Can you hear Him?

A call to all Christians to prayer and making a difference in the world.

Can you hear him?

God calls us to prayer and action.

By Carla Sams

God is sending out a calling. Can you hear Him? Daily, He is call on His children, with an urgency like never before. Time is growing short. He will be coming again soon. How many people do you know who will be left behind? Family friends, good people, bad people, young people, old people, healthy people, sick people ,neighbors, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, etc.

Over and over in the Bible, it says that He is coming again soon. Signs and prophecy are throughout the Bible, pointing towards Jesus’ coming again. Do we really want to see these people die and go to hell? Many prophecies have already come to pass. All we need to do to verify this is to turn on our local news. Israel became a nation in the 1950's. Now, we have plagues, earthquakes, volcano eruptions, and record storms. Never in the history of the earth has sin run so rampant. Life has no value. Murders, abortion, wars. People get killed over $10.00's, a pair of shoes, or sometimes, for no reason at all. Sometimes the killing is simply for the entertainment of the killer.

In last day prophecy, the Bible says that what is right will be considered wrong and wrong will be as right. It is OK to be homosexual, but if you are a Christian, you are a prejudice bigot. Criminals have rights, but victims are put on display for all to see.

What can we do? The #1 thing we can all do is pray. Pray for each other, Pray for our families. Pray for the lost. Pray for our leaders. Pray for all sinners who have not found the saving grace of Jesus.

Year by year, day by day, our prayer lists get longer and longer. How long is your prayer list? Who needs to be added to your list? Neighbors, friends, even enemies. Jesus had enemies all around him, but He prayed for them. He even died for them. God doesn’t want them to go to hell. His desire is that all should be saved. But the choice has to be theirs.

Prayer should always be our #1 call to action. Pray and ask how you can best be utilized by God. What "gifts" have you been given? Are you a leader, prayer warrior, an ambassador for Christ? Are you one of those people that others come to for advice or to talk things over with? Maybe you are gifted in the ability to organize things: meetings, a church library, or community activities. How about using the telephone? Call people on your prayer list to check on them. Let them know that you remember them and care about them, and so does God.

We must pray for the lost. The greatest need in our world today is for people to know our lord Jesus Christ, and the loving Father in Heaven. Remember, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and that we, ourselves, are merely sinners saved by grace.

Something else we should always strive to do is to act in such a way as to let others see Christ in our life. Sister Theresa was noted as having said, "Preach the gospel always, and if necessary use words." Our actions should speak louder than our words. If we say we are Gods children and followers of Christ, but are always talking about others, angry and hurtful in our words or deeds, act superior to our brethren or sinners, or in other ways unbecoming to the lord, then lost people will say, "If this person reflects how Jesus or God is, then I don’t want any part of Him." Guess what. At that point YOU will have become a stumbling block to others. And you will have to answer to God as to why you caused another person to fall. Or worse yet, possibly caused them to lose out on eternal salvation. I would hate to know that somebody went to eternal hell and it was, at least in part, my fault.

Pray for the sick in our communities. Handicapped or elderly citizens need our help and prayers. We should pray for elderly "shut-ins" who have become unable to leave their homes.

How about praying for caregivers? Maybe the staff at a hospital, nursing home, or assisted living complex. Maybe the family member taking care of an aged parent, handicapped child, cancer ridden brother or sister. Pray for them. Pray that they will have the strength for each day, patience in dealing with stress and fatigue and exhaustion. Patience in dealing with their patients.

Imagine dealing with a dementia patient all day, every day. From the outside, people may think that they do the "cutest" things, like putting the mail in the refrigerator. Well, there is nothing cute about the stages often gone though by dementia patients. Stages such as: hitting, biting, throwing things, frequently cursing out the person caring for them, crying for hours at a time, wandering all day and night, leaving the house and getting lost, or sleeping in sporadic intervals.

For the caregiver, sleep is never safe. As soon as you fall asleep, the patient may wander out of the house, walk into the street, fall in the yard, become confused and try to break into your neighbors house, put food on the stove cooking and forget that they have done it; along with millions of other scenarios. These examples are real and have happened. Scarier still, is the fact that these are a tiny sampling of things that have happened. Imagine never being to go to bed at night, because things like this will happen. No wonder caregivers suffer from fatigue and exhaustion. Pray for them.

Besides being prayer warriors for these caregivers, be ambassidors for Christ. If you know someone taking care of another person, call them. Ask if they would like you to pick up something from the store on your way home. Ask if you could sit with the person so they could take a quick break. Maybe go to the beauty shop, take a relaxing bath, get their nails done. If the caregiver is male, how about a break to go fishing, see a ball game at a friends house, or tinker in his garage. Any break, no matter how small, is a wonderful event for most caregivers.

How about "breaking it down old-school", as the young folks say. Be creative, but be respectful. Take a covered dish to them, so they can have a break from cooking one night. Most caregivers appreciate a friendly call to let them know that they are not forgotten. But, keep the call short, as most caregivers cannot have their attention taken off of their loved one for long at a time.

　

Now, what if the caregiver is a paid sitter, nursing home nurse, or other staff member? Well, they need our prayers, too. Talk about needing the "patience of Job". These folks need it. They also appreciate small gestures of appreciation, so they know that they are not invisible or forgotten. Most facilities have policies against employees accepting individual gifts from others. But, some things are perfectly acceptable, such as: flower for the nurses station for all to enjoy, candy or cookie plates, cards of appreciation, etc. Most care facility staff members primarily hear complaints. So a kind word, small expression of thanks, or a smile, is always appreciated.

We should pray for the elderly and "shut-ins", who are unable to leave their homes. Just think about the person who bought a house 40 years ago. At that time, it was in a nice neighborhood, but now they find themselves trapped in a danger zone with no way out. Vulnerable, elderly people, who are living in drug infested, crime ridden neighborhoods. Their lives consist of rules and routines.

Rule 1. If you want to go outside, do it between the hours of 8:00AM until 10:00AM. This is the time in which "gang bangers", and thugs usually "sleep off" the night before. After about 10:30AM, these people often begin to wake up and start roaming.

Rule 2. Even when you can go out, do not stray very far from your front door. You may want to get back inside in a hurry.

Rule 3. Once back inside, lock all doors and windows. Draw all the window shades and blinds.

Rule 4. Don’t sit close to windows or exterior walls. Stray bullets may come through.

Rule 5. Keep 911 on speed dial on your phone. You just may need it.

How would you like to live like this? Thousands of people do, everyday. Pray for them.

How about praying for homeless people? "Oh, the are just lazy bums, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.," some will say. Well, Jesus died for them, too. Who are we to judge. Most people live just 1 or 2 paychecks away from being right there with them. Lose a job, your employers company closes, a retirement or social security check is postponed or on hold, what ever. Do you realize that a huge percent of these homeless people have children? The children are homeless, also. Whether a person is homeless due to sin, bad choices, or no fault of their own, they need our prayers. Pray that they may overcome their problems and situations. Pray that all would be called to Jesus’ saving grace.

God is definately calling all Christians to prayer. And some may be hearing a call to a more active role in His outreaching to a lost world. Pray and ask His will for your life.

Author's Note

Please be kind. This is my very first post. I want hones opinions on my writing. If you are non-Christian, please, no anti-Christian arguments, etc. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Reviews

[emmajoy]

'How about praying for homeless people? "Oh, the are just lazy bums, drug addicts, alcoholics, etc.," some will say. Well, Jesus died for them, too. '

What a tremendously large undertaking here, you're spreading the word, describing so much. instructing, preaching, requesting - and with absolute love and sincerity.

However, here i need to intrude with respect and more: . May i suggest you create paragraphs plus spaces between each; enlarge the font; consider shortening some of your sentences and so forth because you obviously want to spread the word.

You're writing and posting in the Writers Cafe, so the literary form might need to take priority at first. You want to 'talk' to folk, but it's a fact, you need lure them to read on and on and on.. encourage them to want more.. not sadly, overwhelm as you have - even though with immense feeling and genuine passion for the Lord.

So hope this helps just a little. Meantime, thank you so very much for your introductory post.. tis incredible.

[Kieta!]

I'm a Christian too! This is a very good point. I like this a lot. Great job! :) :)