Praying Through

As word spread of my radiation treatments, the responses began to flood in – via E-mails, Facebook entries, Twitter posts, Cards, Telephone calls, Personal visits – everything from a simple, “Praying for you” to much more creative, imaginative expressions of support. One particular response caught my attention. “We’re praying you through,” a friend wrote. It caused me to remember what God said to His promised people, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned” (Isaiah 43:1-2). My collection of words comes up short when I try to explain what it feels like to pass through six weeks of five-day-a-week radiation treatments. Whether the cancer is severe or as simple as mine, words fail one in a time like this. What I find myself needing, perhaps as much as anything else, is accompaniment on the journey. As expressed in an earlier edition of “Manna,” I know God is with me. Beyond that, it really helps to know friends are with me also, praying me through. Have you prayed anyone through lately?

Join me this week in remembering the following global concerns:
• This year, Thanksgiving and Hanukkah fall during the same week. Pray for Mary and others who seek to use this combination for ministry to friends and neighbors.
• Pray for Tommy and Beth as they participate in a prayer/planning retreat on November 20-21 for the ministry in Peru.
• Continue to pray for relief efforts in Tacloban, Philippines and the surrounding areas.
• Pray for Jim and Charlotte as they work on the OneStory project of scripture memory, and Bible stories in Campinas, Brazil.
• Pray for Howard Payne University students serving in Poland this week.