Prayer

Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints. Ephesians 6:18  

My mother frequently talked with me about the hardships after the great depression of 1929. My grandparents and their 8 children lived on a farm in rural South Dakota. The crops were gone, money was scarce, and the country was desperate after the stock market crash. They lived in a big old farmhouse which had a dormer attic. My mom told me that after everyone went to bed and were asleep, she could hear her dad climb into the attic and kneel and pray. He talked to God as a friend. He told of his worries for his family, for their neighbors, and their church, as well as for the country. Grandpa was a WWI veteran who had served as a medic during the war. He was stationed in the US during the great Spanish flu epidemic. My grandma was a nursing student during that time as well. In this bleakest hour, grandpa had faith in God and poured his heart out in prayer. I thought of the hymn I had learned in childhood —“What a Friend We have in Jesus”. Take a minute to read the words slowly—

What a friend we have in Jesus
All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer

Oh, what peace we often forfeit
Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged
Take it to the Lord in prayer

Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness
Take it to the Lord in prayer

We are again in desperate times with the corona virus, drops in the stock market, threats of loss of jobs and income. Everything has changed in just a few days. Do not forget that we have a friend in Jesus, and that we can take everything to God in prayer. 

Prayer: Heavenly Father, you are the rock of our salvation and our solace in troubled times. Be with us during these trials, remind us to remember our neighbors, our families, our church as well as our country. Help us to trust in you and take it to the Lord in prayer.

Nancy Hall