Prayers for the Week – Jesus’ Family

¹The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. ²Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, ³and Judah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, ⁴and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, ⁵and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, ⁶and Jesse the father of David the king.
And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, ⁷and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, ⁸and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, ⁹and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, ¹⁰and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, ¹¹and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
¹²And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, ¹³and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, ¹⁴and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, ¹⁵and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, ¹⁶and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called Christ.
¹⁷So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Christ fourteen generations. ~ Matthew 1:1-17 (ESV)

My friends, welcome to this week’s Prayers for the Week post.  Today I thought a lot about how unique we all are, and that got me to thinking a bit about Jesus and His family tree.  So today, let’s talk about what some of those that came before Him, and compare their lives with some of the things we do sometimes.

• Judah unknowing slept with his daughter-in-law Tamar, producing the twins Perez and Zerah.
• Rahab was known as Rahab the Harlot before she helped the two spies.  One of them, Salmon, loved her, married her, and they produced Boaz.
• David was King — but he slept with his friend Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, and when she became pregnant with Solomon, had Uriah killed.
• Solomon had more wisdom than any man of his time or since — with the exception, perhaps, of Jesus.  However, Solomon turned from what God wanted of him, and the sad result of Solomon was that his kingdom was divided.
• Uzziah was made King of Judah at the age of 16, and rose greatly, because he walked with God. But later on, after he was strong, he turned away from God, and God struck him with Leprosy, and Uzziah died.

The point of all of this, my brothers and sisters in Christ, is to point out that the genealogy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, is littered with people that made mistakes — huge mistakes in some cases.  For some of them, they started their lives walking with God and turned away later, and for others, they started their lives walking away from God and turned toward Him later.  From my perspective, the big key for all of us is that we all make our own choices — choices to either follow God or to not follow Him.  The beauty of it all is that God is long-suffering, and He wants everyone to come to Him, and for all to be saved!

¹First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ²for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. ~ 1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)

So the ultimate question I have for all of us, whether we are Believer or non-Believer, is this:

“Will you choose to walk with God, or will you turn away from Him?”

The answer to that question will determine where you will spend Eternity. Choose wisely.  Now, please read along and pray with us our prayer requests and praises.

Prayer Requests and Praises

• We start off today with a prayer request for the family and friends of Officer Mumaw of the Nashville Police Department.  Here is what Shannan had on her page: These are the words of the Mayor: Our worst fears were realized today when Officer Mumaw was recovered deceased from the Cumberland River after having given his life to save a woman in distress. Officer Mumaw dedicated his life to the safety and protection of us all, and today he gave his life to that calling. My thoughts and prayers are with Officer Mumaw’s family and friends and all of our Metropolitan Nashville Police Department Officers today.
  I want to thank the men and women of our Metro Nashville Police Department and Nashville Fire Department, as well as the city of Hendersonville, Tennessee, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, and US Army Corps of Engineers who all came together this morning to assist in the search for Officer Mumaw.
  Updates: Our Metro Courthouse, Korean Veterans Bridge, and other buildings will be lit in blue this evening to honor Officer Mumaw. I have ordered all flags to half staff on all Metro buildings until further directed.
• Please pray for my friend Laurel — her mom is really sick. Here’s what she wrote: Please pray for my mom, Donna Potter. She is in the ICU with complications of her cancer.
• Jodi has this continuing prayer request: Please continue prayers for my FIL, who is recovering from a severe head injury. He fell/fainted(?) this morning. Checks out ok at doctor physically. He is still struggling very much with affects of this injury: cannot control emotions, is extremely impulsive, is very angry and frustrated, and is still being very mean to his wife (who has to keep reminding herself it is the injury talking). Please pray as he heals there are no long-term or permanent effects to his personality and that he has a full recovery. Thank you!
• Please pray for Early and her group as they head to Haiti for a medical mission trip. Also, praise for Early, her husband Chris, and their son Aidan, who is improving day by day in his environment!
• Please pray for Cindy’s co-worker Tommy. He has his heart surgery next Wednesday. Thanks!
• Lori has a prayer request: Please send Prayers up for my friend, Barb & her husband, Joe, and Joe’s father especially. Joe is wheelchair-bound with cystic fibrosis and is having to fly tomorrow (alone) to be with his father for surgery. Barb has to let him go on his own as they have 3 very, very special needs children at home that they adopted. God Bless them & their hearts!
• Please continue your prayers for our friend Tina in her recovery from surgery.
• Lynda has a prayer request: A work friend of mine and my company’s is undergoing a double mastectomy on Wednesday. Asking for lots of prayers.
  • Update: She had the surgery, please keep praying for her good recovery!
• Please continue praying for Amanda’s husband Daniel and their daughter Cate: My husband’s tumor indicators are still increasing after switching chemotherapy drugs. Please pray that this chemo at least stops the cancer from spreading and growing but better yet that God cures and heals him. Please pray for his emotional and spiritual well being as well. He’s taking it pretty hard even though it’s only one indicator and isn’t always correct. There are several new treatments coming in the next several months and we need to keep the cancer in check at least until then! Thank you all so much!
• As always, please pray for those requests that we don’t hear anything about.  The anonymous prayer requests are greater perhaps than the sands on a beach, but you know what? God knows the details of each and every one of them. He is that awesome and He loves us that much to care about the most mundane prayer requests we have.  So even if you don’t think you can ask us to pray for you, know that you can still ask God directly.

Remember, Jesus died on the Cross to pay the penalty for each of the sin that we all have.  His sacrifice for us tore the curtain that separated us from God, and now, we can pray to God because Jesus intercedes on our behalf.  Pray.  It’s as simple as that.  Prayer is simply talking to God, telling Him about what is going on in our lives.  Pray.

 

Now, please join with us in one voice as we pray the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray:

Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those that trespass against us.

Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom, and Power, and Glory
Forever and ever. Amen.

Source: Prayers for the Week

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