I said earlier that I would post a list of prayer requests. I believe strongly in the power of prayer, even more after this past week of training. It is a comfort to know that there are prayer warriors petitioning the Lord on my behalf all over. The Lord delights in providing for his children, in rewarding their faith when they ask for something.
This past week, my team, Team Shemah, went to a restaurant for lunch and met a woman who was our waitress. I think her name was Vicki, and Elizabeth at one point stopped her and asked her if there was anything we could offer up in prayer for her.
“Thank you, but I really don’t think there’s anything. I mean, I am thankful for what I have. My pastor once told me that when we start asking the Lord for things – help me with my house payment Lord; get me through this day, Lord – that is when he starts taking things from us.”
We all found this curious, and it started an interesting conversation among us. Loren and Sarah, before leaving, went and spoke with her, offering her the nice tip we had all left her. Our intentions were to give her something out of the ordinary, so that she could treat herself to something she might not normally have, to be blessed and be able to thank God for it.
I think I understand where Vicki was coming from. Sometimes we get caught up in things that we “need,” and we ask God for them, only to find him take them from us to teach us that they are not things we really need in the first place. But I also believe that God grins wide when we ask him for something and he blesses us with it. John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we might be called children of God!”
So here are some requests that I pray the Lord sees fit to lavish upon me, and I hope you will pray with me.
- I pray for peace of mind regarding my support raising. At training camp, we declared together that the Lord is greater than our financial situations, and that he will provide in his own time and in the way he sees fit to provide. Pray that I might have the faith to wait for that timing.
- I am getting my first round of vaccinations tomorrow. There are always risks when getting live-virus vaccines, however small, so pray that I might not feel the effect of any of them and will be able to work and function normally after receiving them.
- Speaking of vaccines, God has blessed me with insurance that will (hopefully) reimburse me for the cost of the vaccines, which I will pay up front. Pray that the process of being reimbursed goes smoothly, and that we would have patience with our provider through that process.
- AIM has strongly suggested that I take a camera with me on the Race, and this is not something I have ever purchased. I also have the desire to make some documentary-style videos of the places I go with that camera, so pray that the Lord would provide one or the funds for one if that is something he desires me to pursue.
- Finally, pray with me that God would continue to work in me the things he has begun so recently: that I would embrace my role in leadership as the leader of Team Shemah; that I would act and speak with boldness in the times that God calls me to speak for him; that I would not fear the opinions of man as I pursue God’s will for me each day; and that I would reject the lie that to be the hands and feet of God I must be a “perfect” person. These are places of growth heavy on my heart at this time.
I bless all of you for your prayers. May God Bless You Richly as he has blessed me.
Peter
