On Our Knees

Normally on any given Friday night by 11 o'clock you will find me nursing Aaron and snuggled down for the night with Frank, but tonight was different. You see Sunday is Friend Day at our church and they are encouraging everyone to invite a friend, or 2 or 10 or 20 and providing a wonderful pancake breakfast for everyone in between their two services. But tonight was the 24 hour prayer vigil. Now I have gone to one or two prayer vigils in the 11 yrs I have been a christian. OK, one other. But tonight brought me to my knees.

I felt so small. We were asked to fill out cards with the people we wanted to invite to Friend Day. Hundreds maybe more that 2000 cards sat in the sanctuary in piles. Short of flipping through the cards saying "LORD, bring Larry to church for Salvation and Chris, and Moe and Steve, And Matt" There was NO POSSIBLE WAY to pray for each individual person on every single card during the one hour time block I signed up for. I only got through 2 piles in and hour and a half. Some cards were written by preschoolers, some by an elderly person, others by neighbors, coworkers, aquaintences, Marines, friends, employees, students, children, parents, aunts, uncles, and so many more. They were written for children and starbucks baristas, teachers and friends, entire families. I prayed over as many as I could and still felt so very very small.

As I drove away I heard great songs like City on our Knees by TobyMac and Brandon Heath's Give Me Your eyes and started praying for those coming and going to and from the church all throughout tonight. As the invites go out again tomorrow door to door, for all those involved from people serving pancakes, to people directing parking, to the choir and worship team, to the nursery workers, for the youth leaders and childrens church workers, for the alter team, the greeters, the hospitality teams and the Pastor. And in the midst of it I was humbled and felt oh so very small.

So many people don't know Christ as Saviour. My heart literally breaks just thinking about it. So many people headed for a Christless eternity unless...

unless someone invites them to church
unless God draws them near
unless they accept and receive the free gift of salvation

it is so simple and yet so very complicated.

Please pray for them all.