The praise and prayer requests were mixed together today but I always like to put them first. He has been so good to us. Kim praises the Lord for answering her prayers for a customer who got a serious infection that did not respond to antibiotics and is now well enough to be back out and about. Pam praises God that she is able to do the physical activities she needs to in order to keep her expenses down. Teresa is just thankful to get up in the morning and be here. We all owe that to the grace of God.
Pastor David asks prayer for his friend Mert and his wife Fran. Fran has an incurable form of cancer and Mert may have his own health problems that he is putting on hold until his wife is cared for. He brought us a good report on Arvella who is doing well today, so Dede was able to be with us. He offer a special thanks for and to Sandra for all that she is doing to help Kelley and other members of our church. We are in hearty agreement. She was out today with a headache. Pray for Richard and family. He seems to be better now but it appeared that he would have to go in to the hospital with chest pains yesterday. Remember to pray for Sammy's surgery coming up this month on the 14th to remove a blood clot.
Ruth brings a request from Lupe for her aunt and uncle Flores. The uncle has cancer and the aunt is suffering from Alzheimer's. Priscilla needs the comfort of the Holy spirit after a long week and a reminder of the suffering her sister went through before going to be with Jesus. Keep praying for her parents. Their health continues to deteriorate but they have decided that they can't move closer where she would be able to care for them. Don asks that we pray for a the family of a coworker friend of his named Dan. Dan is no longer with us. He asks that we pray for Brenda's brother who is suffering the consequences of poor choices due to alcoholism. Chuck is now in chemotherapy and appears to have an infection in or around his eye. Pray for his recovery and for peace and strength for both Chuck and Sarah.
Sometimes it seems as if the world is collapsing around us, and someday it indeed will. When the pain is personal there are no words that suffice to relieve it. At these times all we can do is to trust God. This too will ring hollow until the depth of his care and mercy are revealed to us. Sometimes the hard times are what it takes for us to get there. What Pastor David said during our prayer request time today is true. If you will take your mind off of your own pain and try to help someone else, you will find that works better to heal than all the empty words in the world. Pray for the Lord to touch your heart this week as you consider these needs. How can you be a comfort for someone else? How can you be an answer to their prayer? Let God show you what He can do if you only open your heart.
