Week 7 A more effective prayer pattern

It seems better to say Week 7! Kind of a reprieve that there is still so much ahead!

Its not that it has been a slow start. Far from it! There has been lots on - and perhaps it has been trying to get back into a rhythm of being still has been hard. I know each of you have had serious stuff on - and my life is MUCH less crowded in many ways - and I have still been struggling with time.

Lovely thing though has been my prayer life. I have been seriously frustrated over the last 12 months with a horrible sleeping pattern. I wake after between 4 and 5 hours (too early to go down to church for prayer) and then after a couple of hours tossing and turning - sleep til after 7! I would love to do the 'early to bed, early to rise' thing - I am a morning person - but the last 12 months have put paid to that. So now - I just use that awake time for prayer. I maintain a list of people to pray for and find that I am able to just lift them in prayer during my awake time. So tossing and turning is no more! I find I am wide awake and able to be focussed on intercessory prayer! That has left my other prayer times for more personal things. So it has let me ADD intercessory prayer without trying to cram my 'one on one time with God' with requests.

So I am learning that having different sorts of 'serious' prayer times might be good for me. I have always tended to have the 'immediate family' members as ad hoc prayers during the day. That was fine when I was ironing clothing and I could pray for each as I was doing their clothes - but now I think I have been a tad slack with my children since they have been away from home. So I might look at creating a further intercessory space in my day for family and being much more focussed in that too.

I HAVE to say that God has been amazing in answering prayer during the last week. A youngster - nephew of a woman I sat next to at craft - had been in a coma for 9 days (after falling from a balcony and cracking his head on a rock), had fluid building up in the lungs... it was not looking good when she told me about it. A number of people in the church started praying - Day 11 he awoke and seems to have suffered no damage. The lungs are OK although there is some infection picked up in ICU! A miracle! The woman saw me at craft and just hugged me - the family is so overjoyed - and she is convinced that it was a result of prayer! I think there was some church background in the family - but not necessarily of the kind that was given to spontaneous prayer and trusting God - so I am full of thanksgiving!

The small intercessors group at church is faithful and there is more happening there... so I am glad to be part of that.

Tough side... we had Lara and Dans engagement party here last Saturday night. I was full of confusion in all sorts of areas - part of which was the feast! Yes - it was necessary to be celebratory for her on one hand - and then on the other - the whole thing of who you throw feasts for was nagging me and it was not the only thing! I had so many mixed feelings about it all that I suddenly realised I have NOT been praying about it specifically! Better late than never - I think Friday night I was actually praying about the evening. We had a lovely night - and I was glad to meet so many of Lari's friends. Nice people. I am also giving thanks for that night. I was so fraught with concerns. He relieved me of many!