I hate open heights! I can’t stand balconies, glass elevators freak me out, and when I am driving across a bridge, you’ll find me hugging the dividing rail along the inside lane.
Some friends tried to help me conquer these fears by inviting our family to join them one Sunday afternoon at Inner Peaks Climbing Center. I cringed at the thought of it, but JJ and our boys really wanted to go. So I caved in and agreed to a family “outing” inside this huge rock-climbing center.
When we entered the doors, my heart stopped beating as I look up at the highest peak – 25 feet! The instructors assured me that a web of ropes, harnesses and carabiners would hold me tight. Before I could say “no thank you,” I was strapped in and signing an injury waiver. I played it safe and stayed on the lower peaks.
Towards the end of the day, our friends John and Laura challenged their eight-year-old son Steven to climb to the highest peak – promising $5 in tokens and a cone of ice cream at arcade next door if he would touch the bar at the top.
Steven was afraid of heights, too, but he loved a dare. The promise of reward, mixed with the challenge and faith of his father evoked courage in Steven.
I watched with admiration as that little guy started the climb with confidence. He made it to 15 feet, then 20. But as he inched past the next face of the wall, he saw just how far he had to go before reaching the bar at the top. In fear, he looked down with tears and said he couldn’t do it. Then he cried out for his daddy’s help.
By this time, John was holding their very tired 3 yr old, and Laura was feeding their very hungry baby girl. I don’t know where my brave husband was, but as I looked around I realized I was the only one standing there who could do something.
Suddenly courage and strength surged through my body. I called out to Steven, “Don’t give up buddy. Wait for me to come to you. You can do it. I’ll help you!”
I said a quick prayer that God would help me and that Steven wouldn’t give up and start repelling his way down before I got to him. In no time, I reached the 20 foot marker. I crossed over the peak and up beside Steven to encourage him, reminding him of how far he’d come. Using my words and my confidence I focused his thoughts towards a higher goal, an inner peak, a reward that would be much greater than ice cream and game tokens – the reward of getting to a placehe had stopped believing he could reach.
My fear was gone. I had stopped thinking about me long enough to focus on helping someone else reach their goal and overcome their fear. Strangely enough, in that moment I overcame mine, and reached a peak of my own.
I became the response of a child’s cry for his father’s help. And that day became a picture of what happens when friends pray for and encourage one another. Like Jesus, we come alongside each other in some of life’s hardest challenges and highest peaks and we say, “Don’t give up, you can do it. Wait for me. I’ll help you.”
In that moment we take our eyes off our fears, our doubts, our struggles and set them on someone else’s needs. There we find faith to believe the power of God’s Word for them, and somehow our confidence in God’s promises and power are true for us in a way they may never have been before. That is the power of a praying friend!
Today, I invite you to join me in a conversation with God and some girlfriends so that we can experience what happens when women pray – for each other. This is your chance to share a request (a need, a hope, a desire) that you want someone to pray for you for this week. In return, you will pray for one person for the next week, too.
And because I love to share with friends books that draw me closer to Jesus, those who participate in our “conversation with God” will be part of a drawing next week for a new book called “Dear Jesus.” It is filled with devotions and scriptures that capture the heart of God’s response to every woman’s longings and intimate struggles.
Here’s how we’ll do this:
Click the word “Comments” below my name on this post (just under the 2nd green box).
Type in your prayer request in the white box.
Include your first name and where you are from.
(If you don’t have a blogger account, you can sign in as anonymous. But please include your first name at the end.) After type your request, click enter. Your comment will post.
Read the prayer request/comment above yours and pray for that friend.
Copy and paste it in an email to yourself as a reminder to pray for your new friend throughout the week.
On Monday, I’ll post about the power of praying God’s Word and share some of my favorite scripture prayers. Wouldn’t it be neat to find a Bible verse to pray for our prayer partner and post it in Monday’s comments? I’ll share how to do that.
There were two people in blessed in my story. But I never would have experienced what God had for me to give or receive that day if Steven hadn’t asked for help. I pray you will experience the power of a praying friend by promising to be one and allowing someone else to be one for you today. Be sure to click “comments” just below this box so that others see your prayer request and you find the request you are to pray for, too.
© 2008 by Renee Swope. All rights reserved.
My prayer request;
My husband had/or is having an affair with a co-worker and denies it.He claims to be a christian.It has been going on for quite sometime and he is in love with her.I do forgive my husband for what he did to me and my children.
Please pray for healing and restoration in this marriage.He says he loves me but does not show it.He is a very deceitful man.I do not know when he is telling the truth or not.Pray that God will change his life in a way it will be evident in his life.Pray for me for strength.
Thanks.
Anonymous
Tracy,
I’m sorry I didn’t read your comment before I posted mine. I will be praying for you this week.
God bless you!
Your prayer partner in Mississippi,
Marilyn
Please pray for my family. We are going through a very difficult financial time.Our oldest is supposed to start college in the fall and we can’t afford to send her. This is breaking our hearts. We still have 2 others at home as well. Thank you so much for your prayers!
Luci from VA
What a great idea this is Renee! Thank you for giving us this double opportunity…..to be prayed for AND to pray for someone else.
My prayer request is two-fold. I am so frightened of going to the dentist that my blood pressure always shoots up really high and my dentist will then not work on me. I have to re-schedule hoping the same thing will not happen again. I have to go in a little over 3 weeks to have a filling done. Please pray that God will deliver me from this fear….which I know can seem like such a little thing to those who are not afraid of anything!
And secondly….and most importantly….I have a prayer request that is so private and so raw that I cannot even name it on here. It concerns someone I love very, very dearly. They are at a crossroads in their life and if they continue down the road they’re currently on, it may be the end of life as they now know it. It breaks my heart.
Whoever you are that will be praying for me….thank you SO much from the bottom of my heart!
Marilyn from Mississippi
My prayer request is one for restored health, a new beginning, so that I can be the wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend God wants me to be.
Thank you, and God Bless You,
Tracy
My prayer request is for my marriage. My husband and I are having a lot of issues to work through and he does not want to get counselling. He has agreed that we can start doing devotions together once a week and have a date night for a couple hours once a week. I am working on not pushing him away by being critical and nagging and forgiving him for how often he hurts me. He can be quite emotionally abusive, has told me that he is not longer attracted to me and does not enjoy being around me and he is addicted to computer games and porn. I am reading books to see how I can grow in my relationship with Christ and work on the areas of my life that need fixing, since I really have no power to fix my husband. I am a fix it person, so it is so very hard not to try to fix it and to just let God deal with it. Please pray that we survive this and that God softens, convicts and heals my husband’s heart and well as mine. Thanks, Trisha
I would like to ask prayer for a full time job for myself. I have been looking for a full time job as an elementary teacher for over 2years. Please pray that God will open a door for employment and I will continue to be faithful to Him while I wait.
Thanks,
Sarah
We would like to ask for your prayers for our family. We were set to adopt a little girl that was born on June 9th. We were contacted by the couple and asked to adopt her. When she arrived the father changed his mind. We have everything ready for a little girl. My son, who is almost 9, has been praying for a baby brother or baby sister. We felt this was the answer to his prayers. We have been so upset over this. We would appreciate your prayers. May the Lord bless each of you!
Michele
I am praying for your complete healing, Nicole! I know that God is more than sufficient! I would like to ask for you to pray for my husband’s business. He has been in business for himself for over 14 years. This has been the worst year with the economy the way it is. We both feel that God is doing something we just don’t know what yet. We would truly appreciate your prayers. I have never seen him this way.
Thank you and may the Lord richly bless each of you!
Renee–
I popped over from the P31 devo…it really spoke to me today. I, too, had an aversion to asking for prayer and help, although I was always happy and even privileged to do for others. That changed when I was diagnosed with MS earlier this year. God taught me the importance of letting the Body of Christ minister to me in many ways, and I will be forever grateful for that lesson. I had to miss She Speaks this year because of my illness and I had so looked forward to returning since last year’s conf. Hopefully God will make a way for me to return next year.
As for my prayer request, patience in waiting for God to open the doors for the speaking and writing to which I know he has called me.
Thanks, and God bless,
Tracy in Blacksburg, VA
My prayer is for patience as my right foot heals after having surgery for a dislocation of my big toe. I am not able to be up and about very much for the next couple of weeks. Thank you for your prayers!
Laura
Isle of Palms, SC
I have a prayer request for my husband’s job situation. He wants to get a job through his Uncle’s Carpenter’s Union. Could you pray that if it’s God’s will he will get that job. PLUS we are also planning on starting a family shortly after he gets that job could you also pray that if it’s God’s will that we will be able to conceive, and I will have a healthy pregnancy, and carry full term. Thank you all so much!
God bless,
Veronica
Thank you so much for this devotion today and this joining of women and prayers that you have invited us into.
My prayer is for healing. Ever since I was about 15 (now 27) I have had back pains. Mostly lower but over the last 6 months they have moved upward. I have had x-rays, been stretched, popped, etc and nothing seems to work. It has also started to effect my hips from time to time in the last 6 months as well. My husband has layed hands on me and I am sure he prays for this everyday in his devotions and I have cried out to God. I will be getting insurance God willing next month so I can go to another doctor (I haven’t been for 4 years). The pain at times is debilitating and with 4 little ones to run after I can’t be this way.
I thank you so much in advance for your prayers as well as God for healing me in His perfect timing!
In Christ’s Love,
Nicole, Wabash,IN
My prayer is to become pregnant with our second child. It’s been almost a year…
Also, I long for a close group of godly friends. Please pray that my current friendships with Christian women would deepen into this kind of friendship where we are constantly praying for each other and supporting and encouraging one another, or that I would encounter new friendships.
I have a desire to quit my full-time job of 13 yrs to work my home based business full-time. I want for God’s hand to be in control of this desire and I want his confirmation to move with it. I want to spend more time growing and serving the Lord and spending time with my 77 yr old mother who just became a widow.
My desire is that He will bless my business with great abundance for me and family and to be able to use it as vehicle to touch others for Christ!!
I have an interview on Thursday for a position that has been the desire of my heart. Please pray God’s will be done.
Denise in Virginia
Forgot to say I’m from Surinam and life in Holland Amsterdam.
Thanks
Renee, this is AWESOME!! Your rock story made me teary eyed as I realize that sometimes I can be so selfish and not see past the tip of my nose to see others needs. Thanks for this sweet encouragement to put others needs in front of our own. You are such a blessing to all of us Renee. Thank you seems so small, but I want to thank you for interceding for my daughter. I read your last comment to her too and she smiled then said tell her ‘thank you, I need all the prayer I can get.’ 🙂 Thank you dear friend.
Okay, my prayer request:
That I would become a woman who uses her time wisely and cares for her household and the family in the house. My house is a wreck and daily is a mess so while hubby and son are out of town this weekend I’m determined to make some positive changes.
Thank you for your prayer! 🙂
In Him,
Lelia
Please pray that my mother will find peace and begin to fully trust the Lord again since the sudden death of my step-dad. He died unexpectedly after a minor surgical procedure and Momma is struggling with her faith.
Alicia- Claremont,NC
What a Great way to suppor each other!
My prayer request is that God would open a door of opportunity that will lead me into living the life He designed me for. That He would allow me to work from home in a way that I can be creative, meet a need for others, and glorify Him.
Thank you so much!
(edie7777 at tx dot rr dot com)
Thanks Renee for this opportunity to join in this prayerline.
God knows why he lead me to your blog……
I need prayer for my own spiritual growth.I grow up as a christian,and i experience God in my life i saw His hands…..But i feel lately like He wants more…but it is not clear to me yet….
Prayer for my family 2kids and one on the way and my dh’s who just came to an new relationship with the Lord last year….
And last but not least my family finances…..
Thanks
God Bless
Bernice
Thank you for allowing me to make these prayer requests. They are many! Please pray for my Mom, Gloria, who battles with depression, many friends seeking employment, my children – that they are all safe and well, and me, to keep up with this pace and to do better financially! God bless you all!
Please pray for a serious discussion that needs to take place between my husband and my ex-husband. By the grace of God, my husband and I have a very good relationship with my ex. People can’t get over it and we quickly give God the glory for it. However, something has come up that is creating tension and needs to be discussed. I feel certain that it is the enemy seeking to destroy the testimony of our relationship with my ex. Pray that God would protect it. Pray for the hearts of my husband and my ex husband to be prepared for their talk. Pray that they would each see the other through God’s eyes and have His perspective. Pray that God will be glorified. Mostly, pray that I will trust God to see this through and not fret!
(There is a verse that says “Do not fret it leads only to evil. Psalm 37:8)
Thank you so much for your prayers!
Please pray for me.I am going through major depression and can’t seem to get a grip. God has brought me through a really difficult time the last couple of years and I have so many reasons to be thankful….but this depression has just got a hold of me and I can’t seem to shake it.
Whew! Where do I begin? Please pray for my relationship with my husband. He is a recent cancer survivor and our life has been affected. He is a very loving and caring husband and father.
I grew up as an only child with a dysfunctional and alcohlic father. I was molested by 3 separate individuals as a young girl. I suffered rejection from my father and first husband. I lost my first child from a still birth. I looked for love in all the wrong places and also had an abortion along the way. Which I believe has caused me to struggle with intimacy and not allowing for anyone (men or women) to get too close to me for fear of rejection.
All of these stuggles have been buried deep inside. I want to be freed from all my baggage once and for all!! The desire of my heart is to have my marriage/intimacy restored. To be able to serve my God fully and to be used for His glory!
I thank my God everyday for His washing and cleansing of my sins and desire to serve Him with all my heart.
With a thankful heart in California
I wold just ask that you be in prayer for my marriage. My husband and I have been married since December but I have found that marriage brings out my selfishness. Normally I’m a pretty selfless person especially when it comes to doing things for others, I love making people happy… a people pleaser I guess but in my marriage I’m selfish… emotionally more than anything else. I expect things to go my way and when they don’t I act like a child. I need to learn more self control and I need a heart change more than anything. Would you girls please be in prayer for me?
Proverbs31ministries has been such a blessing to me and an encouragement when I feel like no one else understands. Thank you ladies for being a part of this sisterhood.
I’m Carissa from Florida
My need, I am recently divorced and am filing for bankruptcy. I live with family and my 6 year old daughter. I need prayer for my daughter and i to have our own place. i also need prayer for God to help financially. I only make $800. a month. I also need to get closer to Him!!Thank you so much!!
God Bless,
Kristeen & Alexandria
I am getting married on the 26th of July, 8 more days. I am 53 and am marrying a wonderful man. my two grandchildren live with me so we will all be coming together as a family unit. My grandchildren and I are moving to my future husbands home. Lots of work and changes all at the same time. Please pray for us as we come together as a family, plan for the wedding, pack, and move. Thank you for your prayers.
Sisters in Christ,
Linda
Please pray for my former husband, the father of our 3 wonderful children. His name is Keith and he is having bypass surgery on Tuesday, July 22 and a valve replacement. Please pray for his heart and soul both to be healed. He is a Christian but I believe his faith needs strengthening. I would love for him to feel as close to God as I do. It’s a wonderful and humbling feeling! Thank you so much! Marlene
My prayer request is for my son Ben who is 14 and has autism. He was in a treatment facility for 9 months and is home now. I pray for peace to calm his spirit. I also pray for myself that I would find a friend or friends who understand the world of having special needs children. I need to be uplifted by friends who understand. Susie
I will be praying for Christy and her marriage, that God will work his Will in that home.
I am asking for prayers for my son’s health issues, caused by alcohol. I am asking God to give him peace, to heal him of his desire for alcohol and to heal his health problems.
Thank you for your prayers.
Anne, I am 37 years old and in your same situation. Have never been married, no (biological)children (accept for my daughter whom I have raised since birth, now 17 yrs old) I have always wanted 4 children and since I already have Angela I pray and dream of having triples. Now we can stand together in prayer for our dreams to come true. May God’s will be done in our lives! Blessings. Claudia
My husband says he is not happy and considering leaving. I think alot of it is financial burdens and stress. Please pray that he will stay strong and i can be who he needs me to be and that will make it through this.
Thanks,
Christy
My prayer is for my husband as he has an extremely stressful job. I pray he will lean on the Lord’s strength and that we will have a smooth move from AZ to TX in the next coming month.
Danielle
My prayer is for my husband’s heart to be opened to adoption from China. I feel God has told me I have another daughter there, and it is a burden on my heart to bring her home. Thank you so much!
LouAnne
I LOVE this idea.
For this coming week I would so appreciate prayer for Dr’s appointments I have – tests trying to discover what is causing abdominal pain. Please pray that anything that needs to be found will be found so steps can be taken for complete recovery. I guess, actually, you could pray for complete healing so nothing would be found too! :o)
Thank you so much for your prayers on my behalf.
Joy
I am struggling with opening up to people, and making friends. I just can’t seem to open up enough to get past that aquaintance stage. Please pray for me to open up and leave my comfort zone.
Thank you.
Karla
I am newly married (May 3). My husband and I are both Christians and want Christ at the center of our marriage. My husband is even starting seminary soon, however we have been under attack. Nothing serious, just not very happy with each other lately and can’t seem to get past it. I love him dearly and God definitely designed this marriage! I want to be the patient, obedient wife has called me to be but it is difficult because I don’t feel I have an example to follow. God has asked me to lead by example and trust in Him to repair things (which neither of us have been doing). My prayer is for the strength and patience to do this! This is supposed to be such a happy, joy-filled time for us and it has been anything but!
Thank you my beautiful sisters in Christ!
God love you and so do I!
Please pray that God will open financial doors for my husband and I very soon. My husband’s business is failing and I have been searching for a job since December. All doors have been closed so far, so I’m praying God will open the right door for a job for me, if that is His will, and will turn around my husband’s business so we can meet our financial obligations. CR
My prayer request is for physical healing. I am 31, and dealing with multiple nagging conditions… today it’s a horrible infection that visits more frequently that I would like. I sometimes feel frustrated because I know who my healer is, yet I still struggle with health issues.
Thank you for your prayers!
Jenny in Ohio
I am a 39 year old mother of two young boys (ages 8 1/2 and 6). I have experienced two years of health issues due to autoimmune problems. I am very weary of doctor visits, and the money needed to sustain my health. My husband is a wonderful support, Praise God! I just want to be healthy again and to be here to raise my boys. I may need surgery, but a medication might help keep me from surgery. Please pray that the Great Physician, Jesus Christ would heal me completely! Thank you and bless you, sister!
I’m am struggling with panic attacks, I am starting sessions with my Christian counselor today. I know I need to turn all my burdens, worry and anxiety over to Christ but it is so hard for me. I have issues with trust and control and have been praying so hard to get some peace in my life. Your prayers are so appreciated.
Blessings,
Andrea
I am praying for healing from my past, past disappointments, hurtful words, emotional eating, rejection, insecurities, marriage communication, and knowing how to accept love and friendships. Thank you.
Sonja
Must be a God thing that Tina’s request is above mine. I have a HUGE heart for babies, esp. those suffering from illness. I volunteered at UNC Children’s Hospital for two years as a Pediatric Cuddler and am a licensed foster parent in North Carolina. I was born with a hole in my heart (septal defect) that required open heart surgery at age 6. The hole was the size of a nickel by that point and doctors told my parents I would not live past age 15 without the surgery … I am 32 now and no sign of a murmur. Tina, I will be praying for you and your beautiful girl!!!
My love for babies has also inspired my new career choice. Starting in August, I will enter the pre-nursing program at my local community college with the ultimate goal of working in the newborn nursery or the NICU. Please pray for me as I begin this journey … finances are an issue as I have been unemployed for since the end of April. Time management will also be key.
In addition, please pray for my health. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia last year, which is a very painful chronic pain condition accompanied by severe fatigue. I am taking lots of medicine and have recently been put on a very strict, yucky diet (no “white” or processed foods, nothing with corn or corn syrup, etc.). It has been very difficult for me. I am single and feel very alone and overwhelmed by it all. I have actually gotten off of it the last three days. Just fed up and quit. So I also have guilt about that and need to find that motivation and commitment again … remind myself that I am worth it and ultimately I will be healthier and happier as a result of following doctor’s orders. Just wish there was an easier way.
Finally, my heart’s desire is to be a mom. I want that more than anything in the world. The desire has only increased the past few years as I have been fostering newborns from the time they are released from the hospital for the week or 10 days until their adoption is finalized. I feel God has placed adoption on my heart as the means to be a mom. There are so many kids out there who need love and I have so much to give. But adoption is not cheap and not all agencies allow singles to adopt. I know God is bigger than any red tape and can make a way. I just can’t see HOW or WHEN at this point, and it is so hard. I already have the nursery all set up for my foster babies. And it is getting harder and harder to let them go when the time comes. I am ready for my chance to nurture someone from infancy to adulthood. Just please pray for wisdom and that my trust will grow through this process.
And thanks, Renee, for reminding me that asking for prayer and for help is NOT burdening others. It fosters community and intimacy God desires us to have with others.
Blessings,
Jenn
P.S. Several others posted since I started writing this. I will still pray for Tina, but will also be praying for those in between:)
Please pray for safe journey mercies for my husband and I as we start our vacation tomorrow morning (Sat. July 19th). My first name is Marilyn and I am from Ontario, Canada
My prayer request is that as I go into the end of July and first of August that God will show me everyday what I need to focus on that day. This summer I have taken over as the MOPS Coordinator for our church and all the responsibilities of that new position on top of taking care of my family is having an impact on my health and my relationships. My husband is concerned that I am not placing MOPS second to my son. Trying to keep a four year old entertained, that will not play by himself and does not nap, is wearing me out and I am overwhelmed by my to-do list right now. Please pray for balance in my life and that I will lean on Him and ask Him, “God, what do I need to do today? Not tomorrow, just today?” My verses I am clinging too right now are Matthew 6:33-34, “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.” Thank you my praying sister. God bless you!
Brandee
http://www.setmyfeetonarock.blogspot.com
hello, I have a prayer request if someone has a few minutes to listen to my story.We live in Tenn near the Smoky Mountains.We’ve always wanted to live here we visiting on vaction many times. We’ve been here 5 years and it has been nothing but a finacial struggle.Work here is so hard to come by let’s just say ethics is a big part of it.My husband is a very responable man when it comes to working he held his job for 12 years in Fl.We own a small bussiness that is barely staying a float.We need prayer for our finacial burdens.Our family is in florida and we am ready to move back.We need Gods guidance for for our struggle it’s been 5 years we are ready for relief. God never gives us more than he knows we can handle, God answers prayers and keep praying this is what we hold onto daily and I read proverbs 31 daily(for about 3 weeks now)
Thanks for reading and God Bless ya’ll Bhutch
My prayer request is that after 21 years of marriage and now with 3 teenagers, my husband will see the need to help with our finances instead of hoarding it all away in case of an “emergency”. I foot most of the bills.
Kathy
My prayer request is for my 17 year old daughter. She has always been a sweet, helpful, compliant, obidient and loving girl until about thr time she started Jr. High. Her grades started slowly slipping and now she is trying everything and announced she is not longer going to church. This breaks my heart. Not just for my daughter but for a generation that seems to all be going down the same path. Lady’s please join me in prayer for our kids. Let’s pray that they see God for who He is and that they come to know that what they are looking for can only be found in Jesus!!!! Please help me pray for wisdom in guiding my daughter during this time in our lives. Blessings! Claudia
My request is for God to show me what I need to do or say as lately I feel 'attacked' by people I love and friends. This year has been a really tough one emotionally/physically and spiritually and I don't know if I am being overly sensitive or if I am to change myself in some way but the comments have cut to my heart. I am feeling depressed & worthless..