Pray for Me

So many things have been racing through my head lately.  There are so many thoughts invading.  Some might mistake these preoccupations with worry or a lack of peace, but I wouldn’t call it that.  I would call it an awareness of the molding and shaping that is going on in my heart.

 It seems that over the past two or three days right and left God has been revealing to me and reminding me of the things that He has planned for my life.  It is a bit overwhelming in a good way to know that my Creator believes in the woman He created me to be.  On the other hand, reality is starting to hit that I am no longer a child looking dreamily into the sunset.  Obedience is easy when it is somewhere in the future, and anything is possible when it is not happening right now.  When the rubber hits the road and it comes time to muster the courage I imagined somewhere deep inside, I discover that I cannot do all this alone.

I was listening to Francis Chan the other day, and he was talking about how much every Christian needs the body of Christ to encourage and strengthen  him.  Even the apostle Paul who was known for his fearlessness in the face of preaching, torture, and death asked the churches in his letters to pray for him that he might have sufficient courage to preach the Word of God with boldness.  It’s hard to imagine someone like him ever being afraid.  I have a hard time picturing Paul weak.  However, I have come to understand that even the most outstanding people of faith have moments when they crumble, things that they are afraid of, and obstacles that they must overcome.

There are some things coming up in my life that are going to be very challenging.  Even this is only a step in the journey, and there are many more to come.  As these things draw closer, my heart has been beating a little faster.  I am incredibly excited because I know that I am following God’s leading.  However, I am also terrified because I know that I am in over my head.  I desperately need the encouragement of my brothers and sisters in Christ in order to follow through with all that is being asked of me.  I need help to trust Him.  I need to know that those around me believe in the woman that God is creating me to be.

I am so good at being alone.  I grew up as an only child.  I am an introvert.  I have perfected the art of doing things by myself.  I am incredibly independent and self-sufficient when it comes to most things in life.  I think this is why it is so difficult for me to grab hold of this lesson that I need other people in my life.  I don’t know how to ask for it.  I don’t know how to be open with other people.  It doesn’t feel natural to me, yet it is something I long for constantly.

I have a pen pal in Indiana.  She is a lady in her early 60’s that I met a few years ago working at one of my ministry excursions.  We have kept in contact through mail all these years, encouraging each other in the faith and sharing the things that we are learning and discovering in our journeys.  Today I received a letter from her, and it wasn’t ten minutes later that I was writing her back.  There was one thing that I desperately needed to ask her.  It was the very thing that Paul asked the churches:  “please pray for me that I might have sufficient courage to do all that God is asking of me with boldness.”  I have come to realize the past couple days that this is all too much for me to handle alone.  And I am so tired of being alone.

So, my brothers and sisters in Christ that are reading this right now, I would ask the same of you:  please pray for me.  Pray that God would give me sufficient courage.  Pray that He would grant me boldness.  Pray that I would not back down to the great fear I fight every day.  Pray that the attacks of the Enemy won’t leave me defeated.  It feels so selfish to write that, but I have come to realize that I am not strong enough.  I am not brave enough.  I tremble like jell-o in the face of God’s plan.  I melt like Flubber when I think about what is to come.  Bad analogy, I know...but you know what I’m talking about.  I need the encouragement.  I need the support.  I need you.

What is it in your life that you cannot face alone?  Ask your brothers and sisters in faith to pray for you.  Ask them to stand by you in encouragement.  What if the Body of Christ really can be all that it is meant to be?  Each one of us is a part of it.  When one part suffers, we all suffer.  When one part rejoices, we all rejoice.  Let’s support each other and let’s do this thing...together!