Devotions @ 3 on 9-14-18

3 a.m. prayer:

Most gracious heavenly Father,

Continuing in the Bible’s book of Proverbs: Righteous vs. Wicked Lifestyles! Cold, sharp and sour is vinegar. Offensive, negligent and annoying is the sluggard! “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the lazy one to those who send him” (Proverbs 10:26). (Vinegar is hurtful to the teeth, and smoke is irritating to the eyes. In the same way, a lazy messenger who dillydallies on the way proves exasperating, frustrating, and annoying to those who send him out on business.) One ought not be slothful in their work, but fervent in spirit, as in serving 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 Devotions @ 3 group plan to meet and have lunch; details posted on the groups Facebook page. For this upcoming gathering, we pray.
And so we begin, “Just for Today”: For: “Unspoken Requests”, we pray.
*>NEW Prayer Requests: *> An enormous hurricane inches closer to the Eastern shoreline. Even though it’s been downgraded to a Category 1, it’s no minor storm. Much damage has been done and it will continue over the next several days. Thousands are without power, many have evacuated and are in shelters. The storm’s damaging high force winds, tornados, rain and flooding are worsening as this storm continues inland, and we pray.

**<PREVIOUS Prayer Requests: **<Battling Cancer: **< Continuing to remember a dear man with progressive kidney cancer; he is very fatigued, and we pray. **<We continue to lift up a dear lady who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and we pray. **<Chronic Pain: <** A dear lady prays for her sister who has unexplained pain, and is currently on a month long trip with her husband, and we pray. **<Divorce:< **A dear grandmother continues to pray for her grandchildren who are being exposed to an immoral living arrangement, and we pray.**<Epilepsy: **< A sister worries about her 64 year old brother with epilepsy who is drinking excessively; just can’t seem to forget the past, and we pray. **<Financial +:**< A wife is worried about her husband’s mental state and how he interacts with the family. He has lapses in judgement regarding finances, and we pray. **< 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. Due to dementia they are making some bad financial choices; it’s difficult to get through to them, and we pray. **<Health Problems: **<A dear man has been undergoing tests for his debilitating headaches; also has Type 1 diabetes and vascular dementia. He is scheduled today for an MRI of the brain, and we pray. **<A 20 year old man who has had deep muscular, skeletal problems will begin physical therapy treatment on the 19th. The cost is all out-of-pocket and adds much financial strain to the family, and we pray. **<Heart Related +:** <A sister prays for her brother who has an inoperable tumor near his aorta which doctors believe is benign, and 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, and we pray. **<Infections/Injections/Injuries: **<One among us has much back pain, has difficulty walking, suffers from high blood pressure. Being that she is not a candidate for risky surgery at this time, will take medications and have injections in her back, and we pray. **Update:<One among us continues to have relief from recent knee injections, and we rejoice, but is presently suffering from tendonitis in her left heel, and is waiting to be fitted for a brace, and we pray.**<Job Market: **Update:<One in our group is working with a job recruiter to, hopefully, gain suitable employment. She recently was informed of a job opportunity that is only 10 minutes from her home, and she would still be able to continue in her current position, and we rejoice, and for continued answers, we pray. **<Making Progress: **Update:<The dear couple who stepped out on faith several months ago, to ‘begin again’ are continuing in remodeling their newly acquired older home. Their kitchen countertops are being manufactured now and, hopefully, will soon receive those. They are working hard at building their online business which has picked up some, and for continued success, we pray.**<Marital Crisis:**There are at least 3 couples who are having marital difficulties, and we pray.**<Mental Health: **>An aunt prays for her 23 year old nephew who is in treatment at a mental hospital and has been undergoing some serious testing and evaluation. The parents are having a difficult time watching their son adjust to the 30-day treatment program, 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: **Update:<A dear lady had her 2nd cataract surgery yesterday; is home now and doing well, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. **>An aunt prays for her niece who had successful back surgery Wednesday; and for continued healing, we pray.**<Continuing to remember a dear man who had successful knee surgery on Tuesday, and for continued healing, we pray. **<Continuing to remember the lady who had a hysterectomy a little over a week ago, and for continued healing, we pray. <**Update: <Continuing to remember the dear man who had knee replacement surgery a little over a week ago; staples are out, but is slowly and painfully progressing, and for continued healing, we pray.
**<Surgeries/Upcoming: **<A dear wife prays for her husband who has many health issues, and is still waiting for a surgery date in the removal of a cancerous growth from his nose. He is scheduled for an MRI today, and we pray. **<A dear sister prays for her brother who 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