Orphan Sunday Wake Up Call

Good morning, All,

As an update, there have been several situations since the last post where we have been notified of women looking to find homes for their unborn babies. We have not been selected for any of them.

Yesterday was Orphan Sunday. At first, I felt angry because I was thinking, "God! We are a family trying to adopt and care for the orphans, and You haven't brought/allowed any into our home!"

Our pastor has been going through the book of Ephesians. Orphan Sunday landed on the day when we arrived at Ephesians 6:17-20: Take the helmet of Salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the Gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

Pastor Daniel spoke on the absolute necessity for prayer in a Christian's life- passionate prayers. Not the "As I lay me down to sleep..." prayers. He also talked about the spiritual warfare we are engaged in. You can hear his sermon here: http://www.bethanycommunitychurch.org/resources/
I highly recommend taking a few minutes to listen. It was a powerful sermon.

As I sat there listening (and enjoying a friend's precious newborn baby), God started asking me questions. "Charisa, when was the last time you prayed passionately for yourself? When was the last time you came to me like the precious widow pleading for your child?" On it went as I had to honestly admit that my answers were falling far short. He led me to see that in my frustration, I had taken an attitude that basically said, "I'm done being emotionally invested in this. I give up on this being a "team endeavor." You are obviously going to do whatever your plan is, regardless of my desires. So, I'll be off doing my own thing over here and whenever you decide to actually engage in bringing us a child, you know where to find me."

Horrible. Yes, God is sovereign. Yes, He knows what is best and my desires probably fall far short of what He has in mind. Does that give me a pass to disconnect? No. And He showed me that I was becoming an angry person on my own apart from Him. "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." So, I am ending this to go spend some more time in prayer. Will you join me?