We see the signs and notes of encouragement outside long term care and retirement homes: “Thank You For All you Do”; “Heroes Work Here”; “We Are Praying For You!” There has been such an outpouring of support for health care workers and other essential services staff during this pandemic. This is extremely important because it gives strength to those who are feeling exhausted to know that they are appreciated and are being remembered in our prayers. It may be as this pandemic and the lockdown carries on that people are not as inclined to express thanks and support and to offer prayers for those on the frontlines. They still need our prayers and they still need to be reassured that we are praying for them. Extending ourselves to let someone know they have been in our prayers is like the sun breaking through on a cloudy day. It changes the whole outlook. I want us to give attention this week in our WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER to people who have already been recognized as heroes and also to those who may at times be overlooked and may not have had people thanking them and telling them that they are being remembered in prayers. I Thessalonians 1:2 in the New Testament has the writer Paul penning these words, “We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers.” How do you feel when someone tells you that they have been remembering you in their thoughts and prayers? I feel grateful and uplifted. I feel that someone really cares about me and my family. This goes a long way to creating a sense of well being and to reminding that God cares and is watching over all. Praying for people is our privilege and then letting them know they are in our prayers restores hope and gives courage to keep on responding to what needs doing. Let’s pray for each other and then let’s make a point of telling people that we thank God for them and continually mention them in our prayers. Praying and asking God to bless and protect people is a wonderful way to spend our time as the duration of this pandemic stretches on. Today, January 27th at 1 pm, we can take time for WEDNESDAY PRAYER TOGETHER. After we have prayed, we can go a step further and let people know that we have mentioned them in our prayers.
Loving God we turn to You so grateful for this gift of prayer that can be a means of blessing others as we pray for them. Thank You that in this time when restrictions prevent our closeness with each other that we can come close with You. We can be near to Your heart oh God. When You inspire us to pray for particular people today, we pray that You will also remind us to let these people know that they are in our prayers so that they can be encouraged and lifted up. Thank You for those who find ways to reach out and to notice that others are struggling. We pray now for those who have been working long hours and have had extra responsibilities placed on them. We think of people we know who are in this situation. We pray, with concern our God, that some are in danger of burn out and collapse. We pray that You will provide strength, but we also pray that You will provide rest and balance so that people who carry so much will not keep pushing themselves to the breaking point. We are thinking of health care staff who have been working short staffed and are reluctant to turn down additional shifts because of the strain it places on their co-workers. We pray for those who have been carrying the burden of all that has been involved in trying to keep residents and patients safe during this crisis. We pray for staff in hospitals where the load of care keeps increasing. We pray for families who have lost loved ones and have not been able to gather together for support and have not been able to have a funeral or celebration of life because of current restrictions. Today we pray for all those trying to deal with online learning and the weight of the expectations. We pray for students, parents, and teachers trying to cope with added stress and not knowing how long this whole different approach to learning will continue. We pray for people we know who are teachers with their own children at home and needing help when they are trying to teach a class. We pray for parents working from home and trying to provide support for their children learning at home. Where there is frustration and fatigue, we pray for You to bring insight about how to best approach this challenge. Our thoughts turn to people who are confined at home and feeling forgotten and discouraged. We pray for those who are lonely and cannot find things to look forward to in the day. Our prayers come before You for those who feel like their lives are on hold and who wonder when they can move forward from here. We pray for ourselves and want to honest with you about how we are feeling. Thank You that we do not have to pretend anything with You. We pray for people we are missing and times together that we are missing. We pray for our churches trying to figure out Your priorities and how to plan for the year ahead. And God please bless those who carry on doing what needs doing but often go unnoticed. Sometimes they themselves may not consider that what they do matters. Please give us awareness and words to convey that they do matter and what they do matters. We look forward to the way that our prayers and our letting people know we have mentioned them in our prayers will bring renewed grace and confidence in You and Your love for each individual. Thank you our God that we can think of specific people and after bringing them to You in prayer we can know that they will be blessed to know they were in our thoughts and prayers. Praise you God from whom good comes about for those we commit to You in prayer! In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.