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Today, Tuesday September 3rd, we have 126 people from all over the world and from many Christian denominations joining together in prayer. Our reflection for the week is on 'Leaving an Inheritance'. (The reflections are taken from the writings of Rob and Debbie Gass and used with the kind permission of United Christian Broadcasters (UCB) from their FREE daily devotional - The Word for Today. They allow the publication of 52 of their passages per year and I find their messages apt and thought provoking for the times we live in. The Word for Today)

Also included in the weekly mailings are the prayer intentions of all those who have asked us to pray for them during the week. They can be found at the bottom. As we pray for each other perhaps we can visualise ourselves bringing each to rest at the foot of Jesus and see Him reaching out His loving hand comforting and healing broken and sick bodies and minds, pouring peace into troubled hearts and spirits and over broken relationships and removing all fears, pain and suffering from each one. Thank You Jesus because we know You hear every prayer and never refuse to answer.

http://www.moytura.com/prayer/prayerbook.html
http://www.moytura.com/prayer/weekly-intentions.html

We should continue to say the short prayer to the Holy Spirit morning, noon and night to enlighten and guide us through the week and the lovely little prayer to the Lord giving Him our whole selves every day.

This week we pick up again on the theme of healing and look at the hurts and pain we carry from the first 7 years of life, the formative years. I hope you make it to the end coz there's a bunch of people needs our prayers this week and their list is at the very bottom!

God Bless you all and thanks a million for being part of the Circle of Prayer - the Prayer Warriors, as one of the group calls us!

Mary Mullins in Galway, Ireland

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"O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me, tell me what I should do. Give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit to happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen"

"Dear Lord, I give you may hands to do Your work; I give You my feet to go Your way; I give You my eyes to see as You see; I give You my tongue to speak Your words; I give You my mind that You may think in me; I give You my spirit that You may pray in me. Above all, I give You my heart that You may love in me - love the Father and love all humankind. I give You my whole self, Lord, that You may grow in me, so that it is You who lives, works and prays in me. Amen."

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Our First 7 Years of Life

Our healing prayers this week look at the early childhood years. We should start with the Prayer to the Holy Spirit above and ask Him to point out those areas in our early childhood when we were hurt or angry over situations based around separations. Ask to have the hurts we have buried deep to be brought forward and healed by the loving and gentle hand of the Lord. That the Lord will bring healing of the memories, the hurts, the pain, the angers and in their place to fill hearts and minds with the peace and love that only He can bring.

Those first 7 years of life are reputed to be the most important ones as a foundation for later years. What we learn, see, hear and do during those years set the journey ahead. Some separations are natural and normal but they can hurt just as much as those which are more dramatic. Little things like leaving a small child with a babysitter, hospitilisation of the mother, a new baby arriving into the family, first days at school, moving to a new neighbourhood, friends moving away - they all bring fears and hurts based around separation.

The more dramatic ones are from accidents, serious illness, death, marital breakdown and divorce. The impact these situations can have on a small child are often overlooked in the worry and angst of the adults.

How often have we witnessed the arrival of a new sibling where the previous child now feels replaced by this new person? How often have we seen first day at school tantrums where the child feels deserted? How many children do we see 'losing their identity' within new family structures resulting from divorce?

These situations are not easy ones to deal with yet they leave an indelible mark on childhood memories. As adults we need to look deep into the heart and realise that we were not the cause of these hurts, we should carry no shame or guilt, and we should try to forgive those who may have caused these hurts in any way. Circumstances were such that we, as small children, had no control over them.

But as adults too we need to look at our own responsibilities to our spouses and children. Life is not easy and the family is being constantly assaulted in numerous ways. Expectations are often too high, dreams too surrreal. We see the 'perfect family', the 'perfect home', the 'perfect holiday', the 'perfect job' from our televisions hourly. We see trust and honour being broken in our daily TV programmes. We see the family being thrust aside to satisfy base needs through infidelity and dishonesty in our daily 'soaps' and 'chat shows'.

For the father there is the constant pressure to provide for his family even if it means spending more time away from home to the detriment of his wife and children. Modern day living places huge demands on mothers to continue in a career or provide a second income, forcing them out into the workforce. These situations all contribute to the fears and hurts of separation for the little ones.

It's not easy living in today's world, but have we lost something precious in order to gain materially? Maybe it's time we tried to get back to what really is of value! And it's not the second or third family car, the foreign holiday, the wide-screen TV, the latest fashion.... Maybe it's time to get back to the basics of family, community, sharing and support. But above all Trust in the Lord that He will provide for all our needs if we but place our trust in Him through family prayer.

Look carefully to our decisions and pray over them, asking the Lord to show us the various consequences to all around us. Communicate with each other if at all possible, and include the little ones in those communications. They too are a part of the plans and decisions. Be aware of the results of decision on the children. In the back of my mind always is the following responsibility: "When the first child arrived self went right out the window!" and I don't mean this as a neglect of self, rather that until the last child reaches 18 years of age we have a responsibility to make their home one of security and, if possible, one of peace.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. 23But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.

Do Not Worry

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6; 19-34

The reflection from UCB this week speaks of leaving an inheritance, a legacy, a memory - let these be good memories of time well spent with each other.

What Will You Leave Behind?

" a good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children...' "  Proverbs 13 : 22 (NIV)

Life is an investment. You can't pay what you like now, and still have what you want in the end. Solomon says, '...look at an ant...let it teach you a thing or two...All summer it stores up food...it stockpiles provisions. So how long are you going to laze around doing nothing?...A nap here, a nap there, a day off here, a day off there, sit back, take it easy - do you know what comes next?...a dirt-poor life...' (Prov 6:6-11 TM). Strong language!

If you don't do the right things now, you'll end up in the winter of your life depressed and resentful, cursing a wasted youth, spending your days in want. Ants stockpile. Birds build nests. All creation prepares, delaying gratification in the interests of a better future. Follow its lead!

Prosperity and piety can abound in the same life. Indeed they should, for visions die for lack of funding. Listen to these two scriptures: (1) '...My chosen ones will long enjoy the works of their hands' (Isa 65:22 NIV). (2) 'A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children...' (Prov 13:22 NIV).Enjoy every moment of your present, but don't fail to invest for your future. If you're practical, try to be godly. If you're godly, try to be practical. One should complement the other. Ask God to add days to your life, and life to your days. Strive to leave a legacy that enhances your memory, and an inheritance that blesses those you leave behind.

Short Prayer for Today

"Lord, let my work be honest, my relaxation joyful, my example godly, my prayers sincere, my words truthful and my time with friends and family generous. Let every action of mine be through You and for Your glory so that the inheritance I leave behind will warrant Your words - 'Well done, good servant'."