Praying for Freeman - United in Christ!

I was woken up at 5:30 this past Wednesday morning with a nagging in my soul to pray!  I did not know exactly what to pray for so I prayed for everything the Lord put on my heart.  I prayed for our upcoming Women’s Event, and I felt such a strong burden to pray that His Presence would fill our church in a tangible way Wednesday night.  After this I found myself praying for our city, our schools, and our churches.  This continued until about 7:00am.  It wasn’t until around 10:00am that I would know why I was up early to pray!  Tears began falling down my face when my friend, whom I love so much, talked with me on the phone and told me about the tragedy that had just taken place at Freeman High School.  Her granddaughter had been standing right next to the shooter and through her own choked voice she told me how God had called her to pray that morning for the safety of her grand kids.  My heart was broken as the events were released and more facts of the day become clear.  I fell to my knees, like so many others, and began crying and praying for those involved with this great sadness!  I questioned if the Women’s Event should continue that night, if we should be meeting together, and God reminded me just how important it really is for us to be together as the body of Christ!  He was not caught off guard by any of this and He knew that He already had a group of about 130 women who would be meeting together that night and could stand strong in Christ, lifting up in prayer the entirety of this devastating event.  He knew the importance of having sisters in Christ come together to comfort each other and help one another Look to the One who is Still Lord!  The One who is Stronger, Greater and more Powerful then sin and sadness.  Jesus is the hope that lies within us and that HOPE is the ANCHOR for our souls!  It was going to be very important that we turned to HIM Together!!  HE alone is the One who can offer TRUE comfort, and LOVE, and CARE to All those who are hurting!  We need each other SO much during times like this, and it reminded me how much we need each other ALL the time.  This is why Jesus prayed for our unity in John 17, it is why the apostles led the followers of Jesus to never stop meeting together and why Paul stresses unity and love within the church, all throughout his letters.  We need each other!!  A while ago, my family and I were in California and visited the Sequoia Red Wood forest.  I've been there before and they never cease to amaze me.  They are Huge and Strong, and a Force to be reckoned with, but what we learned about them was even more impressive because of how God made them to thrive.  I'm just going to quote the written material: "You would think that a 350 foot tall tree would need deep roots, but that is not the case at all with these Red Woods...their roots are often only about 5 feet deep, but they make up for that in width, sometimes extending up to 100 feet away from the trunk.  They thrive in Groves, where the roots can intertwine and even Fuse Together.  This gives them Tremendous Strength against the forces of nature.  This way they can withstand high winds and raging floods!"  When I thought about this, I realized that we too were meant to thrive in groves!  God made us to intertwine ourselves with each other and fuse together so that we would have Tremendous Strength against the forces of the enemy, and that we too can stand strong when the high winds and the raging floods of life come!  Ecc. 4:12 tells us that even though 1 may be overpowered, 2 can defend themselves, and a rope of 3 strands is Not easily broken!  We need each other!!  I will echo the cry of the author of Hebrews...Please do Not forsake assembling together!  We are meant to Fuse together and Stand Strong as ONE body!!  Today, I just want to say that ALL my LOVE and PRAYER are with the families in the Freeman Area and with ALL the first responders and medical workers!   We do not know the “Why’s” of a situation like this, but we do know The Answer!  His name is Jesus.  His arms are open wide, and He longs for us to cling to Him!  He has already proven that there is nothing He is not willing to do for us!  Let Him pour out His Love on you this week and respond to His prayer for us that we would join together in unity!  He designed us to need each other.  Bind your roots together with other believers this week and let’s stand STRONG for Jesus in the midst of this storm!  I encourage EVERYONE to be in Prayer for Freeman today, as well as the rest of our schools!!  Let's Stand in Christ UNITED and STRONG!!

Some verses to pray today;  1 Thess. 5:11, 1 Cor. 12:25-26, 2 Cor. 1:3-4, John 17:22-23, JOHN 1:4-5