Above Rubies Daily Encouragement Blogs
OUR PRAYER BOX
When all our children were at home we used to have two prayer boxes at our Family Devotions. One was the FAMILY PRAYER BOX where I wrote on a card the name of everyone in the family, plus every person in the extended family--grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. We would pass the box around and each one would take a name from the box. If they weren't very familiar with the name of the extended family member they chose, it was a great time to remind them and tell them about them. Prayer is a wonderful way to keep connected with the extended family, even when they live in different countries as was the case in our family. I am sure you will find this a great blessing in your family too.
We also had another boxed called the URGENT NEEDS PRAYER BOX. In this box I wrote on cards the names of missionaries we were praying for, the names of people we knew who were facing specific trials or sickness, and needs of our country and the world. They would each take a card from this box also. This way, the children learned to pray beyond their little "God bless Mommy and Daddy" prayers.
Now that our children are raising their own families and we have other people living in our home, we use the URGENT NEEDS PRAYER BOX. Currently in this box we have written on cards the greatest needs for prayer in our nation, and in the world. And oh, what great needs there are.
Never has there been a time when there are so many Christians being persecuted and it is continually on the rise. We pray for these precious people in the countries where they are being persecuted. This is not something we should do if we feel like it. We are commanded to do it, and to pray for them as though we were suffering with them (Hebrews 13:2).
We pray for Israel, for we are commanded to pray for this nation also. We pray for the unreached peoples of the world. We pray for the Islamic countries of the world. And on and on. There is so much to pray for.
Dear mothers, can I plead with you to make time to pray as a family together each day, morning and evening if you can. The devil will do everything in his power to stop you from doing this. He doesn't want you praying, but God does. And this desperate world needs your prayers.
You may be doing lots of good things in your family, but this is the most powerful and world-changing thing you can do.
Love from Nancy Campbell
