This prayer today is on my heart for two reasons. First, Friday night is the third night of our VBS Remix. Four Fridays in June, children, moms, dads, grandparents, and singles are invited to join us for a time of food, games, and loving a lost and broken world. This week our outreach is focused on children who are sick. Our children will make “busy books” for kids who are patients of Children’s Medical Center of Dallas. Secondly, we are at a time in our life together as a body where we have many who are aging, ill and feel powerless. Sometimes the need is overwhelming especially for someone who tends to be a rescuer.

Matthew 9:35-38

35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus, I long to experience the full coming of Your kingdom introduced at Your first advent. Jesus, I feel angst along with all creation each time I see and experience illness and death. Sometimes it scares me. Jesus, I hurt when my friends hurt. Jesus, I am overwhelmed with the number of people physically sick, emotionally hurting and relationally disconnected in and outside the church. Allow me to know even more deeply the depths of Your compassion rather than shelter myself from reality. I pray for (someone who is ill) to experience Your comfort in the midst of their pain, to know the fellowship of Your sufferings and to receive the power of Your healing. I look to You to raise up caring laborers among us who move toward people with the compassion of Jesus. May we be Your hands and feet to the world You died for.

Pray this for yourself and the children of our church as they are exposed to the needs of the world this Friday night.

Thankful for joining us in prayer,
Neil
P.S. I have put all the past months’ prayers on my blog at http://neiltomba.blogspot.com. I am also sharing my thoughts on twitter. The link is http://twitter.com/neiltomba.