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| Source: Ridge Times |
It is always a bit unnerving--and yet excitingly mysterious--when the Holy Spirit takes the reins and hijacks your thought and prayer life.
This doesn't happen to me much, I confess.
I usually keep a monthly prayer list in my favorite prayer journal, where I gather requests from friends and family and record God's answers. Its topics include sick friends and family members, upcoming decisions, prayers over my husband and children...the usual stuff that would make sense for a middle-income American, stay-at-home-mother like me.
Enter the month of April...and the otherworldly influence of the Holy Spirit.
Suddenly, my prayer list has exploded with prayers for the European refugee crisis, the civil war in Syria, women in Iran, the defeat of ISIS, the U.S./Mexico border crisis, and praise for the believers among the Hmong people of Vietnam.
Yep. Kinda crazy.
And yet when I stop to consider things, I don't think this hijacking has occurred quite so randomly and recently.
Looking back, it might have started when I read The Kite Runner, quickly followed by A Thousand Splendid Suns about six years ago. I talked a bit about how reading fiction has transformed my prayer life in this previous blog post, so I won't go into it here.
But my fiction reading life can't adequately explain the recent hijacking of my prayer life.
I know it is the Holy Spirit, which as I alluded to earlier, makes me both excited and downright uncomfortable, all at the same time.
I mean, why else would I spend an afternoon devouring a book on praying over ISIS instead of chatting it up with some friends at my church's recent women's retreat?
This recent thought life hijack has exploded into an insatiable appetite to learn more about various current event topics. It's led me on lengthy internet searches. It has led me to read various kinds of books--books on prayer, books on history, fiction, biography, memoir, nonfiction.
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| Some recent favorite reads and my prayer journal |
It has led me to ask friends lots of questions about their home countries.
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| My new Saudi friend and neighbor |
In some cases, it has cast a new light on previous vacations and tourist experiences.
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| My friend and I in Instanbul, 2009 |
It has directed our homeschool studies, especially as we have delved into the Eastern Hemisphere this year. It has led me to watch documentaries like this one on Jerusalem (a film my folks just happened to have on hand and let me borrow when we saw them over spring break). It has also made me crave time getting to know other ladies from around the world who live in my very own community.
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| Ladies' International Tea Party Columbia, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Mexico, Poland, France, Korea, Kenya and the USA in the HOUSE! |
And earlier this week, it even led me to craft a lap book about the Middle East (yes, my crafty side LOVED that little adventure! More details on that in an upcoming post).
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| Middle East prayer lap book |
Mercy.
I am still trying to figure out what all this means for my prayer life. I am in the process of distilling it down into a workable prayer plan for myself that will cover some of the issues that are weighing heavy on my heart.
For now, I am picking seven topics. Just seven. That's all I can wrap my mind around for now. And I plan to pray for one people group, current event, or international crisis each day of the week.
So, I'd like to turn to you, dear friend.
In what ways are you praying in unexpected ways in this season of your life? Do you find yourself caring about things you NEVER used to think about? Have you stopped to ask the Holy Spirit to open up your mind and heart to pray in fresh ways...to pray about those things that are on HIS heart and mind?
Oh, I hope you do, dear one! It is a WILD and CRAZY ride, for sure, but it has been so unexpectedly rewarding and exciting for me!
May we all be open to pray as God guides and directs us, for all our brothers and sisters in need around the world...and may we see what God does to heal our land and draw the nations to Himself!
Psalm 22:27 ESV
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