Wanted: Your prayers. REWARD!!

OK, so here's the deal. I know it's unorthodox and bordering on bribery to offer a reward for prayers, but that's exactly what I'm doing. God has placed it on my heart to start an online prayer meeting - right here, right now. I believe that prayer is powerful and alive, and that the prayers of God's people can work miracles in the lives of those being prayed for as well as those doing the praying. When I was little, my Grandma used to take me to church with her, and I will never forget the overwhelming presence of God I felt when it was prayer time. It wasn't like prayer time at my church, where the person in charge would lead the prayer as we all sat in silence, heads bowed, eyes closed. At Grandma's church, prayer was ALIVE. Everyone prayed at the same time, out loud, some softly and some very loudly, all different prayers and all different postures of worship - there were people kneeling, people with arms raised to heaven, eyes open, eyes closed, heads bowed and heads lifted, eyes filled with tears and eyes filled with joy, some closed and some open. It was wild, it was fierce, it was overwhelming, and it was powerful. Seeing prayer in that way helped me understand that there are many ways to pray and that when we sincerely lay our requests at the feet of our Lord, anything can happen.

So today, I call you to pray with me. Let's have an old-fashioned Pentecostal prayer meeting (how cool is it that we can do this online?!?). Let's gather together as one and lay these needs at His feet, asking Him to intervene and bring peace, hope, life, and health to those who need him so desperately. Your participation will earn you rewards greater than anything I can give you, but I'm throwing in a little something as well. Comment on this blog with your prayer - not a statement that you will pray or are praying, but your actual prayer - and you're entered to win a $50 gift card from Freddie Paul's. Share the link to this blog with your friends on Facebook or Twitter and tell them to mention you in their comment, and you'll earn an extra entry. As we get more prayers, I'll add more rewards to be announced when I do the random drawing tomorrow night (Saturday, 2/18) at 10pm. Here are the people I'm asking you to lift up, not identified by names but instead by letters and needs:

"A" needs prayer for patience, comfort, and strength as she cares for her husband whose Alzheimer's is worsening and making it difficult for her to care for him alone. She has multiple health issues herself and his disease is causing him to be very short-tempered, confused, and angry.

"B" just lost her 4-month-old baby to meningitis. Please pray that God will fill her with peace and comfort her broken heart as well as the hearts of her other children and fiance.

"C" and "D" are working to repair their broken marriage and their struggling financial situation. Pray that God will bless their faithfulness to their marriage and strengthen the bonds that hold them together, and that He will continue to provide for their financial needs.

"E" is in the midst of a custody battle with an abusive ex-husband. Please pray for the safety of her children and for wisdom for the judge who has to make some very tough decisions.

"F" has family members who regularly make it known that they reject Christ and his gift of salvation. Please pray with him that their hearts and minds can be opened to the joy he so desperately wants them to find.

"G" is grieving the loss of a close family member while struggling with depression, physical pain, anxiety attacks, and severe insomnia. Pray for healing in every way, physically and emotionally.

"H" was recently diagnosed with an unexplained enlarged lymph node as well as depression and is having daily tension headaches that are leading to frequent migraines. Please ask God to heal the unexplained medical issue and provide peace, strength, and joy as the depression medication begins to work.

"I" has invasive melanoma and had her second surgery today to remove it. It was deeper than they originally thought, so today's surgery also involved a skin graft. Please pray for her recovery.

Lord, today I lift each of these requests up to you. Every single one of them is for someone I love dearly, and yet I know that your love for them is greater than mine can ever be. Please bring healing, comfort, restoration, and joy to these friends who are hurting, and please also bless this prayer meeting you have called me to start. Please let those reading this post feel your presence and your power. Please break our hearts for the needs of others and lead us to surrender our own struggles into your hands. You are the One who can meet all our needs, our Provider, our Strength, our Comforter, our Everlasting Father, and we can do nothing without you. Thank you for giving us the technology to gather together even as we are in different places physically! Thank you for hearing our prayers and joining us all as one body, seeking you. We love you!

James 5:16 The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.