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On the Calendar

by Nicole Unice

When my brother Matt deployed for his first military tour to Iraq, his wife, Laura, found a way to help friends and family prayer for him daily. You might use her idea to support a soldier you know or to pray long-term for others, such as a missions team, a couple during their engagement, or a friend healing from a major surgery. Here's what Laura did.

Get the word out. Laura emailed friends and family, inviting them to pray for Matt daily using a prayer guide she would provide. She invited those who wanted to offer additional support to be "point people". These volunteers would be assigned days to spend extra time praying for Matt. They might also choose to write or email him their assigned days.

Create a calendar. Laura created a month-long prayer guide using a calendar program on her computer. For each day, she included a short prayer prompt and a scripture. She used specific requests from Mall but also asked God for wisdom on additional needs. Laura assigned a point person for each day and emailed the calendar to the group so they could print it for easy use.

Follow up. Laura communicated messages from Matt about his successes, challanges, and answered prayers. After the first month, she asked point people if they would like to continue their commitment.

Laura kept up the calendar through Matt's first deployment and into his second. Over time, the family shared the task of creating the calendar.

-from Discipleship Journal, March/April 2009, Issue 170, Pg. 67

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