Have you heard of ‘crafted prayers’? There is a book written by Graham Cooke about how to pray what’s on God’s heart. One of the ladies in my prayer group brought this book to our attention a few years ago. Last week a very good friend was diagnosed with cancer and a group of us got together last night to pray for him. We started with worship music and reflecting how Glorious God is. After a few songs, we sat in silence, listening to what God wanted to put on our hearts.
After an extended time of silence, everyone shared specific words, images, and verses they sensed. We each had a sheet of paper to write down what we sensed God was telling us. Several people got the same verses to share and you could see specific themes emerge through the group. One of the themes was how much God loves our friend. All you need to do is to look at the cross to understand the depth of God’s love for each one of us!
After everyone shared, we then went into a wonderful time of prayer praying back the specific themes and details already shared from the group. It was such a sweet time of fellowship and prayer!
Two young men in our church had heart attacks this year. Both were caught completely by surprise. I saw one of them at my health club last Tuesday and discovered that he had a major heart attack at the club, after I left. Brian just got out of the hospital yesterday, after staying there 1 week. Another good friend from church needed stents last year and has completely changed his diet. All three friends now have stents in their arteries.