthened. You have to say it (yes, I'm talking to me more than I'm talking to any of you), and you have to mean it.
It is in this spirit of vulnerability that I will ask forgiveness openly, admitting before the world that I failed in my own teachings and following my own advice, and I will ask that all of you join me in prayer for the family I have in the affected area. I will also ask that you pray for all the people in the area being hit by this super-storm.
I went through Katrina's aftermath; I watched what Rita did to the city I was born in, as well as the city I moved to and grew up in. There will be work for the Lord's people following Sandy, just as there was for all the other major storms. And as the levee system has now apparently failed in Bergen County, New Jersey (once home to a favorite DCI World Class Corps, the Cadets), there will be flood damage and repair that is needed in many, many areas... and many, many lives. This work will be physical, and it will be emotional, and it will, most importantly, be spiritual.
Please take a moment to join me in prayer for these people, those I know and those I don't, and lift up the saints in the Northeast. Seek God's protection and provision for them all, and know that as you pray, you are resisting the impulse to let someone else do it. Know that in that resistance, you are resisting the devil, and he will have no choice but to flee from you. Know that as you pray, you should pray with fervor and power, not having a spirit of timidity, but claiming the peace that only Christ can bring.
In short: pray.
God bless you all!!! (And I love you, Mom!)
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