14I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. ~ Psalm 139:14 (ESV)
Hello my friends, and welcome to this week’s Prayers for the Week post. This week, we’re focusing on how God has created us. Most of our prayer requests revolve around things that our Brothers and Sisters-in-Christ are going through, so it’s important to remember that God made us. Also, I think it is important to remember that God knows us all, even if we aren’t taking the time to know Him in return, and that He has plans for us. Let’s remember the wonderful verse to be found in Jeremiah 29:11 in both picture in text:
11For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. ~ Jeremiah 29:11 (ESV)
My friends, we are human, and many times we don’t know why things happen to those we love. Why does my Mom have breast cancer? Why does Cindy’s Aunt Carol have breast cancer? Why do other people we know have such serious illnesses? We don’t know why. What I know, though, is that it is in times like this that we must turn to God for the support we need. Our strength is nothing — the strength I have is all because of God. If you are struggling, if you are hurting, if you are scared or lonely or afraid, I urge you to give your fears up to God. He will care for you, He longs for you to turn to Him. He will give you Peace, but you need to ask Him for it. Now, please read along and pray with us for the rest of our Prayer Requests and Praises.
Prayer Requests and Praises…
- Please pray for my friend Janice. She has been undergoing a huge assortment of tests, and today found out that her illness is Graves Disease. Please pray for her recovery, treatment, Peace, Comfort, Strength, and her medical team as they work on beating this disease.
- My friend Jodi has a prayer request for us. Here is what she wrote:Can you please add my friend Laura to your prayer list this week? Her brother Todd, to whom she’s always been extremely close, has been fighting cancer. They learned yesterday it has spread to his brain. He has been sent home with hospice care. Todd is Laura’s son’s favorite uncle, and this is very hard on him too (Sam, age 9). Thank you!Please pray with me:
Heavenly Father, we hear daily of struggles that people are going through with that horrific disease — cancer. We really are at a loss to understand how these things invade the lives of Your people, but we also know that You have a plan for all of us. We take heart in Your Words from the book of Jeremiah: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” So we know that, despite the disease that Todd is fighting, we know that his life has a purpose, and it is a purpose that You have written for him. Please be with Todd, with his sister Laura, with her son Sam, and with all of their family. Please give Todd the Peace, the Strength, the Comfort, the Love that he needs. Please be with all of them and enfold them in Your Loving embrace so that they would know You are with them. Also, Lord, if it is Your Will, Lord, we pray for healing for Todd. Show us Your Power, Your Glory, and show us that all the medicine in the world means nothing when compared to what You can do. We ask all of these things in the wonderful name of Your Son Jesus with Thanksgiving. Amen
- Please continue to pray for my Mom, Ellen, who has breast cancer. She had some tests done, and it cleared up some things that they needed to know, so that was good news. Thanks!
- Please pray for Cindy’s Aunt Carol. She has been fighting breast cancer for a long time now, and is doing well, but when she gets her treatments it wears her out for a day or two, so please pray for her strength during these treatments.
- Please pray for my sister Robin — she starts her new job on Monday! Please pray that she would be the light in her classroom that her students need, and that this experience is everything that she hopes it is and then some!
- Please give great Praise to God for Nora, the newborn daughter of friends of mine. She was born on the 5th, and all the family is doing well, so please give praise to God for all of that!
- Please pray for the recovery of my friend Elise. She had successful surgery and is now back home and is recovering. Please pray that she would have great healing and that her family can rest easily from now on out! Please pray for Elise, her husband Randy, and their two wonderful children. Thanks!
If you have a prayer request, please do not hesitate to leave it with us as a comment. We pray for all of you, and if you need prayers, we are here for you. Thank you all for praying for these requests! Now, please close with me by praying the prayer that Jesus taught His Disciples to pray:
Our Father, who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by 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 who trespass against us.
Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory forever and ever.
My friend Jeff needs some prayers, please. Here is what he wrote on Facebook:
Everyone please say a prayer for my Mamaw Davis this morning. She fell and broke her hip this morning and is currently headed into surgery. She’s 94 years old, but a very strong woman. Much stronger than I ever will be. There is always a risk involved of course, but she needs all of your prayers to pull through this.
Please pray for his Mamaw’s healing as she goes through this. Thanks everyone!
My friend Natalie has a prayer request. Here is what she wrote:
I am asking all my friends to remember my cousin when you pray. This is going to be a very hard surgery with a VERY long recovery. I plan to love her through it all and be by her side for the surgery. So, whisper a prayer for her family as well. She has been blessed with an amazing husband that loves her to the moon and back. She also has a 10 year old little girl that deserves to have a healthy mommy.
The context of that prayer is her cousin, who wrote this on Facebook:
With a bitersweet feeling I want to share a somewhat thankful yet somewhat scared announcement! Most of my closet friends and family know that I’ve battled severe debilitating bouts of pancreatitis that have escalated to the point of worrying whether I’m going to make it or not while still clinging to the faith My Lord and Savior holds me in the palm of his hands. … For those who are not familiar with pancreatitis it many cases it is not linked with alcohol abuse or chemical exposures, more times than known until so severe and investigated deeply pancreatitis is found to be genetically inherited. I found out just recently after extensive testing by a team of specialist that is the case with me also discovered that I as well have a pancreas birth defect that in itself puts my body in a struggle that keeps me very sick and that combined w the genetics is more than one can imagine to handle. … With years of high labs, near fatal lapses and close calls w the knowledge of the reasons and where it developed from they were able to determine my risk for pancreatic cancer is not only a risk but most definite. With all that being said a date has been set for my TP/AIT to remove my pancreas and to transplant the cells that will keep me alive. So within the next couple of months I will be having this surgery although very extensive and very scary, I am at peace that this will lengthen my time on earth. … I hope to be a voice of inspiration to some and to share my battle so that those who feel without hope may find some. Prayers are asked in advance for the days to come for me and my family and thanked for most indefinitely from the bottom of my heart…. Warmly, Tyra
Please pray for her healing, and for all of their strength, comfort, love, support, and most importantly, peace. Thanks everyone!
The Brackbill family in Pennsylvania is in need of your prayers. They have recently learned that their daughter, Tori, has Infantile Krabbe’s Disease. The average life expectancy is 2 years, and there is no cure. Please pray boldly for a cure, for healing for Tori, for God to perform a miracle and show all of us that He is in charge, and that He can do anything!
Most of all, though, pray for God’s Peace, Comfort, Strength, and Love to descend upon all of them. Thank you. If you want to read their post, click here.