Hanging On for Life! Good morning, friends and partners in ministry! I don't know how it is at your house today, but as I’m looking out the window this morning, the rain is coming down like crazy, for about the 6th day in a row! There are flood warnings on the Cowlitz and Puyallup rivers, and there have been mud slides on many of the major roads around the area. Why mud slides?? The Seattle area has always had lots of rain, and growing up, I don’t remember there being mud slides. What has changed? The answer is that they have cut down enormous amounts of trees in the past few years, clear cutting many areas, and leaving lines of single trees alone in our communities, making way for new housing developments and shopping centers. The result is that now without the trees holding the soil together we are having mud slides, and during wind storms, those single trees that are left alone have been toppling over. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. You know, we’re a lot like those trees. God made us to be in community with each other, to protect each other from the wind, and hold each other up during the storms of life. Jesus told us that “Wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I am in your midst.” When Jesus’ followers got together and prayed for boldness (see Acts 4), POWERFUL things happened – God even caused earthquakes in response to their prayers, and the Holy Spirit to fill them powerfully! We are not made to be alone. We not only need friends, but we need prayer partners to “watch our backs,” especially in ministry. Otherwise, when the strong winds come and the rain pours down, we are more likely to be broken, to fall over. Who are your friends, your prayer support team? As I’m beginning to go full-time into this ministry, I have been gathering a prayer support team.  Our relationship with Jesus is the most important one, and our families, but we must be in constant community with other Christians who will support one another through prayer, and do battle against the enemy in prayer. And there is a battle! Ephesians 6:12 talks about that. The enemy doesn’t want people to be in relationship with Jesus, and he certainly doesn’t want us to be in community with each other; he wants to break people. Let’s bond together and pray for strength, boldness, and a fresh wind of His Spirit. If you don’t have a community of believers that you are part of, a grove of trees to stand with, get plugged in as soon as possible at a church or Bible study near you! In the meantime, join one of our teams, and let’s stand together and pray for one another. Together we can be strong, make a difference in our world, and praise Him in the storms of life! Passage for the day: "Then all the believers were united as they lifted their voices in prayer...After this prayer, the building where they were meeting shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.  And they preached God's message with boldness."  Acts 4:24-31 Blessings, Cherlyn Here are links to my two favorite daily devotional classic readings, My Utmost for His Highest, and Daily Bread. www.myutmost.org www.heartlight.org Return to the Focus Devotional archive.