Dear Sisters - Prayer

DearSisters

J E S U S + C O M M U N I T Y

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:6-7

Dear Sisters Volume 4: Prayer

Copyright © 2022 By Melissa Heerebout. All rights reserved

Independently published

No parts of this book may be reproduced without written consent from the editor.

Melissa Heerebout melissa@dearsisters.org

Cover and Design by Melissa Heerebout

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc ™ Used by permission of Zondervan All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188 All rights reserved

Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Founder: Melissa Heerebout

Editor: Judy Daykin

Writer: Jenna Tulman

Writer: Kim Gomez

Writer: Chelsea O'Rouke

Photography Source: Unsplash

Cover Photo: Steven Aguilar

Prayer

Dear Sisters,

Welcome to our latest issue! We are so excited to devote this month to the subject of prayer.

Prayer is such a vast topic, and there are so many facets to it, and we could spend a lifetime studying just this one area of our spiritual lives As you approach your prayer life, I hope you find fresh ideas in this issue

As you read, keep this quote in mind from Charles Spurgeon:

"True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance, and it is far deeper than that it is a spiritual transaction with the Creator of Heaven and Earth."

Our prayer is that you would connect on a deeper level with God. Know that we pray for our Dear Sisters Community regularly, and if you ever have a prayer request, you can DM us on Instagram or Facebook, and it would be our privilege to pray for you.

Melissa Founder of Dear Sisters

PhotoColeJohnsont

PRAYING FOR

In this special issue of Dear Sisters, we would love for you to join us in praying for the nations of the world. So throughout this issue, you will find each nation of the world

We listed the nations by population and have included both countries and independent territories based on information from World Meter.

As you feel led, take a moment to pray for a few nations each day or each week.

Here are some ideas of what you can pray for:

Pray for God to move in each nation

Pray for the church in each nation.

Pray for workers for the harvest.

Pray for revival to break forth.

Pray for families.

Pray for unity in the church

PRAYING FOR

SPECIAL FOCUS

Dear Sisters, Meet my friends Chelsea and Frankie and their 4 kids! Chelsea and Frankie moved to Oaxaca 1 1/2 years ago to plant churches among the unreached people groups in Southern Mexico. God gave them the vision to plant a hub church in the city that sends church planters into the unreached villages in Oaxaca and then sends Mexican missionaries to the world to reach the nations. They are in phase one of that vision as God is building His church in the city center of Oaxaca.

Here are some prayer points for Oaxaca as you pray for the nations

All Peoples Church Oaxaca

Prayer Points:

Establishing the church in the city

Spiritual attack

Freedom and healing for the people of Oaxaca Wisdom in reaching an area engrossed in witchcraft and complicated spiritual history Strategies for addressing poverty and brokenness

Strategies for battling human trafficking

I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.

Pray Earnestly

By Chelsea O'Rourke

I had lost him. Hands grasping my knees and tears pouring down my face, I sat in our home office, desperate. Defeated. The weight of it pressed on my heart as I faced the reality of my inability to save him from himself. Sleepovers in my room since we were tiny, pretend games of lion cubs, adventures in the mountains, talks of girls, and growing up. He was my brother, but also my friend Drugs had won him over Sleeping and living somewhere in the riverbeds an hour away I knew I couldn't bring along two toddlers and a baby in a hunt among the homeless and drug addicts searching for him. We'd pass many homeless as we drove by certain areas of the city, and my eyes would scan for the person I once knew.

Photo By: Fa Barbozaa

It's a strange thing grieving the living.

"Jesus," I cried out in pain that morning, "I can't reach him, and he doesn't receive my texts or emails. I want him to know that I love him, miss him, and that You, Father, are with him I'm frustrated, God, and I can't talk with him, find him, or simply tell him I love him. Oh Jesus. I'm unable to do anything."

"It's true," He responded. "You cannot do anything in your own strength. He doesn't need you to find him in the riverbed, and he needs me Pray," he said "It's not a secondary action to take when you are in a place out of options, and it's the primary form of warfare. And your prayers are powerful."

That morning changed everything.

James 5:16 18 reminds us of the impact of prayer:

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail. Elijah was a man just like us, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth yielded its crops."

Elijah was a man just like us, and he prayed earnestly and the physical realities of earth were altered! We are reminded to do the same thing pray earnestly and see the kingdom of God impact and alter the earthly realities of our lives.

Photo by six m les

In desperation, I cried out to God. I had nowhere else to go. And nothing else I could do for him So I prayed

Why is prayer so often our last resort, where we go when we are empty and out of options?" The Holy Spirit began to teach me a new way to see prayer as a powerful, offensive weapon in the kingdom of God

Instead of prayer being the final hope when I am unable to do more, it became front line warfare. Prayer is a place for gaining ground, with a mindset of power and faith in the one who brings the victory. My heart entered into prayer as if I were a soldier entering the heat of the battle. He reminded me that prayer is a mysterious, power filled way of living that moves mountains and sets captives free

During this season, I gathered others around me to fast together and fight on behalf of my brother. We would fast together every Monday for a year, not just for my brother but for the loved ones of others trapped in addiction as well

Photo daniel gutko

Prayer and fasting are not empty spiritual disciplines for monks, nuns, pastors, and spiritual leaders. Prayer and fasting are a power combination reflecting the heart of those hungry for God to move Knowing the Holy Spirit brings change and victory for those who take a posture of humility. We show up to the battle, but through prayer and fasting, we recognize that He brings the victory. Like Gideon, we obey and ask for help, and the Spirit moves in power to deliver His people

This season birthed another gift in my life. So often, I found a depth of feelings in my Spirit for what I wanted to pray that the words in my head fell short to match. My desire for Jesus and for Him to reach my brother was more profound than I had words to express

I came to the end of myself yet again, even as I prayed. There was a burning inside that couldn't escape. I asked for the Holy Spirit to intercede with wordless groaning, as Romans 8:26 tells us And I also asked for my own form of a spiritual wordless language with which to contend and to reflect the internal battle of my heart.

Photo joseph barrientos

Photo By Matheus Frade

One morning, in my bedroom's privacy and in our savior's presence, I cried out again. In tears, I went to war in prayer. Again my words fell short of my longing. In this private intimate space my Spirit was filled with His and little utterances floated out of my mouth from deep within my soul It didn't sound like much, and it was more like timid whispers instead of a war cry. But they were whispers of faith, and prayer in faith is a force that moves mountains. Believe this, sister: What we bring to the father with a heart of faith no matter the size of our mustard seed has the power to change outcomes and free hearts, and set fires ablaze for the kingdom of God.

to my brother and our asting, we had officially fasted just one Monday when my ed. "Chelsea, he's been Listen, this isn't really all I d for I was dreaming more of t and permanent miraculous ce. His ways are not my own. strange to hear, but this was a an answer to prayer.

Photo by: fa barboza

Photo By: Kelly Sikkema

During a phone call from jail one day, my brother shared with me how he knew the Monday prayer and fasting were connected to his arrest. It forced sobriety and removed him from a homeless life. It was a reset opportunity for his mind to be cleared.

I wish this was the end of the story. That he's been sober ever since and now serves in freedom ministry at a church, but it's not. We are continuing to intercede with scripture, with wordless groans, fasting, and believing in faith for full healing and recovery. Deeper than before, I can enter into seasons of fasting and intercession fueled by faith. Not out of hopeless desperation but a faith filled dependency on the power only Jesus has to set captives free.

ea O’Rourke

Chelsea at: anicoleo

Prayer is a place for gaining ground, with a mindset of power and faith in the one who brings the victory.

-Chelsea O'Rourke

PhotoByColeJohnson

PRAYING FOR

jon tyson

ThePracticeofPrayer

By Jenna Tulman

Photo

Spiritual practices have enriched my life these past few years, especially those that invite me into prayer I love quieting myself before God, listening to His voice, and feeling His presence daily. Here are a few practices that have pulled me closer to God, and I write about them in hopes that they will pull you close to Him as well.

The first is praying with beads; this practice differs from the Catholic Church's rosary. These beads in themself aren't special or spiritual. They are simply a tactile tool that I like to use. I picked out five wooded beads, each with a different shape and size, and I carefully wrote an emotion on each one: joy, sadness, anger, love, and peace. One by one, I roll each bead in my hand, and while I move the bead through my fingers, I tell God about a moment I felt that emotion during the week Then, I invite Him into each emotion, asking Him to be with me every moment.

Photo priscilla du preeze

Another prayer practice that I love is imagination prayer. In this practice, I choose a story from one of the Gospels, taking Jesus feeding the 5000 as an example. As I read the passage, I slow down to imagine myself being present in the story. I ask myself questions like, "what am I feeling as I experience the miracle of the bread and the fish?" or, "what is it like seeing Jesus and being present with Him while He teaches?" I imagine feeling the grass beneath my feet, the fresh breeze on my face, and the bread filling my stomach. I allow myself to slow down and experience the story; as I do, I ask God what He is teaching me. I pay attention to where my imagination leads me and invite God to speak to me

In the letter to the Philippians, we are reminded that we can pray about everything, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God," (Philippians 4:6 ESV) What a beautiful thought. We can make all our requests known to God. I've started going for walks in the morning, and I tell God about everything as I walk. I share my hopes and dreams with Him, ask for His grace and forgiveness, and invite Him into each moment During these times, I hear His tender voice, the clearest.

Photo by: jeremy allouche

THE PRACTICE OF PRAYER CONTINUED

Prayer is a gift, and it's the ability to talk to God as we would a friend. God cares dearly for us and invites us into a relationship with Himself Two verses come to mind as I reflect on prayer. The first is from Revelation 3:20 ESV, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me." Jesus is standing at the door and knocking, and all who open the door will be with Him. I love this, I love the idea of Jesus inviting every one of us into a relationship with Him, and I love that we simply need to respond. God doesn't make it complicated. He simply wants us to know Him as a friend.

The second verse that came to mind is Psalm 141:2 ESV, "Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!" As I read this verse, I imagine my prayers rising as incense. The thing about incense is that it's pleasing; I picture my essential oils filling the room with sweet smells in the morning. Our prayers rise to God, and they please Him. Friends, God loves to hear your voice.

Let me share with you one last practice, the practice of life journaling. What I love about life journaling is that there isn't a right or wrong way to do it. You simply need your Bible and your journal. As you read your Bible, pay attention to what verses jump out at you and then write them down. Ask God to speak to you about what he's teaching you through His Word Journal what God is saying to you, and journal your prayers.

The Practice Of Prayer

If you'd like more structure, use the acronym SOAP (scripture, observation, application, prayer) or SHAPE (scripture, hearing God, application, prayer, exalting God). Allow God to speak to you through His written Word. Finally, let me pray for you, dear sister. Father, thank you for knowing each one of us so intimately. Your love is deeper than we'll ever know Thank you for standing at the door and knocking and for inviting us to know you more and more. Open our hearts to your voice and teach us to grow closer to you. Amen

Photo by: priscilla du preez

Jenna is on the Pastoral team at her local church in Langley, BC. Jenna and her husband have a son who is 6 weeks old and they’re learning about the joy that comes with parenthood Jenna enjoys blogging, paddle boarding, biking, and walks

JennaTulman FollowJennaatHere! @jenjosina

PRAYING FOR

PRAYING FOR

Sometimes There Are No Words

By Kim Gomez

It's Summer 2021 Perhaps you remember the image that went viral when the US helped evacuate Afghanistan. The image was of a tiny baby being passed over a razor wire wall to an American Marine amid total panic and chaos at the Kabul Airport. The evening I saw that image on the news, I literally could not get it out of my mind I looked long and hard at that image, and my heart kept breaking. I went silent. I couldn't talk to my husband about it, even when he repeatedly asked me what was the matter.

I couldn't even speak to God I had no words to pray

Our emotions are wildly complex, filled with more depth than any combination of words can communicate.

I imagined myself being the mother of that baby and the desperation she must have felt Frantically lifting my daughter over that wall into the hands of a complete stranger? Unfathomable.

Photo By Diana Simumpande

SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO WORDS

That entire evening and through the night, my mind was on the situation in Afghanistan. I couldn't comprehend the "why." That's a question I ask God often. Why? But in the asking, there were no answers. So, I decided not to pray with words but with the posture of my heart, knowing that God sees and knows my heart

I intentionally allowed my heart to feel the Sadness Panic Pain Confusion

Desperation

Hope that the baby was safe

It was a silent prayer. I was praying from the center of my heart to the center of God's heart. I surrendered my words in order to be simply and silently in His presence It was prayer based on relationship and trust not on my demands.

Photo Sourced From AP

SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO WORDS

I definitely didn't know what He was doing, but I did know that He is Good and He is Sovereign. It was still dark when I got up the following day and headed to the ocean. It was a short walk from my house, and as I walked in the dark toward the sunrise, all the pastel colors lit the sky. It was so beautiful. I stepped onto the sand and walked down towards the water. With every step, I felt something shifting inside of me. When my feet splashed into the warm, clear saltwater, I can only describe it as a moment of full on Glory. The combination of the water, the air, the sky, and the sun were spectacular And that's because our God is spectacular. That was a touchstone reminder that He knows even when we can't speak, He knows the posture of our hearts.

Photo by darius bashar

SOMETIMES THERE ARE NO WORD

This momentary Glory reminded me there will come a day when I meet Him face to face, and then I will finally understand the WHY

I did a little research about that sweet baby. Her name is Liya, and she was 16 days old when she was handed over that razor wire wall to safety She's now living in the United States with her mother and father. Hallelujah! Our God is mighty. He sees us, and he saw Liya. And He hears us, even when we don't have words

Romans 8:26 27 TPT

And in a similar way, the Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness For example, at times we don't even know how to pray, or know the best things to ask for. But the Holy Spirit rises up within us to super intercede on our behalf, pleading with God with emotional sighs too deep for words. God, the searcher of our heart, knows fully our longings yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God's plan and our destiny.

KimGomez

PRAYING FOR

PRAYING FOR

By Melissa Heerebout

COMMUNITY IS KEY

In the late 90s, a song called the heart of worship was released. And if you’ve been in church for any period, I’m sure you’ve heard this song and sung

along with the lyrics: “ I’m sorry, Lord, for the thing I’ve made it when it’s all about you. It’s all about you, Jesus".

When this song came out, they were mostly talking about worship and how we interact with the songs we sing. It was a deeper call for not just lip service to God but for a lifestyle of worship.

I spent two days with our youth this past weekend on Vancouver Island. During our staff devotionals we sang that song and, our speaker for the weekend, Michael Chinchilla, challenged us to think about prayer in the same fashion. What are we making prayer all about? Is it all about my personal requests or is it something deeper?

PhotobrianaTozour

Sitting together as a staff, we looked at the Lord's prayer and at how Jesus taught us to pray.

Something new stood out to me.

Matthew 6:9 13 (CBS)

The Lord’s Prayer

9 “Therefore, you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, your name be honoured as holy.

10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread

12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

What stood to me was the use of the pronoun “our”: Our father Our daily bread Our debts Our debtors

Then also the use of the word “us”: Give us our daily bread. Forgive us, bring us not into temptation, but deliver us.

JENNYWARFIELD

As we looked at this prayer, I couldn’t help but think about community life. Because the Lord’s prayer doesn’t say my father, my daily bread, my debt, it says our father, our daily bread, our debts.

Our Christian life is supposed to be done in community, and even in prayer Jesus was teaching us that.

These last few years have been isolating, and we are just figuring out how to come back together Living life in community is a muscle that we have to remember how to use.

Watching 150 kids this past weekend learn about Jesus, be loud, have camp crushes, worship their hearts out, have fun, and just be teenagers reminded me how much we need to do life together

Community is key, and it’s vital As Jesus taught his disciples the Lord’s prayer, I think he also highlighted that.

Life is not a solo sport.

Find a local church and dive in

Melissa Heerebout

Sisters Founder

OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE IS SUPPOSED TO BE DONE IN COMMUNITY, AND EVEN IN PRAYER, JESUS WAS TEACHING US THAT.

DEAR SISTERS

Melissa Heerebout

E R S E S

1 JOHN 5:14

T h i s i s t h e c o n f i d e n c e w e h a v e i n a p p r o a c h i n g G o d : t h a t i f w e a s k a n y t h i n g a c c o r d i n g t o h i s w i l l , h e h e a r s u s

EPHESIANS 1:18

I p r a y t h a t t h e e y e s o f y o u r h e a r t m a y b e e n l i g h t e n e d i n o r d e r t h a t y o u m a y k n o w t h e h o p e t o w h i c h h e h a s c a l l e d y o u , t h e r i c h e s o f h i s g l o r i o u s i n h e r i t a n c e i n h i s h o l y p e o p l e

JEREMIAH 29:12

T h e n y o u w i l l c a l l o n m e a n d c o m e a n d p r a y t o m e , a n d I w i l l l i s t e n t o y o u .

T O H O L D O N T O 0102 03

Prayer is a gift, and it's the ability to talk to God as we would a friend. God cares dearly for us and invites us into a relationship with Himself.

Jenna Tulman

KimGomez

BY COLE JOHNSONZ

He knows even when we can't speak, He knows the posture of our hearts.

PHOTO

PRAYING FOR

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J e s u s + C o m m u n i t y