Dear KidsQuest child

Dear KidsQuest child.

You may be a child I see every sunday, once in while, at special gatherings or we may not even have met yet but here is my prayer for you.

In Jesus' name, I pray first and foremost for your parents. I pray for them wherever they may be in their walk with Jesus. May their hearts overflow with His love. May He bring them comfort when needed in times of worry and strength when they may feel at a loss. May His peace overwhelm them when they feel overwhelmed.
May they be reminded of His great love for them when they gaze into your eyes. For a child's pure unconditional love for their parent is the closest thing we will ever know to God's love - which is a million times grander.
I pray that they pass this all onto you. May they share Jesus with you. May He be engrained in your household, your conversations, questions and family memories.

I pray for your KQ mentors. May their sundays be guided by the spirit. May they be an example to you and may they grow to be mentors, confidants and friends as the years go by. May the lessons they teach reflect the great wonder of God and may you carry that with you thru the week. I pray you see God in the simplest things. May you see Him in the butterflies and the rainbows. May you see Him in the clouds and hear Him in the clapping of leaves.

Thank you dear child for the joy you bring to our church. I pray wholeheartedly that the lessons you learn today take root in your heart and set a foundation for the person you will become. God has a plan for your life. I hope to be able to see all of the amazing things you will do with Him by your side. (He will always be by your side). And I, hope to always be a source of mentorship and trust for you. But even if, we are only to cross paths for a short time, I am eternally grateful to have had a chance to share Jesus with you and to share the joy found in Him.

I pray that God bless you dear KidsQuest child. He loves you soooo much. Always.

Love
Cindy

For you

My biggest prayer for you is not that you find yourself, that you find happiness, that you succeed. All of these I do wish for you but what I pray is this.

I pray that in the moments you feel all alone, that you feel God's presence and that this void bring you closer to Him.

That in your moments of reflection upon your life and where it has taken you, that you see how God has been faithful through the most difficult times. That ever big decision you have made has been covered in the prayers of others. That a community of people have and are still praying for you.
As you run further and further, I pray that you will one day fall to your knees at the feet of the cross.

I pray that one day..you surrender your life to Jesus Christ. I pray that you be overwhelmed with how much He loves you. I pray that you no longer be blinded and that you no longer be binded. I pray for healing of hurts you don't even acknowledge

My heart cries for you. It is broken for you. I have prayed often to see you as God sees you. I believe I am now at that place. He sees you with hopeful eyes yet at the same times weeps that you have not turned to Him when so often He has given out His hand. He loves you deeply and has not forgotten you.



I pray for salvation. It is not too late. It is not impossible.

Love you in Christ.

Cindy.

Definition of prayer

A friend of mine described prayer as such...I just had to share..

"Prayer is so beautiful..when someone sees your broken bleeding heart, picks it up and hands it to Jesus." -S.Rose

24 hours of prayer

Westside just made it through another 24 hours of continuous prayer. From my own experience and from what I heard from others this was very much needed. It was refreshing and reviving.

For myself, being a new mother, there are very few times that I get to sit in complete silence without any distractions, without a list of things going on through my head to do in the next minutes, hour or day.
I beleive these moments of 'intentional prayer' are much needed and unfortunately with the distractions of this world, they are sometimes difficult to acheive. Although Aleandro was with me, he fell asleep a few minutes into entering the room, so I really had the opportunity to sit.. be still with God..read His word and... just listen.

I left the prayer room refreshed and encouraged. I was reminded of God's promises. As I walked out, I felt like I was standing taller, feeling stronger, standing firmer in my faith and belief of who my God is and what He can do.

I returned to the prayer room that evening for community worship. It was intimate..so real.. so pure..so transparent.
I was amazed to see the walls filled with prayers, cries to God, requests and thanksgiving. It was beautiful. I saw the heart of God's people written out before me. God's heart through our prayers.

Prayer meeting

Joined Westside for prayer this evening. It was invigorating and refreshing.

Praying for others and prayers of thankfulness and gratitude definitely made me feel closer to God tonight.

Toby. Jesus loves you.

Last weekend a great friend of mine and I went out. Before the night began, we had prayed that God show us what He wanted us to see and that He surround us with angels because my friend has such a heart for Montreal and it's people. So where better to go than the heart of downtown Montreal to gain perspective on this city..

My heart is not at the same place. I'm not sure if it is a bad thing to say.. although I care for people in this city and would gladly help her on her Montreal mission.. it is not my passion. It is not what makes my heart break to pieces. Oh..I just feel horrible saying that. I guess, I just feel like God places different heartbreaks on different peoples hearts cause one person can't do it all, and we each have a place and mission of our own.. all for the greater good of this world.. all in the name of Jesus.

Anyways, that being said.. we met a man named Toby on the street. He was standing on the sidewalk begging for money with a handwritten "beer fund" sign in his hands. We passed him once and then on the way to the car passed him again. Something about this 'Toby'.. something inside me just told me to not ignore this man.

So, I reached into my purse.

HA, at that point, my friend told me "You aren't really going to fund his addiction are you????"

I said; "No... I'm going to buy a prayer"

Now, I am sure the small change I gave him made no big dent in his 'beer fund'.. but it did open the door.. He let me pray over him!!

Anyone that knows me well, knows that it is very difficult for me to pray out loud. I do pray..ALOT.. but mostly in writing. My journal is more a collection of prayers and discussions with God than anything else..

This is what makes me beleive that the words I prayed over Toby where not my own, but God's wish for him. God wanted this man to know that He loves him and that he could change his life and bring him true joy, hope and LIFE.

Afterwards, we got a little insight as he told us a bit about his life. He has been living on the streets for the past ten years, begs for money (sometimes just out of lack of having anything else to do), and hear this, muffled under his breath, is somewhat getting tired of it..

We then encountered a deaf-mute elderly man sitting on the pavement. He was desperately making signs to drop change into his baseball cap. So.. I took out more change, squatted beside him and put my hands together and 'signed' to him that I was going to pray for him. Again, the words just came.. What was beautiful to see was that as I blurted out my prayer close into his ear.. he calmed down, stopped signing for change for a moment, pulled hard at his earlobe, closed his eyes.. and listened.

All of the praise and glory goes to Jesus. If it weren't for God..haha, there is no way I would be praying out loud that night. It is awesome that God would use a stranger to tell these men how much he loves them. That He would use a mule like me to talk. That without even my realizing it.. I was praying over men on a busy downtown sidewalk..words flowing out of my mouth.

JESUS you are truly awesome!! Thank you so much for letting me be a part of your conversation with the world that night.

Once home though, I couldn't fall asleep. All I could think was how great it would have been to have a place to bring this man. It got me thinking about how sad it is that our churches are closed most of the week and that the 'safest places on earth' are closed during the most dangerous times of the night. I started imagining people, broken, desperate, lost... thinking their last hope may lay in the hands God..crying at the door of a church.. courageously pulling at the door..only to realize.. it's doors are locked.

I guess that is why God sends his church out into the world. We just have to make sure we don't lock the door...

Greater things have yet to come.

24 hour prayer

Westside's first 24 hour prayer has come to an end.

WOW!!!!!!!!

After 48 hours without sleep, I should really be in bed right now..but need to capture my emotions beforehand.

First off let me explain,
A group of us from church (Westside Gathering in conjuction with 24/7 Prayer Canada) prayed for 24 hours for our community, the world, our loved ones, friends, neighbours and basically anyone who requested prayer.


The responses I received in request for prayers were a blessing but also a great responsibility. I told these people that we would pray for them.. and I have to admit, as they kept pouring in.. I felt some anxiety. That anxiety was quickly dissolved once I came to the realization that God had already heard their cries, that He would carry their burdens..not me.

So... we parked our Uhaul converted into a prayer room at the Esso Gas Station at the corner of St-John's boulevard and began pumping out prayer..
I understand that a Uhaul is a bit unconvetional, just as is 24hours of continuous prayer.. but I follow a God that parted waters, made donkeys speak and walked on water.. therefore our crazy, 'radical' Uhaul surely made Him smile. :)

This has been an experience of a lifetime.

In only 24hours, I have been blessed, challenged, stretched, inspired.

My most enjoyable moments were spent silently watching Westside pray. I would open my eyes as we prayed and look around at these big hearts yearning for restoration in our city.
It brought tears to my eyes. I was witnessing God at work. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.

I was also touched by the true desire of my community to share the love of Christ with others. Touched by the discomfort/pain we all experience, knowing that others don't know, cannot understand, how Jesus truly transforms lives and brings an inexplainable fullness to one's life. I was happy to see this authentic desire to share it with everyone who crosses our path.

The prayers were bittersweet.
It was a blessing feel God's heart for people.
It was a great joy to join Him in prayer.
Nonetheless, it broke my heart to hear the cries of my community.

We were in the presence of the Lord..
.... wow!.....

Nonetheless.. my prayers will not end here. Every prayer posted on those walls must be transcribed to our hearts. I know God is pleased that we spent this time with Him, that we prayed that His will be done.. nonethess, if we wish to remain with Him on this great adventure He has planned.. the praying must go on!
The prayers I prayed broke my heart, and I pray that it continues bleeding.

Greater things...
have yet to come...
in this city.

May God bless you.

The 13th hour

Posting from my journal...

Nov 8th. 8 am. 2008
Still no sleep.

13 hours in the spiritual world.
Praying alone, praying others requests, anonymously, in the dark hours of the night.

Now watching traffic go by..
Watching people rushing to work..
throwing prayers upon them as they speed by.

Waiting with excitement to see the room again.
To see Your work on the walls.

Did they feel our prayers as we whispered in the night, as they slept unaware?
Has one person woken up feeling closer to You Lord?
Has healing touched someone in the wee hours of the night?

I beleive God that You have done great things tonight.
I beleive that You have heard our prayers, searched the depths of our hearts for Your desires.
I beleive that You have been among us.

I thank You God for somehow keeping me awake when I would rather sleep.
I thank You for allowing me to experience every moment, for allowing me to keep watch, & to greet each new arrival.

In the past 13 hours... I have been overwhelmed with... joy.

Prayer.

Love that Westside is walking through a series about prayer.
I also know that we are in tune with God's leading because I see so many people on fire about prayer lately.

It's amazing.

Oración

Lord.. again, I am off to Cuba.. but somehow, this time, things are completely different. I pray Jesus that you be with me on this trip. I pray for opportunities to speak of you. Please, please do not let me encounter problems at the airport.

In my own little way, I hope to make a difference. I hope to make someone smile. I hope for the opportunity to share love with someone I will never see again.

Thank you Lord for the opportunity to take this trip. Thank you for all the people that have given me things to bring over. Thank you for sending those missionaries to me with words and gifts of encouragement. Just the preparation for this trip has been completely different, heartwarming, exciting and overwhelming. Forgive me for taking so much for granted... we are so blessed. Thank you for putting it on my heart to make this trip count.

It's not much...but it's my own little mission...

and I will do it with all of my heart.

Prayer.

Jesus,
I pray that, today, you overlook my intentions, my wishes and wants.
I simply ask that you use the yearnings of my heart.
I ask that you not listen to my words but simply remember their names.

I thank you for your love. In your precious name Jesus, I pray.
Amen.