Thank you so much for all of you who have been praying for my mom.  She had a mastectomy and had her lymph nodes tested.  The doctor feels that they got all the cancer and she won’t have to have any further treatment. They will continue to monitor her carefully.

We are all rejoicing about the cancer being gone, although continued prayers for her recovery are appreciated.  Recovering from major surgery takes time – always more time than we want it to take.  And, unfortunately, as we get older, recovery takes even longer.  Mom is an energetic lady who usually doesn’t sit still for long.  These days she is a little easier to catch.  She gets frustrated, as any of us would, at the pace of her recovery.

So thank you for praying for her.  She felt very peaceful in the days leading up to and the day of her surgery.  We know that was due to the prayers.  And, as she continues her recovery, your prayers are sustaining her and lifting her up to God.  Because that is what prayer does.

When we bring others to God in prayer, it lifts them up into God’s presence.  They might not even know it or be aware of it, but it makes an opening between their life and God.  I’ve often heard from folks that they could feel others praying for them.  It might have been an extra measure of peace, or a nudging away from sin, or calm in the face of a tragic event.

Praying also lifts us up to God.  When we are serious about being in God’s presence there are things we have to leave behind.  We have to put down unforgiveness or a hard heart in order to know the presence of God.  We might carry resentment, fear, and anger to the altar of God, but we soon find we cannot rest in his presence while we hold on to them.

Praying benefits others as well as benefiting us.  How else, while we are in this earthly sphere, are we able to see the face of God?

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  I Thessalonians 5:16-18