A prayer for Laurie

(Note: My good friend Laurie is moving this Wednesday to New Zealand to work for a Wesleyan church in Auckland. The following is my prayer for her.)

Dear God:

Thank you Lord for bringing Laurie into my life many years ago. I have always appreciated her friendship. Thank you even more that you have shaped her and molded her into the woman she has become. A woman whose heart truly follows after yours. A woman who is willing to sacrifice the comforts and familiarities of this country in exchange for sharing your love to kids in New Zealand. She said it best the other night when she said it would be harder for her to stay than to go. Please give me that same sense of purpose and conviction when it comes to following your direction in my life.

Thank you Lord that you have given her the past couple years to learn and work with kids at Kentwood Community Church. I know she would have liked to have left sooner but all along you were preparing her to be more effective by sharpening her skills. May you bless her for her willingness to wait and use the skills she has learned to further your work. Give me the same patience as I wait upon you.

Please protect Laurie from the enemy. He is willing to do anything he can to protect his territory. May you surround Laurie with your angels as she moves to the front lines of the battle. Give her a safe trip this week. Help her to be ready to work when she gets there even though she might be tired from jet lag and in culture shock. Prepare a place for her to live. Provide for her enough resources to complete her work there. Move in my heart and the hearts of others to give and sacrifice our conveniences to support her ministry.

Lord, please help Laurie to make meaningful, lasting relationships with people of New Zealand. Help her understand their language and culture. Give her and the people at the church a united purpose. Give them patience and grace to work together in achieving that common purpose. Give her compassion for the kids she will come in contact with. Help her to communicate clearly and effectively. Do not let her get discouraged or disheartened.

Prepare the people of Auckland to receive your gospel Lord. May your word of comfort and hope and redemption seep deep into their hearts. You have broken into other countries with the good news of the gospel and I expect the same thing to happen in New Zealand through the work of Laurie and others like her.

Thank you again for Laurie and how special she has become to me. Go with her Lord. Bless her work. Use her as an example to the people of New Zealand and to those she has chosen to leave behind.

In the Name of Jesus Christ,

Jeff