My name is Sheila Arrington I have walked with the Lord over thirty years. My husband Steven and I have been married for forty years and we have two sons. Our son Steven is married to Ramatu and they have two young boys Steven and Kaden. Our son Kyle is single and has budding career in computer science. We are extremely proud of each of them. We also have a dog Clark Kent who is a real character.
One of the greatest privileges we have as human beings is that we have an awesome opportunity to communicate with a loving God. That communication is Prayer.
Jesus Prayed for Future Believers John 17:20
Jesus shared His prayer to the Father concerning every believer. Those future believers are you and I. He prayed for His disciples and for every generation to come that would follow Him. His prayer was that God protect and strengthen them as long as they were in this world. Jesus also prayed for those who would come to believe in Him through the Gospel message. You will know with confidence that God hears you when you pray, so open that line of communication! Pray, knowing that when you seek Him, you will find Him. God loves us and desires to communicate with us.
Laying a Foundation for Prayer
A First Encounter
My father gave me a prayer mat that I loved and cherished when I was eight years old. On this mat was a picture of a little girl and Child’s Prayer, “Now I lay me down to sleep I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.” I faithfully repeated that prayer each night. One night I heard the Lord speak to me. “Sheila, you can say more to me if you would like to.” As I think back now, I don’t know why I wasn’t startled as I heard this so loudly in my heart. I just said; “Oh, okay, Lord.” then added a few more lines, that went something like this… “God bless me, my family, and keep us safe.” It was later in my young adult life that I realized God desired way back then for me to have a personal relationship with Him. I often wondered what life would have been like if I would have taken the initiative and pursued an intentional personal relationship with God at eight.
What is one of your earliest memories of prayer?
