Thursday, November 24, 2011

The Grace {and Power!} of Prayer

Have you ever stopped to think about your relationship with Christ--not in its current state, but how it originated?  Maybe you aren’t a Christian, but someone has spoken words of life that are stirring your heart & mind to look into “this Christianity thing” a little deeper.  Regardless, the question is the same:
Who prayed for you?
A few years ago at my uncle’s funeral visitation, my dad shared one of the neatest things I have ever heard:
     “When I was little, my dad told me his grandpa had 
       prayed for the next four generations, that they would know the Lord.  YOU,            LeAnne, are that 4th generation.”
Here I was, mingling in a room that contained my parents, my dad’s parents, my aunt & uncle and cousins.  A room that contained my sister, my brothers, and my husband.  A group gathered together to celebrate and remember my uncle, who, despite his limitations, had loved the Lord with all of his heart.
A room filled with people that my great-great grandpa had prayed for so many years ago.  Did his prayers impact who we decided to marry?  Did they play a role in the Christian heritage passed down from generation to generation?
How could his prayers have not had an impact?
The room contained something else--three very young children.  My children.  The 5th generation.
Who is praying for them?  And, who is praying for the generations to follow?
Sometimes, life is not about where we are--it’s about where we’ve been and where we are headed.  So much of Thanksgiving is about the now.  This year, I want to be thankful for how I got to this point in my life.  And, I want to be the next piece of the prayer chain in lifting up the next 4 generations of my family.
For whom will you pray?
We will not hide these truths from our children, but will tell the next generation of the glorious deeds of the Lord...that they in turn might teach their children.  So each generation can set its hope anew on God, remembering his glorious miracles and obeying his commands.” Psalm 78:4a,5&6