The events of the past 2 months have not only affected me, but things have occurred in the lives of my friends who have needed prayer. I realized in the midst of these trials and tests, it's such an advantage to have friends who encourage you and pray with you and for you. I was going through a situation that began at the end of October and one of my friends jumped right in and offered to pray with me every morning. When she offered this to me, I was thankful, but I didn't realize at the time how powerful this would be in my life. We would talk every morning and share our prayer requests with each other then take turns praying. Times when we wouldn't be able to connect in the mornings, I would still find myself praying for whatever her requests were from the day before and lifting up my own petitions to God.
I experienced a lot of things in the month of November that without prayer could have left me bitter, broken, and discouraged. I look back over these events and just evaluate how amazing it is that I came out of it with such a positive outlook and a renewed spirit. One of of these experiences left a lasting impression on my heart because I had a chance to thoroughly evaluate myself and learn from the experience.
Life lessons are so profound because the test comes first and the lesson comes afterwards. Everyone isn't always open to the lesson, but when you open your mind and heart to trying to find the blessing in every lesson, it's amazing!
December has been a month of me getting down on my knees and carrying friends through tough times. I realized how important it is to be there for a friend and really pray for them when you say you will. I must admit I used to be guilty of offering those sweet words "I'll be praying for you" and then I'd go about my way and totally forget to pray for that person. I would even forget what I said I would pray about. I had to check myself and realize I was only saying what sounded good, but wasn't following through with an action that would be so beneficial to a friend in need. Prayers are free and God desires for us to cast our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7).
Be blessed!
There is no better friend than a praying friend! It's something that I take so seriously. It bothers me when people say "I'll pray for you" or "Ypu're n prayers" when they have no intentions of doing it. Prayer is a powerful and humbling opportunity. Thank God fore the ability to pray!
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