Devotions @ 3 on 9-12-18

3 a.m. prayer:

Most gracious heavenly Father,

Continuing from the Bible’s good book of Proverbs: Righteous vs. Wicked Lifestyles! Shame or Glory? Terror or Delight? “What the wicked fears will come upon him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted” (Proverbs 10:24). (The calamity which is dreaded by the wrongdoer will descend on him. The desire of the righteous -the will of God in this life and the presence of God in the next – will be granted.) It’s an individual’s choice to live wickedly or righteously. If living wickedly, expect to have your fears come true and an interruption to your life. Moses warned Israel, “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 23b.) If pursuing righteousness, expect to have your desires granted. To each one of us, the God of the universe will either inflict shame or grant glory. The righteous shall be blessed. Delight in the Lord! *****

//Standing Prayer: Always remembering our country, for restoration, our continued peace, and freedom; we ask that You grant wisdom and guidance to those who are in authority, and we pray; and for the protection of our men and women who are on the battlefield, we pray. Lord, heal our land, we pray. There are people in other parts of the world who need protection and relief as they are surrounded by war and poverty; also in need of rescue are Christians who are being persecuted, and we pray.

**REMINDER: **> September 19th @ 11:30, several in the group plan to meet and have lunch; details posted on “Devotions @ 3” Facebook page. For this upcoming gathering, we pray.

And so we begin, “Just for Today”: For anyone who may be experiencing sadness, we pray.
*>NEW Prayer Requests: *> A hurricane continues to intensify and is on a path heading toward the East coast. It is expected to make landfall by Friday somewhere between North and South Carolina. Many may need to evacuate due to damaging high winds, rain and flooding, and we pray. **> A wife is worried about her husband’s mental state and how he interacts with the family; too, he has recently begun having lapses in judgement regarding finances, and we pray. **>An aunt prays for her niece who has herniated discs and is having back surgery today, and we pray. **>A daughter-in-law, whose blood pressure is elevated, is praying for an upcoming, expected to be uncomfortable, conversation she will be having with her mother-in-law, and we pray.
**<PREVIOUS Prayer Requests:**< Battle after Battle: <**Update: **<A dear lady who recently spoke out publicly regarding a sexual advance toward her is looking forward to a mini retreat with some friends, and we rejoice, and for continued restoration, we pray.**<Battling Cancer: **< Update: Continuing to remember a dear man who has progressive kidney cancer.. His doctor’s appointment went well on Monday, but liver enzymes are still up, no change to his medication, and he is experiencing a lot of fatigue, and we pray. **<We continue to lift up a dear lady who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer along with blood clots, and we pray. **<A wife prays for her husband who has a rare form of progressive, appendix cancer and an infection in his lungs; is awaiting an appointment for his lung to be drained, and we pray. **<Chronic Pain: <** A dear lady prays for her sister who has unexplained pain and is currently on a month long camping and fishing trip with her husband, and we pray. **<Divorce:< **A dear grandmother continues to pray for her grandchildren whose parents are divorced, and not attending church. The children are being exposed to an immoral living arrangement, and we pray.**<Epilepsy: **< A sister worries about her brother who is drinking excessively. He has severe epilepsy; hopefully, he will be able to begin traveling with a well-respected cousin who might be able to influence him, and we pray. **<Financial:**< Continuing to remember the elderly couple who is about to turn 90 years old and have recently discovered their life-savings account is in jeopardy, and we pray. **<Health Problems: **<A dear man has been undergoing tests for his debilitating headaches; along with ulcers on his foot, he also has Type 1 diabetes and vascular dementia, and we pray. **<A 20 year old man who has had deep muscular, skeletal problems will begin physical therapy treatment, and we pray. **<Heart Related +:** <A sister prays for her brother who has an inoperable tumor near his aorta which doctors believe is benign. As they seek a second opinion, we pray. **< A dear lady endures much verbal abuse from her fatally ill husband who has a bad heart; also she has the responsibility of a very demanding, 90+ year old, ailing father, and we pray. **<A dear lady has difficulty sleeping due to chronic nervousness and heart palpitations, and we pray. **<Homebound: **<One among us is disabled and homebound due to a previous stroke, and we pray. **Identity Crisis: **<A dear grandmother prays for her 16 year old granddaughter who is struggling with gender identity. The parents are heart broken as well as others in the family who love her, and we pray. **<Infections/Injections/Injuries: **<One among us has much back pain, has difficulty walking, suffers from high blood pressure, and is not a candidate for risky surgery at this time. Instead, will take medications and have injections in her back, and we pray. **<One among us suffers from tendonitis in her left heel, and we pray. **<Job Market: **<One in our group is working with a job recruiter to, hopefully, gain suitable employment, and we pray. **<Making Progress: **<The dear couple who stepped out on faith several months ago, to ‘begin again’ are continuing in remodeling their newly acquired older home; and are working hard at developing a new online business venture, and for their continued success, we pray.**<Marital Crisis:**Update:<** Now there are 3 couples who are having marital difficulties, and we pray. **<Mental Health: *>An aunt prays for her 23 year old nephew who has been admitted to the hospital for mental illness and undergoing some serious testing and evaluation. He had been hearing voices and had become a threat to himself and others. His parents are devastated, and we pray. **<Continuing to remember the 20-year-old young lady who was treated for major depression, now seeing a therapist twice a week, and we pray. **<Respiratory: <**Several in our group have loved ones in their family who are suffering with symptoms from colds, flu, and/or allergies, and we pray.
**<Surgeries/Prior: **>A dear man is doing well after having knee surgery yesterday, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. <Continuing to remember: the lady who had a hysterectomy on Tuesday, and we pray. **Update:< The dear man who had knee replacement surgery a little over a week ago was able to have the staples removed yesterday, and for continued healing, we pray.
**<Surgeries/Upcoming: **Awaiting Update:<A dear wife prays for her husband who has many health issues; is awaiting a surgery date for removal of a cancerous growth from his nose. and we pray. **< Update:<The wife who prayed for wisdom for the doctors regarding her husband’s sciatic nerve condition: her husband’s consult with the neuro-surgeon on Monday revealed he should not have surgery at this time. His weight loss and stretching exercises should continue to relieve his symptoms for a few years while still employed, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. **<A dear lady is scheduled for her 2nd cataract surgery on September 13th, and we pray. **<A dear sister prays for her brother who suffers vision loss from a torn retina; he is scheduled for cataract surgery in October, and we pray. **<Continuing to remember the elderly lady who is battling health problems, has blocked arteries, and an open wound on her heel. Surgery is scheduled on October 17th for a Bi-femoral artery bypass, and we pray. **< A dear lady suffers much pain due to bone on bone in her hip, also has severe curvature of the spine. Surgery for hip replacement is scheduled for November 28th, and we pray.
//Travel Mercies: **<>This is an ongoing prayer request for all who are on the highways and byways. Lord, we ask that You daily keep our travelers safe from harm, and we pray. 
For these and the many unspoken requests we pray all in Jesus name. Lord bless our homes. AMEN