Bananas

It's not always as it seems. My daughter and I went to the movies tonight. I said I wanted to laugh. Our movie we were going to see tonight was sold out so, we opted to see another. It was funny, but it was scary too. Not scary in the horror way, but scary in the way that the anticipation of what happens next keeps you holding your breath. I sure was not holding my breath while laughing, in so much as I was holding it with fear...

When we came home my daughter asked me what I was going to do since it was getting late and I really didn't have any clue except I was tired and really wanted to retire. She told me to go blog. I asked her what she thought I should blog about (I really do not discern what I am going to blog about, prior to my writing) but I wanted to know what she had on her mind. She told me to write about bananas. Other than the fact that I really don't have anything to write about in regards to bananas, my other daughter did try to spell bananas yesterday and we were having quite the game with it by singing the letters and trying to remember how many letter A's and N's there were in the word. So, my response to her invitation to write about bananas was "I think I will let God tonight guide my mind and my heart as I go into prayer."

Do you ever have anyone ask you to pray for them or for a friend or relative? People ask me all the time and of course, I ask them as well. I don't say yes and then walk away and forget about it nor do I just pray once and stop. If someone asks me to pray for them I take it very serious. My prayer doesn't cease. I have a little book with people's names in it and I pray for people that have requested prayers. After all, all things are possible with prayer.

This week I encountered many prayer requests. I'll call my prayer requests the three "J's". Oh, you ask, 'what are the three "J's". Well, last week my very good friend ask me to pray for her husband "J"ames, my friend here in town ask me to pray for her son "J"onathan (a friend of my son's), and another good friend asked me to pray for an acquaintance of ours and friend of my son's named "J"oseph. James, Jonathan and Joseph. Biblical names.

Joseph, 11th son of Jacob, a gentle and forgiving boy sold by his brothers due to hatred, he holds a fast enduring love for God. (Genesis)

James, son of Zebedee, fisherman and trusted follower of Christ. (Matthew 4:22)

Johnathan, an wavering sense of loyalty whose convictions about morality and friendship never ceased (I Samuel 19)

These three men, maintained forgiveness, trust and love in God.

These three men and their families that I am praying for tonight have trust, forgiveness and gentleness and love for the Lord, as well.

Coincidence? Maybe, but I do believe that God in my prayer tonight made me think of these three men in the Bible and the goodness that has carried to these men today.

I ask for healing for the 3 "J's".

When I pray, I type, I swim, I sing, I dance. Tonight I read about Joseph, James and Jonathan. Tonight I prayed for healing for these men of today and thank God for the men of yesterday.

These three J's were like the letter, a fisherman's hook, fishers of men. They were always trying to do the right thing. They were trying to hook people to understand goodness. It may seem simple, but it was very difficult then as it is difficult now. Evil creeps in the way and tempts us to be persuaded otherwise.

We must never be persuaded otherwise. We must trust, love and be vigilant in our convictions about our Lord and our prayers must be relentless. Simple enough? I wish I could put the whole Bible in my writings tonight to include the struggles that these men endured or the many men and women of the Bible that encountered evil, succummend to evil and those that were courageous to have an extradorinary amounts of faith.

I'm not into bananas tonight. I'm not monkeying around. I'm serious. Let's get down to business and pray.