I have been blessed, very blessed.

God has given me so much, even when I felt less than worthy (which is often).  I have a house over my head, food in my stomach, a loving, supportive husband, three wonderful kids (the one has spina bifida, but he is doing great!), awesome friends, a stable church environment, my own health, a job I can go to in the morning and come home from at night, and so much more.

I see people around me who are not nearly as blessed as I am.  I see people who sleep on the streets at night, unstable, fragmented families, insolent children and teens who think the world owes them everything, people without work or people working as many as four jobs at once in order to provide for their families, and people who are without any friends or struggling to survive in this mean world of ours.

Suddenly, my own problems don't seem so bad.

I have taken it upon myself to pray for those people who don't have it nearly as good as I do.  Every day, I see a person, get a mental picture of that person's face in my head, and lift them up in prayer.  I ask God to provide for their every need, and I ask God to touch them somehow, in some tangible way, to let them know that there are people who care about what they are facing.

If I were in any of the situations described above, I would want people to pray for me.  It's that simple.

I have been keeping an ongoing prayer list, which I pass on to my friends.  I tell my friends to pray for the people whose names are on my list, and I also post these prayer needs online.  That way, those people who need prayer can know that many people are looking out for them and are crying out to Heaven, on their behalf. 

What makes me happy is when some of the people come up to me and tell me that someone's given them some money for their troubles.  Or else they got a better job.  Or else their health has improved.  Such praise reports makes me want to get up and dance as I shout praises to my Heavenly Father!

It is nice to know that I can make a difference in people's lives, even it is only as something simple as a whispered prayer to Heaven.  Prayer works.  I know.  I have seen it in my own life, when money got tight, or when my son, Owen (he's the one with spina bifida), was in the hospital facing yet another life-threatening surgery, or when Blaine (husband) lost his job or got demoted in his position at another job he had before he quit.  Somehow, in my darkest hour, God heard my desperate cries, and He answered my prayers.  Each and every one!  There was not one prayer that was left unanswered!

It's because God delights in pleasing His children.  That's the kind of Loving Father He is.  That's because He's God:  with God, all things are possible, as it says in Matthew 19:26, in the Bible.

And I am grateful to know God on a personal, intimate level.  I can go to Him with any request, and lay them down at His feet, and wait for Him to respond.  It may not be right away, tomorrow, next week, next month, or even a year from now, but eventually, the prayer will get answered.  It's in His time, not ours; we just have to learn to be patient and be still.  And wait.

Trust and faith play an important role here.  If we trust completely in God, and have a little faith, we can get through whatever we face.  I know struggles, even though right now, life is good.  I've been there.  And I know that God will answer the prayers of my friends (seen and unseen) who are struggling.  These are the people I lift up in my prayers every day; they are on my mind, and I feel compelled by the Lord to continue praying on their behalf.

I am looking forward to the praise reports that are forthcoming!  Then I can offer even more praise to God and thank Him for His goodness in my life, and in the lives of others!