“Pray constantly, ...” ~ 1 Thessalonians 5:17
There have been times in our lives when we’ve sat praying, listening, and in conversation with each other and with God, and He drops a divine nugget within our spirit. A word or utterance that immediately captures our attention. Either it’s a much-needed revelation and/or further marching orders, or truly something we are not to dismiss – it’s an apparent “Rhema” word for us, if you will.
The other day, while on a prayer line with 16 prayer warriors, the good Lord did just that. It was the third day of this brand-new year (2022) and as we were concluding our prayer time, and amid the conversational exchanges being shared amongst the 16, each offering encouragement, condolences, good wishes, and accolades, the Lord spoke to us. He said, and I (Ron) quickly repeated for all to hear, “See Something, PRAY something!”
Star and I talked further about this, “See Something, PRAY something.” We must admit, and Google confirmed, it mirrored the "If You See Something, Say Something" campaign originally implemented by New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), who licensed the use of the slogan to DHS for anti-terrorism and anti-terrorism crime efforts.
We would like to think that the good Lord had something to do with dropping that nugget within the spirit of some MTA personnel who felt such a campaign might serve to heighten awareness and aid in their efforts to prevent crime on some of the busyness burrows traveled by people of all walks of life.
The 16 on the prayer line expressed their joy of crossing over into a brand-new year, but not without acknowledging the woes of the previous year. They spoke of family members and friends who had dealt with and were dealing with the Covid-19 virus and Omicron variance; they spoke of healing, survival, and loss. However, in the same breath, they were grateful, they (we) prayed and gave continuous praises over the Zoom wavelengths; praises sure to have reached heaven’s ceiling and God’s hear – in spite of, God is still good!
Prayer: Father, You are indeed good, and You are good all the time! And yes, it’s a good idea to be pro-active; if we indeed see something, we ought to say something. As good citizens, we are charged with the responsibility to raise public awareness of the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement. In a larger context, as Believers, followers of Christ, and citizens of heaven, we are charged with an even greater obligation that is to pray for our fellow man. Lord, help us show compassion for our fellow man and to use our eyes and ears to see the attacks of the enemy and without hesitation - PRAY.
We encourage you to consider these nuggets:
Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”
Ephesians 3:14-21 “For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ...”
One year, we were in Nigeria, part of a 40-member medical missions team. Traveling in several SUVS, we were escorted by the national police and military soldiers. Our procession through the country drew lots of attention, good and bad. Attention that merited a lot of prayer. One incident stood out; as the caravan drove through a certain township, we were told to keep our hands and arms in, and windows rolled up. We complied. Without warning, the convoy came to an abrupt stop, we heard a sound the likes of something striking one of the vehicles. We then witnessed three of our armed guards aggressively converge on an individual riding a cycle suspiciously close to our traveling party. Interestingly enough, prior to everything taking place as just described, a few of us saw this dubious person riding near us, yet we thought nothing of it. The incident rapidly escalated and catapulted us into a serious prayer mode. We maintained that mode the entire trip. A reminder: when you “SEE SOMETHING, PRAY SOMETHING!”
We have been married for nearly 41 years. Over the course of that time and even to this day, we’ve seen a thing or two. The call on our lives and mission God has placed on has warranted that we pray about everything. Matthew 26:40-41 talks about watching and praying. We are to WATCH - keep awake in order to guard or be on alert. PRAY that we as believers stay awake spiritually and keep guard. PRAY we stay alert doing prayer noticing the tactics of the enemy. PRAY the Lord will help us to observe the needs around us much more specifically. – When you “See Something, PRAY something!”