I thought it might be nice to have a special thread where prayer requests are expressed. There is nothing like a whole family of believers praying and lifting one another up in prayer.

I already sense and know that my wife and I have already been upheld in prayer today. Some of you are aware that my wife suffered a career ending stroke at the age of 50, just 2 1/2 years ago, and she was doing excellent until this weekend. She was admitted last night with a much smaller stroke than the last one, so we are hopeful she can recover a reasonable lifestyle. I already appreciate the many emails of support and prayer I have already received, and my heart has been encouraged. I will pass these along to Marti tonight when I go back to the hospital later. Thanks so much again for all your prayers!

Trusting in His Sovereign will,

Stan

Stan, thanks for creating this thread.  You and Marti are in my prayers today.  I am thankful that this was a smaller stroke, but along with you, I am disappointed and saddened this has happened.  Please let Marti know we are thinking about her and holding her up in prayer.

Bend down, O Lord, and hear my prayer;
answer me, for I need your help.
(Psalm 86:1 NLT)

Greg

Stan, I have already assured you by private email today that I am praying for Marti’s full recovery.

I also request the prayers of everyone on this forum for myself.  I was laid off from my job a week ago, and I desperately need to get working again as quickly as possible.

Thank you.
Bob

Father, I’m praying for Your daughter, Marti.  I ask that You hold her close to You through this and bring her the deepest peace You have in Your heart for her.  I ask that You do the same for her loving husband, and in this time, please let them know how much You love them.  Bring healing in Your way, Lord.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

I also ask the same for Bob.  Be his provision and great supply in this time, and guide his feet in the path of Your rest.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

And Lord, I ask that You make Your presence and comfort known to the people at Virginia Tech… I don’t know what to say.  Just be there, Lord, and open their hearts to see Your understanding of their pain, Your comforting understanding, and somehow, how You’ve taken this in Yourself.  Rise up there in faith in many hearts, through the tears, that joy will come somehow in the morning.

Ramone,

Thank you for your prayers on behalf of Marti and I and our dear brother Bob in our times of need.

Also thanks for remembering in America a terrible national tragedy at Virginia Tech.

Father, we pray that Bob will find a new job soon. We pray for all the families involved in the Virginia Tech massacre today. We pray for Ramone and his young family as well, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!

Stan

Stan,

Thanks for setting up this thread and for letting us know of your wife’s condition. I’ll make sure to direct my prayers to her well being and recovery.

And I’ll be praying for you as well, Bob. May our God grant you favor and help in your time of need.

One of the reasons I have continued to maintain some semblence of faith is the thought of what I would do if I lost everything important to me, or suffered a loss or tragedy of some kind. What would I think then? In times of prosperity God can be easy to ignore. But for me, it seems best to cultivate a relationship with God in good times, when my need is not always so apparent, and then to be better able to handle times of trouble when they come.

Of course, in a nod to my Calvinist bretheran, in some ways it isn’t exactly a “choice” on my part. But it is not always easy to hear God’s calling in times of plenty as it is when times are bad. 

Bob and Stan, I will be praying for you and your families.

If I could request some prayers for my friend Bob. Last month he had to quit playing banjo in my bluegrass band because he was experiencing great pain in his shoulder and back.

He found out on Friday that he has cancer in his hip and they are afraid it might have spread to his shoulder and chest. He was depressed for having to quit the band and now this is even worse. He is in the hospital right now undergoing some tests

I will be going to the hospital probably tomorrow to visit him and I am planning to pray with him. Bob was a Master Freemason but has been searching a bit more and going back to church lately. Pray that he may experience God’s comfort and grace at this time.

Thanks.

Thanks Glenn and Guibox,

I will be praying in a special way for both Bobs, and praying that the “bluegrass Bob” will find physical healing, but also praying for his spiritual healing.

I just at this moment got off the phone with the neurologist, and the news on Marti is serious. She has had a large stroke on the opposite side as the last one, and unfortunately we don’t know the cause. However, it could be much worse, as she is still able to walk and to carry on some conversation. Her vision however is seriously affected.

The really good news is that I trust in a Heavenly Father who has promised to work out all things according to His purpose and plan to all those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28-38.

This is when my Calvinistic faith is really tested. I find that it is so much easier to trust in a God who is indeed in control of everything. I know He has a master plan in the circumstances surrounding Marti’s stroke. I am confident we will see God’s purposes worked out as Marti and I deal with the care issues surrounding this event.

I have to go back to her room for now, and discuss the recent news with her. So thanks for your continuing prayers.

Stan

Stan, I am so sorry to hear that this is a more serious stroke than we first thought. My prayers continue for Marti and for You. I am often at a loss when this type of tragic event happens. I question God and faith, and yet that is my only hope.

Bob, I am sorry to hear about your job loss, I only have to put myself in your shoes for but a minute, to realize how devastating and catastrophic the loss of income is to those that depend and count on one for their support. I am praying that God will provide and that there is the hope for something better around the corner.

Guibox, I am so sorry about the news of your friend’s cancer. My prayers are with him, and my prayers are with you, as you share the love of Jesus with him through your kindness and prayers. It is good that he has a Christian friend like you.

My heart grieves for those who have shared their suffering with us here in the last 24 hours.

Bob, I pray that God will find work for your hands to do.

Guibox, I pray for healing for your friend and for your wisdom in sharing words of comfort with him.

Stan, I pray that God’s presence will be palpable to Marti and those entrusted in her care.

Greg

Stan:

Our prayers are for Marti and with you and your extended family. We know that God loves Marti even more than you. He holds you both in His everlasting arms. He is the great physician. We petition His healing power on behalf of Marti. We petition His warm embrace for you and yours. In times like these we turn to the Psalms and to the great hymns of the church for guidance, comfort, assurance, hope, and healing. During two recent hip replacements the hymn: It is Well With My Soul coursed through my mind through long nights of slow healing. “When peace life a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll--Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul.” May it be well with the light of your life is our prayer.  Tom. 

Thanks so much everyone for those encouraging and uplifting words.

Stan

Stan,

This evening I took the liberty of e-mailing a special prayer request for Marti and you to many of my friends and fellow believers at Crossroads Christian Church, where I worship. 

You and Marti are surrounded and embraced by the prayers of many Christians in Southern California tonight!

Your brother in Christ,
Bob Holland

Deacon, I love the hymn you mentioned.  As I type this I am listening to the words, which I am compelled to share in full:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

----

According to wikipedia, the background on this hymn, written by Horatio Spafford, is as follows:

This hymn was written after two major traumas in Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire of October 1871, which ruined him financially (he had been a wealthy businessman). In 1873, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of Spafford’s daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford’s wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Several weeks later, as Spafford’s own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, the Holy Spirit inspired these words. They speak to the eternal hope that all believers have, no matter what pain and grief befall them on earth.

Greg,

Thank-you for sharing the words to one of my favorite hymns. The words are matched in power, only by the music that goes with them.

I suspect Stan, like myself, hears a wonderful trumpet solo playing in his head whenever he thinks of this song. 

Thank-you again.

Yes, the great hymn “It is well with my soul” ranks at the top of my favorite hymn list.

Randy, I played that hymn on my trumpet at my uncles’ funeral recently.

Bob.

Thank you so much for taking the liberty to circulate our prayer request. I feel like I am being lifted up by a world wide prayer band.

Stan