Author: Prodigal

Hello friends!

I consider it a true honor and privilege to be trusted with your prayer needs. If you have prayer needs of your own, please feel free to let me know. You can reply here or send me a message through Facebook. You are prayed for and loved, my friends.

Below is a list of prayer needs and updates if you would like to join in prayer.

HEALTH ISSUES

Barbara – Chemo treatments

Brian G. – Unknown blood issues

Cary S. – Ongoing back issues

Darrell B. – Battling cancer

Dexter F. – Aggressive cancer found

Donna M. – Back pain/possible surgery

Emily P. – difficulties w/ asthma

Gary W. – Battling cancer

Harold C. – health

Jennifer – multiple health concerns

Nelda U. – Recovery from fall/health

Pat – Health concerns – positive results from testing

Ray E. – In CICU-Double Pneumonia/In coma

Baby Roeanna – Due in July-high risk pregnancy

Stephanie M. – Battling cancer

LIFE SITUATIONS

Scott – previously on prayer list – passed away. Pray for wife and children.

UNSPOKEN REQUESTS

ONGOING PRAYERS

– Those who need salvation (love/hope of God)

– Those who serve our country

– That the Church (worldwide) will return to the heart of God and the mission He has for us all.

"The LORD is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit."

Psalms 34:18 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: Why does God, the maker of all things, care so much about broken things? I mean, God isn’t to blame for the pain, right? So, what would be a good reason for our Father to be near and rescue us in times of brokenness and loss? I think there are probably several reasons, but the reason that seems to show itself the most to me is that He truly loves ALL of His children. I think of about seven years ago when I had been trying to distance myself from God as much as I could because I was hurt. The church my wife and I had served in for 10 years became a source of excruciating heartbreak. Around the same time, my wife and I had experienced a total of three miscarriages, and between dealing with all of the grief from our babies as well as trying to process the issues with the church and the loss of pretty much all of our connection, I had become completely crushed and brokenhearted. I don’t mention these things for attention or to make anyone feel sorry for what I’ve been through. I mention these things because God was still there. He was the one that held my head up while I wept at my desk at work. He was the one that consoled me when I couldn’t sleep due to all of the betrayal from the church situation. Our Father was the one who was constantly there, just hoping that I would turn to Him and trust Him with my hurt. After some time, I did turn to Him and that is when healing began for me. That is when I learned what true trust was about. I learned more about the heart of the Father during that time than the previous 36 years of my life. That the world did to break my spirit and make me useless, God took and reformed and remade into who I am and who I am becoming. Our heavenly Father is using that pain and grief right now in order to speak to you. He truly can rebuild and repair…heal your broken heart and revive your spirit. All you have to do is simply let down your guard, unclench your fists, and let Him console you.

Prayer for today: I know that there are many of us who are or have been brokenhearted. I know there are those that need to be rescued. I am so very thankful that God’s love for us never fails. Today, I pray that we all would lean on God for the strength to trust and hand over our brokenness. That we would place all of the broken pieces into His loving and hope-filled hands. I pray that God will continue to be God and to begin healing and rebuilding us for the glory of the One who sits on the throne. That we would grow in spirit to tell our testimonies of what God has done for us so that the world can hear of the love and hope of God.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon

"So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today."

Matthew 6:34 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: Everyday IS a fresh start, so why should we worry about anything? In the past, I was told that if I ever worried it was because my faith was weak or that I didn’t think God was "big enough" to handle my concerns. To that, I say, malarkey! I think there is healthy worrying (read: concern for others). As followers of Jesus, we SHOULD be concerned about others. Our troubles (money/health/safety/etc) can certainly cause us to become unsettled and begin to worry in an unhealthy way. For example, my family and I are awaiting the building of our forever home. There are a lot of details that still need to be addressed and many of those details are out of our hands. So, do we "worry" about that? I think our best option for this, or any other situation that causes concern, is to invite God into the uncertainty. Asking that God would give us HIS peace and wisdom on how to move forward. If your bank account is your worry, same thing. Invite God into the situation and ask His wisdom on how to move forward and be ready to get your hands dirty to earn those extra dollars if needed. Our heavenly Father DOES want us to call on Him and lean on Him for peace and wisdom, so by inviting Him into the situation, He can begin to show you not only how He will carry you through, but He will teach you how to share with others who are dealing with the same concerns and struggles. And by this, we are helping to spread the love and hope of Jesus Christ to all of the world, one person at a time.

Prayer for today: Today, I pray that if we are unsettled or worried about something within our lives, that we would humbly ask our Father to walk us through our situations and fill us with His hope and peace. That He would guard us from any unsafe situations and that we would place our trust in the one who knit us together in our mothers’ wombs. I pray that as He brings peace to our chaos, that we would remember that others need the very same hope and peace that is being given to us in our time of need or uncertainty.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a Facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Bich Tran

"Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him."

John 3:17 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: Take a moment and read that again. Jesus wasn’t sent to condemn, but to give hope and a way back to the Father. And if we are created for the same purpose (to bring a message of hope rather than condemnation to the world), shouldn’t our message line up with the message of our Savior? I think it is easy to forget that. Over the majority of the last two months, I’ve been staying at a hotel at least one night each week. (This is just due to my current work/home situation.) Tuesday morning, I went to check out of my room and I was informed that I needed to make my reservation for next week as soon as possible due to an event that will be happening in town. Okay. I understood. But then I was told that the "event" was completely against their beliefs and the constitution and that they didn’t want any people that were supportive or would be attending to stay in their hotel. WOW! My spirit was just broken. Why? The event is a PRIDE event and the person didn’t want anyone that lived a lifestyle other than what was in the bible and in the constitution to stay there. Not to sound cheesy or cliche, but what do you think Jesus would do in this situation? I’m not endorsing

the LGBTQ lifestyle, but I’m not so sure we should be focused on someone’s sin. By NO means does Jesus ask us to get our lives together or totally quit sinning before we can come to him. He accepts us where we are and only through relationship with God/Jesus/Holy Spirit can changes be made within. We may not agree with the way that someone lives their life, but does that give us reason to withhold the love and hope of God from them? Jesus would (and does) love all, no matter what. As I’ve said before: We will never look into the eyes of someone that God does not love unconditionally.

Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would be focused on what God would have us say and do to bring Him the most glory and praise. That we wouldn’t let our finite minds and beliefs hinder the message of hope and love to the rest of the world. I pray that each of us would see others as our Heavenly Father sees them. Let’s hold out hope rather than hold back the message.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Artem Beliaikin

Hello friends!

Below is a list of prayer needs and updates if you would like to join in prayer. If you have prayer needs of your own, please feel free to let me know. You are prayed for and loved.

HEALTH ISSUES

Barbara – Chemo treatments

Brian G. – Unknown blood issues

Cary S. – Ongoing back issues

Darrell B. – Battling cancer

Dennis B. – Ongoing recovery- heart

Dexter F. – Aggressive cancer found

Donna M. – Back pain/possible surgery

Emily P. – difficulties w/ asthma

Gary W. – Battling cancer

Harold C.

Jennifer – multiple health concerns

John R. – Healing in body

Nelda U. – Recovery from fall

Pat – Health concerns – positive results from testing

Ray E. – In CICU-Double Pneumonia

Baby Roeanna – Due in July-high risk pregnancy

Scott

Stephanie M. – Battling cancer

LIFE SITUATIONS

Ray H. – Loss of Aunt Kat

Stephanie M. – Loss of mom

Jason – was in ICU last week – passed away – please pray for family (Linda-mom)

UNSPOKEN REQUESTS

Hello friends!

Below is a list of prayer needs and updates if you would like to join in prayer. If you have prayer needs of your own, please feel free to let me know. You are prayed for and loved.

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep."

John 10:11 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: In John’s gospel, Jesus is speaking to those around him about something they would completely understand. According to an article on thefrontporch.org , a shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, and/or guards herds of sheep.

I can honestly admit that I personally don’t know anyone who is an actual shepherd in the literal sense, but I don’t think this is what Jesus is talking about here. Not only is he talking about the life that he leads, but for us, he is speaking on the responsibility we have as His followers to live lives of spiritual awareness and self-sacrifice. In order to protect the flock, one has to be aware of what predatory animals might be lurking about, as well, what kind of terrain will have to be navigated and if there are any dangers or snares ahead that could split up the flock or harm them. Since a shepherd also tends to and feeds the flock, a good shepherd will know what his/her sheep need (not necessarily want) and where they can be led to feed.

So, who is a shepherd? Like I mentioned, I don’t know anyone that is a professional shepherd, but if you have any family or friends that look to you for guidance or influence, if you are responsible (emotional, financial, physical, spiritual, etc) for anyone other than just yourself, then you would fit into the category of a shepherd. Over and over in the scripture, we are reminded that we are not our own, but those that have received Christ and desire to live their lives for Him, we belong to God. In a sense, we are following Jesus and we are helping to lead others toward Him as well. Considering this mindset, what are some things we can do today to help lead and guide others toward the love and hope of Christ? How are we living so that others see the grace of God and are drawn to Him who created us?

Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would ask God to reveal to us how we can live for His glory and grace that will lead others to Him. That we would be spiritually aware and that we would rely on the Holy Spirit to guide us in our lives as we seek to live out the example of Jesus. I pray that we would continually make room for God to move in and through our lives as we seek holiness. May our heavenly Father be constantly glorified in His followers, His children.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Quang Nguyen Vinh

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit."

Galatians 5:25 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: When I think of this verse (especially with the compass picture above), I think of a sailor or pirate in the old days where they would reference the stars to guide them along their journey. I’m sure if you weren’t knowledgeable about plotting your course or didn’t have the understanding of how to use a compass, you could spend a long part of your journey off course and trying to find out how to get to where you intended to go. Isn’t it similar to our faith journey with God? If we just set sail and let the currents take us wherever, we may not last too long at sea or we might run out of supplies. When we invest in learning more about what we might face and how to navigate those blue depths with a compass or the stars as our guide, especially what guides us, we would be much more efficient and fulfilled by our journey. Our faith journey is not really any different. If we invest our time getting to know our Guide, studying the maps (read: the Bible), and fully devoting ourselves to be lifelong learners, we will be much more fulfilled in our spiritual growth.

Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would start down the path to devoting ourselves to grow closer to our heavenly Father. That He would reveal in His word the paths we are to take and that He would guide us along our faith journey. I pray that we would be welcoming to others, that we will begin to step outside of our comfortable bubbles to help others find their way to the journey toward Christlikeness.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Pixabay

"No testing has overtaken you, that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it."

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: Oh, this is a wonderful verse. I’ve been waiting a couple of days to begin working on this one. The apostle Paul is writing to the church in Corinth as they have been having some issues, so he is helping to give them guidance (and a hefty dose of correction). He is acknowledging the struggles that they have been facing, but Paul lets them know that they are not the only ones that are fighting for their faith, for what they believe. In true Pauline fashion, he addresses this point, but then points us to God and/or Jesus for our hope and peace. There are a few things within this verse that are jumping out at me. First, Paul sets the standard that God is faithful no matter what we are going through. I know I have had plenty of times when I felt so overwhelmed and alone that I seriously questioned if God was even aware of what I was going through at the moment. What I learned over time? Of course He cares!!! Second (but it really ties together with the other two), God will not let us be tested beyond our strength. Notice the verse doesn’t say "God will test you." I don’t feel that He does. Why?!? With the fall of man (think back to Adam and Eve), we have been causing the majority of all of the chaos over the millenia just due to our human nature. Now, by no means, am I trying to say that we are the cause of ALL our own faith struggles. Please don’t hear that. My point is that God is neither the cause of, nor is He the source of our chaos. That leads me to the last thought. When my wife and I lost the three children due to miscarriage, God didn’t cause that, contrary to what we were told by some (mostly family). It wasn’t a result of a lack of faith that caused the miscarriages. I don’t think those times were a test of any kind. Only a sick and twisted person would cause traumatic death like that just so faith can be "tested." But I will say this. From those deaths, my wife and I had to learn to lean on one another for our strength and faith. Not only did we have to lean on each other, but we found ourselves turning to God for our strength because we were totally devastated and each miscarriage left a deeper and more soul-crushing wound on us both. When we turned to God for our strength, He did not disappoint. He held us up, comforted us, and I can honestly say that I could feel our heavenly Father grieving with and for us.

On the other side of those times, I can look back and see where God was there all along. In the book of James, we are given a challenge when we face trying times that we should consider being joyful because the testing of our faith develops maturity and perseverance. Another thing I have found is that the difficult things we face can also provide a common link to those who are either going through or have gone through similar situations. We can then know how to speak to and encourage those toward the love and hope of God.

Prayer for today: Today, I pray that we would be encouraged, especially during difficult times. Encouraged to reach out to those around us for prayer and support and to reach upwards to our heavenly Father for comfort, wisdom, and hope. I pray that each of us would come to know that God is truly for us and not against us. That our faith would be made mature through our relationship with the One who called us into being.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: Mododeolhar

"As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience."

Colossians 3:12 (NRSV)

Prodigal Thoughts: What is in your closet? No, I’m not talking about skeletons or things that have been swept under the rug. I’m asking what you are you clothing yourself in on a daily basis? I know it may seem a bit cheesy, but perhaps when we are getting dressed for the day, as we put on our socks, we can remind ourselves that we are being sent to share the gospel of Jesus with others. Maybe as we are putting on our shirt/blouse, as the fabric glides across our skin we could remember those times that someone was compassionate and kind to us. We can prepare our hearts just as we prepare our face or hair, etc. The presence of God comes in many forms and sometimes, the only reflection of God others might see is YOU. So, whether you are dressing down for a comfy-cozy day or dressing up for your workday or important meetings, remember who God says you are. YOU are chosen by Him to be His hands and feet to the world.

Prayer for today: I pray that we all would be reminded of the compassion and kindness we were shown when our heavenly Father found us. That we would remember the patience He has shown us as we have turned from Him time and time again. I pray that we would extend that same grace to others who are so desperately looking for hope and love that only God can give.

Need prayer? You can reply here or you can send me a facebook message through the Prodigal Thinker page. If this encourages you, feel free to share it. Feel free to reply with feedback as well. I’m always open to discussion.

God’s grace on you…

Prodigal Mike~

Photo credit: namo deet