Devotions @ 3 on 10-30-18

3 a.m. prayer:

Most gracious heavenly Father,

Proverbs continues to compare righteous and wicked lifestyles. WHO is in THE REFLECTION WHICH is LOOKING BACK at YOU? “The thoughts of the righteous are just, but the counsels of the wicked are deceitful” (Proverbs 12:5). (The goals of the righteous are honorable, and, just as surely, the plans of the wicked are deceitful.) In other words, a man’s aims are a mirror of his character. The New Testament says: “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45). (Your thoughts prove your real character. You make the choice every day to be right or wicked.) One who is morally pure and spiritually healthy can bring forth blessings for others out of the good treasure of his heart. On the other hand, one who is basically impure only brings forth evil. But, like a child, one’s heart needs to be taught right from wrong. We must teach our own hearts and guard our choices, for the world is corrupt and will attempt to lead us toward insane and wicked ideas. To become a man/woman of godly character: pray; confess your sins; and ask God to fill your mind with right thinking. Read the bible daily and make today your best day of thoughts! *****

//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.
And so we begin, “Just for Today”: For anyone who is attempting to resolve a conflict, we pray.
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*>NEW Prayer Requests: *> A dear widow is having trouble with her knee and has an appointment with the specialist next month, and we pray. *> A dear mother prays for her son to be able to quit smoking. He has a condition which is further exasperated by smoking, and we pray. *>One among us was recently able to convince many in her extended family to have genetic testing for a highly hereditary condition, and we rejoice, and for those who will be tested, we pray. *>A dear lady whose husband has recently passed away desperately needs a job with benefits. She dreads it, but is going to ask for help from the Social Security office. She asks prayer that the person she talks to will be understanding and helpful, and we pray.
**<PREVIOUS Prayer Requests: <**Addiction: **>A dear mother prays for her son who is an alcoholic and is struggling to stay sober; he is also battling drug dependency, and we pray. **Aging:**>A friend prays for a friend’s 90 year old mother who recently sold her house and has moved to a temporary unit; she is hopeful to be in her permanent apartment before Christmas, and we pray.**Update:>A dear lady prayed for her daughter-in-law’s aged grandfather who was under Hospice care; he has since passed away. Praying now for his devoted wife of 60+ years as she prepares to take his ashes to their hometown, and we pray. **<Battling Cancer: **Update:<A dear wife prayed for her husband who had a rare, aggressive cancer (appendiceal adenocarcinoma), which had spread to his lungs; the dear man has since passed away, and for his family, we pray. **>Continuing to remember a dear man who suffers with progressive kidney cancer. He will be consulting with his oncologist to explore other treatment options, and we pray. **<We continue to lift up a dear lady who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Although she is receiving chemotherapy she was able to travel out of state recently and enjoy a family reunion, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. **<Battling Disease:**<A stepmother prays for her stepdaughter who has been diagnosed with stage 4 liver fibrosis and may need a transplant, and we pray.** Biopsy/Testing Results: Update:>A son-in-law prayed for his mother-in-law who was awaiting results from a biopsy which was done on the 9th when her gallbladder was removed; good results came back: no cancer, and we rejoice. **Caregivers:**<A dear lady holds down a full time job and often has to rearrange her work schedule, including travel plans, in order to help her aged parents, and we pray.**<Chronic Pain:<**Some have overall, unexplained pain, others have pain in specific areas of their bodies, and we pray. **<A sister prays for her sister who gets little or no relief from medications for her chronic pain, and we pray.**<Epilepsy: **< A sister continues to worry about her 64 year old brother with epilepsy who is lonesome and prone to drinking excessively, and we pray. **<Family Affairs: **< A dear mother is experiencing problems with jealousy issues between her two adult daughters, and we pray. **Financial +:**<Continuing to remember the elderly couple whose life-savings account is in jeopardy, they have ongoing problems with dementia, and we pray. **//Grieving:**>This is a standing prayer. Although much time has passed, many continue to grieve over the deaths of their dearly beloved, departed family members. (Widows/widowers, parents, grandparents, siblings, etc.) all silently missing the presence of their loved ones, and we pray. **<Health Issues/Problems: UPDATE NEEDED**>An aunt prays for her niece who experiences problems with high blood pressure. It has gone down, but a monitor is being used to determine if anything is going on with her heart. She is also having bad headaches, and we pray. **<A dear lady has an appointment to have genetic testing today, October 30th. Her father, too, will be seeing his primary doctor for a referral to the same genetic testing center. They want to find out if they have inherited the rare gene, linked to cancer and numerous conditions, which runs rampant in their family, and we pray. **Update>: In that same extended family, two brothers awaited the results of their genetic testing to find out whether or not they had inherited the same mutated gene. Results are in: one tested negative, and we rejoice; however, the other tested positive, and we pray.**<A dear lady prays for others but has multiple health issues herself, and we pray. **Update:< Continuing to remember a dear lady who was recently diagnosed with severe degenerative disease. She was also having leg cramps but has had relief from drinking V8 juice! She has begun physical and aquatic therapy. Yesterday she had a pre-appointment for an upcoming sleep study and will be picking up equipment for that on November 7th. Prior to that, she has an appointment with a nerve doctor/orthopedic surgeon on November 5th, and we pray. **<Among us is a widow who continues to suffer from loneliness and chronic bouts of Diverticulitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and has difficulty sleeping, and we pray. **<Heart Related +: **Update:<A dear lady prays for her aged father who has an implanted defibrillator. Recent reports have shown that several times his heart is getting shocked back into rhythm. He was scheduled for a chemical stress test last week; however, he cancelled all of his appointments, now has to be rescheduled, and we pray. **<UPDATE NEEDED: A wife continues to pray for her dear 80 year old husband who has only 25% heart function. The dear man was scheduled for a heart catherization on Thursday, October 25th, and we pray. **>UPDATE NEEDED:>A dear lady has been diagnosed with some heart abnormalities, and is facing more testing to determine if there are any blockages. Two weeks ago she had more testing and is still awaiting results. Her doctor has also ordered a sleep apnea test. Furthermore, she will be seeing an orthopedic specialist on November 5th about her shoulder pain and immobility in her right arm, and we pray.**>A sister prays for her brother who has an inoperable tumor near his aorta, and we pray. **<A dear lady endures much verbal abuse from her fatally ill husband who has a bad heart, and we pray. **<Help Needed**Update:<A dear widow was having trouble with her car and needed to have it repaired; her brother-in-law was able to fix it, and we rejoice.**<Homebound: **<One among us is disabled 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. Hopefully, a weekly, Wednesday, Bible study group will help to bring restoration and togetherness to those in the family who are hurting, and we pray. **<Infections/Injections/Injuries: **<A dear man continues to pray for his 84 year old friend and neighbor who is recovering at home after suffering paralysis in his right leg, and is now using a walker, moving very slowly, and for continued healing, we pray.**<An elderly woman who has many health problems asks prayer for her ‘whole body’, and we pray. **<One among us continues to have much back pain, difficulty walking, suffers from high blood pressure, but is not a candidate for risky surgery. Her only relief is through medications and physical therapy. Much of her treatment is not covered by insurance which puts a financial strain and adds more worry on this dear lady, and we pray. **Life’s Needs: **<A dear man asks others to pray for him as he strives to transform into a better person, and we pray. **<Life’s Problems: **<A teenage boy is struggling with stress at home because of his father’s anger issues, which are also, adversely, affecting his mother and his girlfriend, and we pray.**<One among us has recently been diagnosed with ADHD and has been put on medication. She manages to hold down a full time job with long hours, has a heavy workload, but it’s really taking a toll on her, she is suffering from fatigue and mental stress, and we pray.**<Making Progress: **> The dear couple who stepped out on faith, to ‘begin again’ continues in remodeling their newly acquired older home. They have also been working hard to build up their online business, and for continued success, we pray. **<Marital Crisis: **<A young, unchurched, married couple, with an infant son, has decided to divorce, and we pray.*<A dear man is having issues with his wife in deciding what to do about his current job situation; therein exists some unspoken needs, and we pray.**> There are at least 7 couples who are having difficulty in their marriages, and, we pray. **<Marriage Plans: **<A dear couple has set a wedding date which is a year away, and we pray. **<Mental Health+: **< A dear grandmother continues to pray for her 20 year old granddaughter who has had mental problems and now works at a strip club. The grandmother is a believer and is trying to build a better relationship with her granddaughter, to hopefully influence her, and for continued communication between the two, we pray. >Also the grandmother asks prayer for the young lady’s parents who are involved in a cult, and we pray. **<Respiratory: **<Many are suffering with symptoms from colds, flu, and/or allergies, and we pray.
**<Surgeries/Prior: <Update>A dear lady prayed for her brother-in-law with an infection in his leg. He had a successful surgery, is now home, on antibiotics and doing well, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray.**>Update:> Remembering the dear man who had another surgery to remove recurring growths from under his tongue. Results from the biopsy show benign, no cancer, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. **>Update:> The elderly lady who battles numerous health problems had a successful Bi-femoral artery bypass on the 17th. Her wound is almost completely healed and she is walking with no pain in her foot, and we rejoice, and for continued healing, we pray. **> A dear 49 year old woman is scheduled for a total hysterectomy tomorrow, October 31st. She is expected to be off work for 3-8 weeks, and we pray. **<Continuing to remember the dear man who had a 4th surgery on his eye on the 15th, and for continued healing, we pray.**<Remembering the dear man who had knee surgery on September 11th, remaining hopeful physical therapy will help, and for continued healing, we pray.
**<Surgeries/Upcoming: ****<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.**> Praises: One among us recently had safe travels when she went out of state for a family reunion, and we rejoice.
For these and the many unspoken requests we pray all in Jesus name. Lord bless our homes. AMEN