Prayer is Where the Action is : Saturday Vespers

                                                    

Prayer is Where the Action is - John Wesley

Does God see? Does God care? Scripture calls us to believe that God really does see, know, and hear. The question is do we call? 

Today, we thank God for the recovery of your servant in Australia, in India and those who were sick and needed your intervention. 

Today we request you, our readers, for prayers for all these people. We do not know them nor they us. Yet we believe, your prayers will help them and give them hope: 

Brandi says -

Can you please pray for God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Mother Mary, The Angelic Hierarchy, The Saints, all those that help us, me (Brandi), my family and my friends. WE are going through a very challenging time right now and could really use your prayers. Thank you!

Tanu Prays - 

Heavenly Father I come before you praying for resources and money to build our family home, I pray for your blessings and favor, remember me and my family in a special and mighty way, for it’s in the mighty name of our Lord Jesus Christ that I do pray believing and trusting Amen.

We pray for the wellness of the senior citizens in India -One with a severe back problem to give her strength and patience as well as relief from the pain; we also pray for a lady suffering from Parkinsons for relief as well as strength and patience to her caregiver daughter,

We pray for retired Pastor Benjamin in India for support as he and his daughter go through a very challenging time with his home breaking down and no finance to repair. We pray that efforts to organize financial support for them bears fruit.

We Pray for a Pastor's wife - diagnosed with stage IV cancer, she is in great pain and the family is heartbroken. We pray for relief from her pain, strength for the family and the greatest healer to visit her. 

Anna Prays - 

Divine peace for Renzo and Robin. The attack is from the pits of hell and I bind it in the Name of Jesus. Divine intervention and peace and love . Amen and Amen

Dr. Moreland requests prayer for Mike who is facing cancer surgery. 

We pray for Aaliyah who says- 

I just started university three weeks ago. I've been struggling mentally being away from home and feeling overwhelmed with the people I'm around. I've been disconnected from god for a while now and want to change that. I've had depression before, and I feel it coming back. I just want my semester to be filled with happy moments and not let my depression win.

Jason asks "Please pray for my Daughter who either has the Stomach virus or food poisoning".

Someone asks - Please storm heaven's gates for complete healing for my husband, father, and mother! Please pray for protection and Godly friends for my children. I pray all petitions on this board are heard and answered by God. I also pray especially for those struggling with mental illness and their families. May they have peace.

Please pray for all these and other needs you may know of. 

 

Street Food and Hunger: A Short Story

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:26

God works. And He does not do things with a wave of a magic wand, but through people like you and me. We all can be used for good, in some way, big or small.

Let me relate a short story of a simple act of kindness and love, which I happened to have witnessed.

"Every place in the world has two common things: street food and hunger.

One day, a person, call him X (since I do not know his name), saw some enticing street food being cooked. It was a rainy day and the smell of the food, hot on the stove, was more than he could resist. He walked over to get some packed for himself. As he was waiting with the rest of the customers, he noticed a small girl, maybe 6 or 8 years old, dirty, filthy and obviously hungry. She went from person to person begging for some food. Most people ignored her; the shop worker scolded her half heartedly; he had seen enough hungry folks to know she was ravenous.

One customer broke off a morsel of her food and offered it to the girl who politely refused.

The little girl waited for a while, maybe in hope, but then finally gave up, resigned to her fate. She went to the water stand and drank lots of water filling her stomach. Water was free. 

Seeing all this, this gentleman X who had had his food packed, was moved enough to pay for a plate of food and told the shop worker to give it to her. The worker, himself poor, showed his happiness. He did not wait to be thanked. He simply walked away.

When we witness such acts of unselfishness, caring and love, regardless of how someone is -  dressed or filthy, we realize that that God in Heaven is looking down at each one of the 8 Billion people in this world, to care and to provide. Such acts of humility and empathy prove that God has still not given up on man. God has not given up on me.

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” — Mahatma Gandhi.

Quotable Quotes

We have often said a single quote can teach us more than a sermon. Today's quotes are on the theme of faith -

"It is not the magnitude of our actions but the amount of love that is put into them that matters." - Mother Teresa

"Faith is the strength by which a shattered world shall emerge into the light." - Helen Keller

"It is this belief in a power larger than myself and other than myself which allows me to venture into the unknown and even the unknowable." - Maya Angelou

"What is to give light must endure the burning."

- Eleanor Roosevelt

"In God's eyes our words have only the value of our actions." - St. Ignatius Loyola

"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"What does the Lord require?

Only to act justly

and to love mercy,

and to walk humbly with your God." - Micah 6:8

"Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark." - Rabindranath Tagore

"Each activity of daily life in which we stretch ourselves on behalf of others is a prayer in action." - Richard J. Foster

God has not called me to be successful; God has called me to be faithful." - Mother Teresa

"Prayer is nothing else than being on terms of friendship with God." - St. Teresa of Avila

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe." - Voltaire

Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation." - D. Elton Trueblood

As you practice counting your blessings, you will find that your faith is being suddenly revitalized." - Robert Schuller

“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” - Corrie ten Boom

"Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want. It is the belief that God will do what is right." - Max Lucado