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• prayer

We all pray that God will use us in powerful ways. We long to make an impact—in the world, in our families, and in our communities. Looking with longing at those who make a more visible impact, we may get jealous of what we see them doing.

However, the impact made in one life can have a ripple effect to bless, equip, inspire, encourage, and educate another.

Our prayers of longing to make a difference in this world are not unanswered. We just need to adjust our expectations to align with God’s. It is His timing and His purposes that prevail.

IRSM’s mission is to equip women to connect to God and one another more deeply, encourage them in their spiritual walk, and inspire them to equip and encourage others. Paul laid out a similar pattern to Timothy in his second letter (2 Tim. 2:2).

Sometimes, we never see the fruit of our labor. Seeds are planted or watered, but we wait on God to bring the growth in His timing (1 Cor. 3:6).

At other times, this pattern plays out in a beautiful, inspired way, like with our dear sister Ana in Cuba. I met Ana in August 2017 and we had an instant connection. A hard worker in the kingdom, Ana longed to serve and teach more women in her native country, but felt ill-equipped to do so. Inspired by the classes I taught and equipped with many of our materials, she has made it her own and personifies an Iron Rose Sister to many women across rural Cuba, providing them with resources and inspiring them to share those same resources with others.

In some classes, she invites them to recognize the lie, replace it with truth, and to remember that truth from God’s Word (inspired by the Lie/Truth Chart from Who Has the Last Word?). During other gatherings, she simply prays with the women and encourages them to listen to God through His Word, through creation, and through other devotional thoughts and questions shared in Called to Listen: Forty Days of Devotion.

Now, not a week goes by that we don’t have another Cuban sister requesting to receive our blog to their email as an encouragement, equipping them to connect to God and one another more deeply.

Not all examples of answered prayers are as obvious or glorious as Ana’s story. And they don’t have to be. The impact starts with one.

So, as you join us in prayer for my potential visit to Cuba this to see my friend Ana and many other Cuban friends and sisters this year, I encourage you to pray this simple song/prayer in your own life.

LEAD ME TO SOME SOUL TODAY
Lead me to some soul today.
Oh, teach me Lord just what to say.
Friends of mine are lost in sin,
And cannot find their way.
Few there are who seem to care
And few there are who pray (who pray).
Melt my heart, and fill my life,
Give me one soul today.
Words by Will H. Houghton, 1936. Music by Wendell P. Loveless

#IronRoseSister, #prayer, #impactothers, #leadmetosomesoultoday

• prayer

My prayers, at times, are one single word. On other occasions, my thoughts escape in a tsunami of words that even a Pharisee would call too much.
Do your words ever feel monotonous? Or sometimes full of passion?
For me, it depends on the day and what I have weighing on my heart.
When Jesus taught His disciples how to pray, the words were never as important as the heart.
And my heart is always in a better place for whatever I need to express in prayer, after first having gone to the Father in order to hear His heart.
After spending time in the Word of God, I recognize His thoughts, His wishes, His will. And my word, thoughts, wishes, and will begin to align with His.
But when I am not reading the Bible, my prayers are expressions of desperation and selfishness.
You will notice that, during this prayer month for Iron Rose Sister Ministries, we have not only included a prayer request or thanksgiving as our prayer theme for the day. We have also and more importantly made note of a Bible verse, in order to first listen to the Father’s voice, as a way of guiding our words and will to align with His.
Thank you for joining us in prayer by listening.

#IronRoseSister, #prayer, #listening, #Bible