The Latch Hook Project

 Greetings to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ,

     Philippians 4:6-7 says, “ Be anxious for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

     Back in 1975 I did a latch hook craft.  It was the praying hands picture and had about 1005 pieces of yarn.  When I started it, I wondered why I had chosen such a boring thing to do.  It was the same thing over and over and over.  I t was then that I thought about the idea, since it was about the praying hands, I would say a short prayer for every piece of yarn that went into the project.  I prayed for the lost that I knew, I prayed for the people of the church, I prayed for he pastor and his wife, I prayed for family members, I prayed for missionaries, and when I got to the point of not being able to come up with any moe names, I started over.  So, the latch hook of the praying hands took on a different importance to me and I have been carrying it around since that time.  It now hangs on our wall here at Noble Senior Living as a reminder to prayer without ceasing and to pray for everything.

     I used to think of my prayer list which was small, and basically it is still small and can be carried around in a notebook in my shirt pocket.  Here at Noble, I write down the names of every staff person and go through the list of praying for them every day along with the residents that I know by name, especially those here in the dementia wing.  I also pray for missionaries, and those that I know of with the VA and other friends who have prayer requests.  Paul exhorts to pray for everything and that we should not be anxious for anything but that we should bring all things to God in prayer.  When you run out of things to pray for, then offer praise to God.  In fact, you should begin your prayer session with confession of any known or unknown sin.  God usually reveals that to us all.  Then “adoration” to God for Who He is and what He is doing in the world and in our lives and then comes thanksgiving where we tell God what we are thankful for.  Finally, we pray for others that have needs in their lives.  Who among us is not needy in some way or another?  The next verse reminds us that we will then have the peace of God in our hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. What a blessing that is.  The praying hands latch hook has no power in it, but it does serve as a reminder to me to pray first in all matters.  Praise God today that His line of communication is always open.