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For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 

“I dwell in a high and holy place, 

and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,

to restore the spirit of the lowly

and revive the heart of the contrite. 

~ Isaiah 57:15

Good morning dear sister!

Praise God that we worship the One who is high and lifted up! Who inhabits eternity! Whose name is Holy! Who restores and revives us! What a great way to start the day! Thank you, Lord, for waking us up today! May Your Name be magnified! (A brother once told me that we magnify God so all of our troubles are put in their proper, smaller perspective!)

Our church evangelist, Brother Julio, set up an event called a “Drive-thru, drive by prayer” time at church last Saturday, where people could pull into the parking lot if they wished for prayer. (or maybe to pray for us!) I was intrigued! Ted and I were thinking about going, but it conflicted with the men’s fishing charter, so Ted went fishing. I almost forgot about it, but while I was praying that morning the Lord told me to get up and go, so I got up and went.

Now, I said I was curious, but I wasn’t really all that excited to put myself out there. When it comes to ministry I prefer to be behind the scenes and not let my left hand know what my right hand is doing. (which makes it very tricky to type these notes out ) But, I thought, it’s not like I’m going to confront anyone or get into some debate; everyone needs prayer! God Himself says that it is He who restores the spirit of the lowly, He revives the heart of the contrite!

Twenty minutes later, I found myself standing on the corner of Lake Ave & Kingsley Rd, waving my placard saying “Need Prayer? Turn here” around like a lunatic. Even if the cars didn’t slow down I’d wave my hand, asking God to bless them. (my arm is still sore) I must have blessed half of Rochester. I’m pretty sure I saw a few cars drive by for a second go ‘round.

As soon as I started standing out there, I put a big smile on my face, thinking that it looked more inviting than an oh-my-gosh-I-can’t-believe-I’m-doing-this look. And people smiled back! Not everyone, of course, but we seemed to get a lot of support in honks and waves. I hope that even if they didn’t stop, people were encouraged to pray, or were encouraged that someone was praying for them as they zoomed by!!

The biggest surprise of all though was that it was fun! It was just fun to spread a little joy and encouragement! We may never know until we get to Heaven how many people were touched by the Lord, but we do know that the population of God’s throne room increased by at least two that day! 

I was a little worried about looking foolish, out there waving my sign around, but I stopped worrying when I saw the fruit that was being born of our efforts. God’s Word brings truth that is life giving, life illuminating and love infusing. Every person that drove by had the need to pray planted in their brain, and I pray they won’t be able to get the idea out of their head, that they won’t be able to “Let it go, let it go….”

Prayer is the most important ministry of every believer! It’s our direct connection to Him who inhabits eternity! The One who is high and lifted up is never out of reach! God comes to us in our humble and oppressed state, and lifts us up to His high and holy dwelling to restore our spirits and revive our hearts! If He does that for us, He will do that for those we pray for too!

Pastor Lu has had some excellent teachings on prayer during the Wednesday night Connect Groups. He only has 2 more weeks to go, so why not come and spend one hour that may change your prayer life ‘four’ever? There is nursery care and classes for each age group. Starts at 7, ends at 8, they don’t keep you late! 

Calling out to the Lord on behalf of someone else is an act of love. A little bit of self-sacrifice. Blessing those people driving by gave me an unexpected sense of satisfaction, as if I was making some difference and Heaven was rejoicing. Or maybe all those heavenly beings were just laughing at me, but that’s okay. 

Keep loving Jesus and moving forward!

With love, your sister, Celeste