Bricks

Jude 1:20-21
20But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

I was raised in a good old-fashioned Pentecostal church where prayer requests were shared by standing up at prayer time for the entire congregation to hear. Sometimes there would be issues a person wanted to keep private so they would raise their hand when the pastor asked for “unspoken requests by the upraised hand.” It was a way to say, “Hey, I’m needing something over here” and knowing that your brothers and sisters in Christ would back you up in prayer even without the details with the corporate understanding that God knew what was going on and what to do about it.
In Sunday School we’d share prayer requests too, from wanting a puppy to my mom is gonna have a baby. We’d all bow our heads together as children and pray for one another.
There was another part to this system of needs, requests and prayer. It was when a person would share what God had done in response to prayer. I am guilty sometimes of praying about something and asking others to pray with me and then when God moves in my life, I breathe a sigh of relief and move on. I know better than that. I know that you share your burdens and you also share your blessings.
I have this great group of people in my life that remind me of the old congregation of prayer warriors. I can tell them what’s going on and immediately know that they are talking to God about it. It takes a good part of the burden off my heart to know that these people voluntarily take it on their own. It’s like having to move a pile of bricks and suddenly all these men and women show up and just start carrying them for you. It’s the coolest thing.
These guys not only pray for me, but they check back on me constantly; sometimes daily. They ask how I’m doing. They send me cards and e mails and they hug me and call me and text message me. And they pray for me.
So here’s the shout out for the answered prayers of my team of warriors...
Regarding the variety of issues I’ve dropped in your laps over the past few months, it’s getting better. I can feel God going in front of me. I can FEEL it.
I know that through you guys, God has granted me favor in this new part of my life. With your encouragement I’ve come to believe that I can handle what’s in front of me. With your prayers I am seeing results and feeling more confidant that God is going to use me.
The point is, your prayers are working. God is listening to you and enveloping me in His love. I can think of few other times in my life when I just felt God heavy all around me like He is now, and I know that you have called for this in my life. I thank you.
I don’t think this particular phase of my life is all wrapped up in a neat package now. In fact, I think I have probably only experienced a few warning shots that will precede a bigger battle. But I’m more battle-ready thanks to the prayers of my friends. I have some soldiers standing with me. I even have a few who have offered to beat people up for me, which is a nice bonus!
Seriously, prayer is the beginning and end of all that I would hope to do with my life. When that pile of bricks seems overwhelming, before I even reach down to pick one up; you are there. When my faith falters, you lend me some of yours. When I’m sick of talking to God about my issues, you let me rest and you do the talking. When I start to believe the lies of the enemy, you speak truth on my behalf.
And I feel it.