She sat in Bible Study each week in small group looking at the note
card before her. As everyone around her diligently scribbled prayer
requests and praises, she sat and stared at a blank note card. 6 blank note
cards proof of her not asking for prayer were in the front of her Bible
in the form of blank note cards representing the 6 weeks she had attended that Bible Study.
That day was the last day of the study and she determined never to
go back. No one understood her and no one cared. Yes, the women sat with her
and commented to her how great the teaching time was, but no one ever asked her
why she did not share in group or fill out a note card for prayer. Or ask
her why she did not return the leader's calls or texts or even emails to see
how she was doing.
So, she
left that day. Never to return to Bible Study. She did not go back to church
that Sunday or the day after or the day after that. And again, no one called or
checked on her or seemed to care.
And so,
when many years later she felt "life" had not treated her right and
as she lay on her deathbed with just the almost silent beeping of the monitors
which kept her alive for the moment, she prayed as praying seemed to be the
only thing to do and the only connection she had with anyone.
A lone tear
fell onto her cheek as she took her last breath alone. The brief question
lingered in her mind before she lost consciousness, "Am I going to die
alone?"
And in the still, small silence, God answered her, "No my
beloved daughter. I have heard your cry and have saved that last tear in a
bottle." For you have chosen Me this day. You have prayed and I have
heard.
I share this story not to point at anyone for doing anything wrong.
My point is to share that we as Christian women must be devoted to prayer. We
must be watchful and thankful. In prayer, God speaks to our hearts and minds if
we listen.
We must passionately pursue God as well as His people if we are who
we claim to be in Christ.
And so this parable comes to mind.....
Luke
18 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Parable
of the Persistent Widow
18 Then He
spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose
heart, 2 saying: “There was in a certain city
a judge who did not fear God nor [a]regard
man. 3 Now there was a widow in that city; and she
came to him, saying, [b]‘Get
justice for me from my adversary.’4 And he would not for
a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor
regard man, 5 yet because this widow troubles me I
will [c]avenge
her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
6 Then the
Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. 7 And shall
God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears
long with them? 8 I tell you that He will
avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really
find faith on the earth?”
The theme
here? Always pray and not give up!
Unlike the
"unjust judge", God wants to hear every word and every cry of our
heart, whether we audibly share or write our requests on a note card. The
"unjust judge" answered just cause he was bothered and wanted it to
end. In the exact opposite manner, God wants us to come to Him and not only ask
but keep talking to him about it! Of course, we also Adore, Confess and Thank
God during our time of prayer (A.C.T.S.).
And so back to the woman we started out discussing - - honestly, it
is never too late to pray and spend time with God. I mean, after your last
breath you will either spend Eternity with God or be Eternally separated from
Him in Hell (so yeah - that would be too late to talk to Him in prayer).
Be encouraged to be persistent like the widow and pursue God in
prayer. Know there are note cards to write requests and praises on for a reason
and women who care about you but maybe just didn't pursue you. Be like the
widow. Faithfully. Daily. Pray with Purpose!
Please consider joining Springs Of Life (S.O.L)
for monthly prayer. We meet via Zoom.us monthly on the second Tuesday of each
week for 30 minutes beginning promptly at 7:00 pm est. For more information
please visit www.bluewaterbro.com and
see the Springs Of Life link on the homepage or visit us
directly at
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