A Slower Pace

Yesterday was quite the unique day. I can truly say that I have never had a day such as yesterday. Let me explain why.

Some background first. Before we left home on Friday, we took my son to urgent care in Kentucky. He had a terrible cough for a week and a half and it wasn’t getting any better. It turns out he had bronchitis — just what you want to hear as you are leaving on a 10 hour road trip on vacation. But the service at the local urgent care was quick, nice and effective. Soon enough my wife had the prescriptions filled as I was finishing up getting cash at the bank (we were doing the whole vacation Dave Ramsey cash budget style — but more on that in another post).

Well, it seems that I have done a good job teaching my son values because he shared his cough with me. I first felt it Sunday during service at the local beach church. When Wednesday came along it was all I could do to keep the cough from going uncontrollable at times. I did not talk, did not laugh and did not take big breaths. After donuts at the local Donut Hole eatery, my wife and I headed to the local Destin urgent care. They, like the urgent care back home, were quick, nice and effective and within an hour we were out of there and had my medication in hand. So now I was relegated to rest in the beach house at least for the day as my body took the medication and fought the respiratory infection.

As I took a shower, I prayed that I would wisely use my day and even though I was sick, that I would make the most of it. And during my shower, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me that I needed to be in prayer — and that I should pray for each person on my Facebook friend list specifically by name. And when I was finished I would post a status update to let each person know — believer or not — that they were spiritually covered in prayer that day. And what better way to spend a sick day on the beach.

So I grabbed my Bible, a tall glass of sweet tea, some Mission tortilla chips and my laptop and set up camp on the master suite balcony. I opened in prayer that I might be used as an instrument of God. That I might be obedient. That I persevere for however long it took. (I have 175 FB friends. At only 1 minute each, that would take 3 hours and I knew that if I were going to be specific and intentional with each beloved person on that list, it would easily surpass 3 hours and probably take up at least half the day.)

I then opened up my Bible to read specific Scripture passages on prayer. Below are a few that stood out to me:

” As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.” — 1 Samuel 12:23-24

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” — Ephesians 6:18

And then at 10:45am Central time I begun my prayers, starting on my FB friend list alphabetically. Now an interesting thing about Facebook is who is on your friend list. Of course, I have immediate family on there — my wife, children, parents, sister, etc. For these beloved people it was going to be very easy to pray specifically. I know their dreams, needs, and walk with Christ and could probably spend a hour for each one of them. However, there are others on my FB friend list that might be old acquaintances or neighbors or long lost friends or someone you met on a plane once (yes, I have one of those). For those folks it was going to be more challenging. Some of these folks might not even know Jesus or believe in God. However, I felt it my calling to pray even more specifically for these knowing that God knows what I do not, and He would fill in the blanks, so to speak.

My prayers came easily for these were all people who were woven into my life at one point and for some reason. Some had merely a scrap woven into my tapestry while others’ dominated the pattern of my life quilt. It was a peaceful time and really allowed me to feel each person and to pour love onto them, their situation, their needs, and their walk with God. There were challenges of distractions, of noises, of the beautiful beach scenery, and of biological breaks but I was persevering through my group of friends and deepening my prayer life. At the end of the first hour I had covered 29 people specifically by name in prayer. And being the type of person I am quickly figured out that this was easily going to take two, three or four times longer than I had imagined. I wondered to myself, “Did I bite off more than I can chew?”

But my job was to pray and be obedient. I knew God would take care of everything else.

I did take a few breaks. One for lunch and a nice turkey sandwich. Another 10 minute break to fly a kite with my son and my Accountability friend on the beach. And a nice walk to the convenience store with my son so he could buy a candy bar. That might be another post because we were able to have a nice conversation about God and his commandments. I was even able to confirm to my son that we were doing exactly what God wants us to do — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” — Deuteronomy 6:4-7

The afternoon was consumed in prayer as I continued along not only praying but in amazement at the interwoven paths God had placed all of these people on. As the afternoon surrendered to evening and dinner, I took a break to dine with family and friends. Returning to my home stretch of special people and prayers I ended my prayer time with the sunlight retreating below the watery horizon and in darkness as I asked the Holy Spirit to fill my heart and to guide the message I was going to send all these people as my FB status. In His words, not mine it read — I TRULY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER. Today I spent time praying for you specifically. I prayed for each name in my Facebook friend list by name. This is not a chain message cut and paste. I started at 10:45a and am just now finishing – from A to Z each one of you was spiritually covered in prayer today. Some of you might be encouraged by that. Some might be offended. Others might not ever see it because I am blocked. But I KNOW that my prayer got through because God hears all prayers. I pray this message arrives to you in God’s perfect timing and know that I love you and Jesus loves you.

I have received some beautiful comments from that post but must acknowledge that none of it was me. I was merely a broken vessel that God was using. My only act was one of obedience. I only wish it happened more often.

Jesus Loves You

To continue in the spirit of this post, please feel free to comment on any prayer requests you might have so that I might also pray for you. Or you can email me your prayer requests. I would be honored to pray for your needs.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net