Devoted Blog

Day 19

February 19, 2016

“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16b NIV

It seems a little funny to say, but the Devoted Conference that impacted me the most was the one that I did not get to attend!  It was Devoted Conference 2005, and I was pregnant with my first child. Although I still had about 6 weeks before my due date, I went into labor on the Wednesday before Devoted began.  They tried everything to stop my labor, to no avail. So we started prepping for an early delivery.  Because it was so early, the baby was breech and had not dropped, so a C-Section was scheduled for Sunday morning.  I tried to put on a brave face, but inside I was scared. I had never felt so out of control.  Didn’t God know that I had a plan and this was NOT it?!  Then I had several girlfriends come to see me between the sessions on Saturday.  They told me that Pastor Sharon had asked the women of Devoted to be praying for us.  I was amazed at the thought of all those beautiful women joining their faith with mine.  Knowing that I was not alone, that there was an army of women lifting us up in prayer, gave me peace beyond comprehension.

This year, Carter will turn 11 years old on the Sunday of Devoted weekend.  I know that as the days line up exactly as they did 11 years ago, I will be thinking of the women that lended their faith to our lives that weekend.  We need to remember that our faith is important, not just for our own lives but for the lives of those around us.  As you prepare to attend this year’s conference, think about who you can lend your faith to.   Your heartfelt prayer for someone else’s need could make all the difference.  I love how the Amplified translation of James 5:16b describes it:

“The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working].”

Let’s make this our prayer:  Lord help me to lend my faith to the lives of those around me.  Show me opportunities to pray for women in need.  Use me to be a light in someone else’s world, and to help make your power available to their need.  Amen.

Love,
Jen Shupert

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