“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ .” Galatians 6:2 (NLT)
CHALLENGE
Pray today for the burden of those that have shared something specifically that they are dealing with at this time. The burden may not have been presented to you as a prayer request but rather a ‘mumbling’ of something that is challenging them at this time. It’s your time to take on another’s physical, mental or life burden– stand in the gap of prayer and lift this burden to God. He will be faithful.
PREPARATION
- Praise God for who He is
- Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing
- Allow His Spirit to draw you near
- Listen as He speaks to you
REQUESTS
- Pray for those in our community who are struggling with a physical concern.
- Pray for those in our community who are looking for employment during this difficult economic time.
- Pray for those that perhaps have not given you a specific request, but you can sense that they are struggling with a burden—we don’t need to know specifics, because God does.
THANKSGIVING
- Thank God for hearing you.
- Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will.
OPTIONAL READINGS
- 2 Corinthians 8:14
LIFE STORY
I’ll never forget coming home from what would be a life-changing doctor’s appointment. I had taken our 4-year-old daughter to a paediatrician appointment, which had been as a result of a referral from our family doctor. Our family doctor thought that our daughter had a simple heart murmur and thought a second opinion was in order. Instead of confirmation of something ‘routine’ we found out in that appointment that she would need to seek additional care from a cardiologist and that in all likelihood she would require open heart surgery. It took all of my personal effort to get the two of us home from the doctor’s office without me falling completely apart.
I remember waking up my husband, who was trying to sleep before his night shift, and try to logically tell him the information that had been given to me. We were both trying to collect ourselves when the phone rang. It was someone from the church calling me with regards to another matter. I don’t remember why she called, but I do remember when she asked me “how are you doing?” I had no reservation in telling her what we had just found out. At that moment we needed others – this challenge was something that we were not going to be able to do without our faith and our church family.
During the time prior to our daughter’s surgery, and during her recovery, we felt the love of God through our church family because we chose to share our burden with them. The peace that we felt during this time was God demonstrating his love to us. He responded to the many prayers that our church family lifted on our behalf – all because we shared this burden with them.
Contributed by: Bev Cober