power of prayer

A friend of Michelle and mine (Chinelo) is in England right now, doing her graduate studies. She sent this today to us, among many others, about World AIDS Day.

It made me think about what she was asking people to pray for (please do pray for these things), and also – quite simply, the power of prayer, and praying for things on our heart. It is like when someone is on their deathbed, we say — all we can do now is pray. Maybe today — it can be the 1st thing, not the last thing.

Anyway, here is her email / prayer request:

“Today is World AIDS Day. I was thinking about what I could do from all the way over here in England to commemorate the day, and realized that there was really not much I could organize, given my scattered community.

But then as I prayed about it, I started thinking about how much prayer impacts the world, and how much power it has when people come together in prayer. And in considering how hopeless this HIV/AIDS pandemic seems to me at times, the most important thing we Christians can do on this day, perhaps, is pray.

So, I’m writing to encourage you, if you feel led, to take some time today to join people around the world in this fight and stand with the global community in solidarity and commitment to helping how you can. Please pray for all the ways this disease has affected people in the different parts of the worldâ€â€?in your own communities, as well as those elsewhere. I don’t want to direct too much, but here are some areas that I thought of:

* HIV/AIDS workers, researchers, carers, medical professionals

* The sick, family, and friends

* At-risk communities

* Christian involvement

* Community organizations, such as HIV/AIDS charities, needle exchanges, health clinics, etc.

* HIV/AIDS orphans

* HIV/AIDS education

* Better allocation of resources

* The lessening of stigma

The list is not exhaustive by any means, and neither do I ask that you follow it specifically. But please be praying today, if you’re able and willing, and encourage others to do so, as well.

I hope you’re all doing well! Blessings to you all! Thanks for reading.

Chinelo