Tuesday evening- we just finished praying for the persecuted church. We have been walking home from church after our weekly prayer meetings. By walking home we save bus fare and hopefully the exercise will help me shed the many, many lbs. I have put on over the years. Well each week it has been getting harder and harder to walk home...the heat and the mosquitoes make the hour and half walk difficult. Friday we canceled the weekly intercessory prayer at the church (we did pray at home) because it was to reach over 9o degrees. I already felt like a whimp and whiner for opting to pray from home rather than at the church.
THEN:
This week-end I read "In the Presence of My Enemies" the story of The Burnhams, a missionary couple that were kidnapped and held hostage by a terrorist group for over a year. They had to deal with hunger, insects, humiliating circumstances and all this not knowing if they would survive the day. Gracia shared in this book how she and her husband Martin saw that God revealed to them the thoughts in their own hearts and reminded them that they were to love their enemies. They learned to make the best of their circumstances. Martin died in a battle between those who captured them and those who were sent to rescue them and Gracia took a bullet in her leg.
They had to rely on memory in order to hold on to the promises of God. They saw the smallest gesture of kindness as the Lord's mercy on them. How quickly our lives can change. I thank God for the freedom to worship with other believers, to read His word freely and the opportunity to get to know Him. I thank Him for people such as Gracia who share their testimony even though it is painful. I am thankful for her humbleness because she shared the truth even when the truth wasn't especially complimentary about herself. What an amazing witness.
4 comments:
Debrah,
I think I have read this book! The ladies in our missions group at church participate in a reading course each year. We are sent several books that we pass around the group until they all are read.
This story sounds very familiar and if it's the same one I read, it is vary good. Wasn't Martin a pilot? Great book!
Blessings~
Plant Lady
Thank you for your comments. It lets me know I must be following God's plan for my blog. I had to redo because last week I lost it, however, I had saved a copy on my computer so I was able to transfer everthing except the older posts. As God lead I may put some of those back on. I'm so glad you enjoy it. The music gives it an atmosphere of being in God's presence, at least that's what I feel.
I read your post and it sounds like you are doing what a lot of us should be doing. I remember my mother talking about having prayer meetings in homes. They would take their children and most of the time they would fall asleep before the meetings were over. We had a Bible study in our home when the girls were younger and it was the best part of the week. A lot of problems were worked out through those meetings.
Please feel free to visit anytime.
Blessings to you and your family,
AliceE.
Just stopping by to say Hi!!!
Blessings~
Plant Lady
It is so wonderful to see those who are really committed to prayer and especially the persecuted church.
You mentioned how quickly our lives can change and that is so true! I have memorized several chapters and want to do more memory of the scriptures for we never know when we might not have Bibles. I think we will all agree that darkness has come into our beautiful America.
Thank the Lord for the weekly prayer meetings! I attended weekly prayer meetings in the home some years back but it has been a number of years since I have been in one.
mary
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