Prayers

This past Sunday, interns and international workers sat together during the Thai Sunday service to mindfully pray for our children, our organization, our interns, and our workers. It was a prayerful experience sitting in silence, asking God to speak something into our hearts. Of course we want to pray that our children have good health, relationships with each other, that they truly know the Lord, earn good grades, enjoy trips home, and everything else a loving parent or friend would pray for, but I felt like it needed to be so much deeper than the usual requests.

How could I deeply pray for children that, outside of the obvious, I didn't have much in common with? And then God spoke.

I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me.
For I have chosen you and will not throw you away.
Isa. 41:9

Life is so hectic, there are so many distractions, errands, useless priorities, that it's so easy to miss when the Spirit is whispering something important. Just sitting in this quiet room, waiting, felt awkward, but then God spoke and nothing else mattered.
How much more could I have in common with these children!? God chose us, He handpicked us. He took us from where we were, for so many different reasons, and brought us together.  Clearly I missed the obvious, how could I not see what we had in common, He called and we listened.
Knowing this now, my heart ached for the children who are lonely, sad, and homesick, because at some point while living in Thailand, I felt those things too. And so I began praying for these children, yes that they have good health, friendships, and do well in school, but also that when they are lonely, Christ speaks to their hearts. When they are sad, they are reminded of the joy and peace only Christ can give. When they feel homesick, Christ will remind them that he chose them and they are exactly where they need to be. I pray that they are comforted in their loneliness and are aware of their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, who may be lonely, sad, or homesick too. That they create a community where the love of Christ is so evident that feelings like loneliness cannot grow because God is the center of and the cornerstone of all their actions and words.

I pray that they know they are not in this alone.