This may be long, please bear with me. <P>About a month ago, I met one of my son's friend's mother when she picked him up from our house. We visited a little, and she seemed to be upset. Right before she left, she told me that she and her husband were having problems. I told her how David and I had been separated and gotten back together last fall. I told her that things will be better. <P>The next day I kept thinking about her, and wishing I had given her my book POPW. Over the next week I told my son a couple of times that I wanted him to tell his friend to have his mom call me. I couldn't remember her first name or I would have called her. I just felt like I HAD to tell her about Power of a Praying Wife, and how much my marriage and life had changed since I've read this book and am praying the prayers. When we talked before she mentioned she and her son went to church, so I thought the book would help her. <P>My son forgot to tell her son, a couple weeks have gone by. During the last couple of weeks I have been praying for the Lord to lead me to a Women's Bible Study group and/or Christian women I can be friends with, to study the bible together.<P>Today my son has a bunch of his friends over. His friend's mom just came here to bring him over, so I went outside to talk with her. We got to talking about how things were going, etc. and I mentioned that I had been reading POPW, and how it had made such a difference in my life. She smiled and said you're right, it is God and the Power of Prayer that works. She was excited to hear about the book and is going to get one. Well come to find out she is a very dedicated Christian, who believes in standing for your marriage, and all the same things we have been praying for. In fact, she and I were amazed that we were both praying for the same things for our husbands and marriages. Her faith is much, much stronger than mine and her love for the Lord is so evident in her. While we were talking she began telling me about the women's groups her church has, and the home bible study groups. She is going to have her son invite my son to his youth group, in fact I'm going to go to her church tomorrow. <P>Praise the Lord, God sent her here today. Our God is so awesome, he loves us all so much. He <B>will</B> give us the desires of our heart! Here I was, thinking God sent her to me so that I could share POPW with her, but really God sent her to answer my prayer about finding a Christian's women's group!<P>Thank you Lord for leading this Christian woman to me, to help me learn to walk closer with you. <BR> <BR>MTAW

Praise the lord isn't it great how he works things we pray and ask for. I also need a good bible study.

AW,<P>That is great. I hope the two of you can get together for prayer with one another. How about suggesting that she and you become prayer partners. The idea is you get together once a week and pray for each other and others. <BR>I listened to an old sermon today on tape. Last sunmer they did a series of the Lord's prayer. This was about the line "Hollowed be his name." Hallowed means steadfast love. The line tells us to worship, adore and praise our Lord. The other important piece of information is that that line comes in the prayer before confessing your sin or asking for anything. Saying that to get to the other things we must praise, adore and worship our God first. Only then are we in such a place to ask for forgiveness and then to make our requests. I hadn't thought about that in a while. I know along with God impresing on me that we need to seek Him first the other point He has been making with me is how much more powerfully we feel Him in our life when we praise Him. It is the completion of our joy.. Let me see if i can explain this. When we obey God or we see something He has done for us or just admiring a beautiful scene in nature we want to share this with someone else. In fact the more moving it is for us the more we have to share it. It just springs forth. And until we are able to share it with someone ellse some of our excitement is contained. When we are able to share it our excitement and admiration increases. It is that the sharing of what ever has completed the joy. So, that is the way with praise. We just have to share our joy with someone else, or we just have to p[raise God for whatever is moving us at the moment. In that act of sharing or praising our joy is completed and we feel even more joyful. That is what praise is all about. I hope this makes sense. It did to me and helped to impress upon me more the importance of praising my God daily. There is power in praying but I think in some ways there is just as much or more power in praising our Lord. I know sometimes it is all that will getr me out of a bad place. I usually do it in conjunction with prayer. I heard once about someone who was hoping God would answer her prayer. Then someone said until you fill a basket 3 times with praise God will not answer. The point being Praising God is so important. I know I've been a little more consistent with prayer now I need to increase my praising, because that is where my joy will be completed, in seeking Him and in praising Him.<BR>I also find in praising it helps me to keep my focus on Jesus and seeking Him not for what he will or can do for me but to have fellowship with Him and seek to know Him better. Hope your weekend has been good. I'm glad you met a new Christain woman. How was the new Church?

Hi y'all! Weather was beautiful in Texas today!<P>hw - I understand exactly what you mean! In fact we were talking about something very similar after church today. We talked about continuous praising of God, and that talking to others about God, glorifying Him, is also a form of praising God. I agree with you that praising God should come before asking. And yes, praising Him does give you so much joy, and we do feel Him present when we praise Him. PTL! <P>Last night I was thinking to myself "oh, why did I tell her I would go to her church? It doesn't get done and if I just go to my regular church I'm out by 9:30". Guess who that was talking to me. I woke up this morning anxious to see what this other church was like. It was <B>fantastic</B>!!! The presence of the Holy Spirit was intense, music was awesome, people were much more friendly than where I have been attending church. Definitely a spirit filled church! I loved it!!! I felt so much joy there, and have felt it all day since. I'm going back there next Sunday, probably Wed. night too. <P>The woman I talked about in this post and I are going to pray together. She is having some of the same problems with her H that I am so we've got a common denominator for our prayers. She's got POPW on order too. <P>Other than my H getting drunk Sat. and standing my son up, it was a great weekend. H also "forgot" to go to his appt. for the Batterer's Intervention Program. I'll bet the prosecutor isn't going to like that!!!<BR>