In today’s blog I want us to explore various and powerful ways that we can all care for one another.

Besides learning how to love people, our neighbors and our world as Christ loves, there is another way that we can all care, comfort and encourage one another and that is by praying for and with people. We have wonderful opportunities to impact the lives of those we come in contact with every time we stop and pray for one another.

Pastor Greg and I are constantly encouraging our congregation to pray. I've been trying to get into the habit of praying immediately with someone when they share a concern or problem. I've found that people greatly appreciate the fact that I took the time right then and there to talk to God with and for them. It can be a very comforting experience for those who are troubled to know that God hears and understands their circumstance and has the power to act on their behalf.

But prayer is so much more than a comforting exercise. Praying to God is talking to the creator of your very being. It is being connected with the God of the universe. You and I are invited to pray.

In Jeremiah 33:3 God tells us, ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

God himself invites us to bring our burdens, our cares and our needs to him. He even invites us to come boldly in order to find mercy and grace to help in our times of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16) He designed you and me to be in communication with Him.

Jeremiah 29:12 says, “Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen.”
God cares about each one of us as individuals. The Bible tells us that he knows the number of hairs we each have on our head.(Matthew 10:30) He knows every person who has ever wandered far from Him. (Matthew 18:12)

Maybe today you feel like no one really knows who you are. God knows. He waits to hear your voice. “For He Himself has said, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." (Hebrews 13:5c) You can pray because you are invited! 

 
As your Care Pastor, I want to encourage you to begin doing two things this week:

• First, communicate with God today and every day. Find some time early in the morning, during your lunch hour, or before you go to bed in the evening to just quietly pray and talk to God. Praise Him, thank Him, share your heart and troubles with Him, and then, listen to hear what He wants to say to you. 
• Second, as the Lord would bring people across your path this week, stop and listen to their hearts and ask if you can pray for them. It doesn't have to be a long or poetic prayer, just a short acknowledgement that you recognize together that God knows and cares will be sufficient. You will be a great encouragement to them and it may even open up a door to share even deeper the power of Christ that can be experienced personally.

Just a thought... not a sermon

Blessings for today!

Your Care Pastor,

Dave Knight