Memorial Day 2015—Never Forget

Never forget the ultimate sacrifices made for us.

Memorial Day—Remembering Those Who've Paid the Ultimate Price for Freedom

Today, on Memorial Day, I want to interrupt my usual schedule to honor the holiday that commemorates those who've paid the ultimate price for freedom. 

As many of you know, our oldest son served four years in the Marine Corps as a front-line infantry Marine during two tours in Iraq. Because  of this, I joined Blue Star Mothers of America, and even though Jimmy is now out of the service, I stay in to serve the families of those who serve. 

One of our most important duties is to honor those who have died in service. I wrote about one particular military funeral on my Guideposts blog, While They Serve this past Friday, and I'd like to share it with all of you. 

Weekend Worship—Righteous Prayers

The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:16b-18 NASB

I fought so many fears while our son was deployed to the Middle East. Probably the greatest was that somehow my prayers wouldn’t be enough to keep him safe. I remember one night in particular. I awoke from an unknown dream, screaming in my mind. I was drenched with sweat and had tears running down my cheeks. I couldn’t remember the dream—only the terror, that horrible feeling of helplessness. I looked over and saw 2:52am blinking on the clock. I could hear my husband’s soft snores and they reassured me I hadn’t disturbed him. Too often he lost sleep because of my fears.

I knew sleep wouldn’t return anytime soon, so I grabbed my Bible and once again headed downstairs. I settled into my chair in the den and began to thumb through the pages, searching for comfort. I tried to focus enough to pray for my son, but my prayers seemed common, not good enough to inspire God to go great lengths to keep him safe.

In my page turning, I found myself reading these verses in James. As I read I felt even worse. Did I have to be Elijah to pray effectively? I would never consider myself in the same category of righteousness as him. Even more discouraged I thought about these verses. As I did, God brought something to mind that I’d never considered. I remembered that early on in Israel’s history God had warned them that if they didn’t obey Him, He’d withhold blessings, specifically the blessing of rain. I felt hope begin to blossom. I immediately turned to Deuteronomy 11 and there it was—God’s warning that He would shut up the heavens if they turned from Him.

My heart leapt. Righteous prayer wasn’t based on my goodness, but on God’s! Elijah’s prayer was effective because he knew God and he just prayed God’s own words back to Him. God would always be true to His word. I felt a floodgate of possibilities open up. I could pray scripture over my son and know that God would hear and answer.