I met a very nice lady today at my Mom's. Her name is Kay and she & Mom have been prayer partners for years. Long distance by the way, as Kay lives in Kentucky. Mom has talked about this lady for years and I had this picture in my mind of what she looked like. In my mind's eye she was perhaps tall and thin; a pretty woman who had been educated in some fancy school someplace. She also had to have money because she & her husband travel a lot and own a time share condo in Nashville.

Boy was I wrong. She is shorter than my Mom and has short, un-done hair (today anyway). She is however, a very pretty lady. Her smile lights a room and she has this twinkle in her eyes that just draws you in. She grew up during World War II and learned the meaning of prayer and hard work early as her Dad died when she was quite young. She came to faith in Christ as a child but married a man who didn't share that faith until years later. As she told me, "I turned to the Bible and he turned to the bottle". She then told God she would do whatever He asked her to, regardless of consequences. Today her husband and their sons are up at 5:00 a.m. reading their Bibles before going to work. Her youngest son is now a minister. She's in love with her Lord, her life and her grandchildren. And she's a woman who prays. Consistently and without doubting, she prays. At times she said she will ask God what to pray for and He actually tells her. Imagine that. When she visits with her sister, she said they either study the Word or pray together, because that's most important to both of them. Can you imagine getting together with a sister and studying the Word rather than go shopping? Praying together instead of talking about ... whatever or whomever?

Meeting her made me take another look at myself. If God allows me to live that long, where do I want to be when I'm her age? Where do I want to be tomorrow? Next week? Next month? What do I want people to see when they first meet me? What do I want them to take with them when we part?

Have you ever met someone who you felt could look into your soul? That's how I felt at times today. As though Kay was looking far deeper than the color of my greying hair and eyeglasses. It was no accident we met today. It was, I believe, God prompting me to get on with what matters most in this life ... His will being done regardless of the cost. He showed me what a prayer warrior named Kay looks like and He let me know I can really be one too if I'll allow Him to truly be LORD in my life.

What could happen if professing Christians truly surrendered their all to our Father in heaven? What might happen if we gave up unnecessary things and spent time in study and prayer? What if we REALLY believed God heard us when we pray and we had the boldness to come before His throne and asked Him for His glory to shine on this earth ... for the lost to be brought to a saving faith ... for good to triumph over evil .... for our loved ones to come to the knowledge they need a Savior ... for His name to be hallowed and kept holy .... for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven ... for His soon return ...

May God in His mercy draw us closer to Himself and, in a new way, reveal to us our deeper need of Him. May we see Him as He is and glory in all that He is for us in Christ Jesus.