Prayer requests

We've talked many times here on the study blog about prayer. I know that many have requested prayer. Many have prayed alongside those who are across the globe from them. The miles vanish as we join in asking God for our requests.
Prayer is not a ritual; it doesn't depend on our closing our eyes. We don't have to kneel. We don't even have to sit down.
Just like Nehemiah, we can pray while walking, working, or driving (well, Nehemiah would have been riding his horse, but you get my drift!). God responds to a two word cry for help in the middle of a busy afternoon -- just like He does to a focused prayer time after we read and consider a scripture passage. Prayer especially does NOT have to be complicated. Our Father is delighted in any simple words that we offer up to Him.

In the past, we've heard from prayer warriors who are lifting up loved ones who need the healing touch of the Great Physician's hand. We have prayed alongside blog readers who are dealing with health issues themselves. I'm humbled to be one of those who contend with the devil and his minions in defense of other believers - I'm blessed at this point in my life to have good health.

I'd like to ask you today, are you facing a difficult disease, an illness or condition, and want to cry out to God for healing? Do you feel a little bit unsettled, scared, or unsure? There are so many verses about prayer in our Bible -- and so many that assure us of our Father's love, His compassion, and His power to change things in our lives. The Bible tells us that through prayer, God can speak to us; He can use us to work miracles for His glory. And it tells us, too, that sometimes His answer is "no," or "wait." It's those times that we need to ask Him, "what are you working to accomplish in my life?"

I'm praying these days for my own mother, as I pray for some of you and your family members. My mother's lymphoma was paused by some infusions, but it has returned. She is unwilling to tell me much about her condition, but our Father knows, and I'm asking Him to work in her life and in my own.  When we pray and come to God completely surrendered, and we're expectant to let His Spirit work in and through us, we can rest assured that His plan to prosper us, and to give us a hope and a future, will be completed. Perhaps by a miraculous healing. Perhaps in other ways. Perhaps through our loved one going to be with Him. That's a difficult thing for our minds to wrap around. I know. I know. It is.
I wondered if the thoughts I have written below might be helpful to anyone . . . I offer them with the prayer that they will bless someone who reads them.

Father, you know us so well. You created me and the person I'm praying for. You know the number of hairs that we have on our heads! Your Word tells me that You even know my thoughts before I ever open my mouth to speak.  Lord, You said for us to come to You and ask for the needs of our lives, and I know that only You have the final word on the number of years we will live and serve You here on this earth.
Father, I'm coming to You today as Your child. I'm longing to hear from You and to see Your divine healing. There's a lot that I don't understand -- there's a lot that I just accept with faith. But I know that in the Bible, I read that with one touch, or one word, You can make the person I'm praying for whole. Please, Lord, forgive me of my sins and begin the healing process from the inside of me, and work outward to the loved one I pray for.
Father, I don't know what Your will is for my loved one. I'm just desperately seeking Your face because my heart is hurting for them. I'm not going to make promises or bargains in exchange for healing. I'm simply bowing before You so that I can tell you the desire of my heart - I want my loved one (just like I want this for myself) to have as many years on earth as possible, to love You and to love others, and to become more like You. It doesn't matter to me how you choose to accomplish it. If You use doctors to provide the healing, then please give them wisdom -- and bring someone like me into their lives to tell them they are Your instruments. If You use prayer, and the doctors are shocked by the improvement, please give me the courage to witness to them in Your name. And if You choose to bring my loved one home to heaven, You will still deserve all the praise and glory that I can give You.
Thank you, thank you Lord, for all of the blessings You have given me.
Amen.

I hope that if you have a prayer request, you will feel free to share it here. It's an honor to pray alongside you.