Why I Have a Women Wednesday

Since the beginning of the new year, Wednesdays have had a new significance for me. At first, I thought it would just be a way of organizing my prayer life, a personal thing, a necessity for someone whose prayer life has consistently been inconsistent. But it’s turned into so much more.

I catch myself saying numerous times throughout the week, “I’ll pray for you about that. In fact, you can count on me praying for you concerning that very situation every Wednesday until you tell me to stop.” Then my friend who has just shared a hurt, a problem, a disappointment, a struggle looks at me a little puzzled, and I respond matter of factly, “Women Wednesday is the day I pray for the women in my life.”

Look, I’ve never been a huge prayer warrior. This is not the expert or the seasoned sage sharing her well-worn wisdom, rooted in years of diligent practice. I’m a rookie at this prayer journal thing. And an organized prayer calendar is a new tool for me.

Ladies, We Need to Pray for Each Other

My mentor Victoria is the one who really opened my eyes to how desperately each of us needs to be covered in prayer by our sisters in Christ.

I was going through a season where I needed to wrap my brain around some things, make some decisions and settle some things in my heart. It was a season I was struggling with, one I would have rather skipped over. And honestly it was a season filled with temptations of a new variety. I wanted to walk through it well, but I had never navigated this path before.

Victoria encouraged me with scriptural truths and personal affirmation, but she also warned me that I would “have to have” people praying for me during this season. “This is one of those times, Kay, when you will have to have some godly people praying for you diligently in order to get through it well.”

Her dogged insistence that I line up prayer warriors intrigued me. I’m a pretty private person, and there have been many times in life when I’ve resisted the compulsion to share my prayer needs. I figured I should not expect others to do for me what I could do for myself.

Bottom line, my pride kept me from reaching out for prayer.

The Truth About Prayer Support

If Jesus humbled Himself to ask His disciples to pray with Him during the most difficult time of His life, why would I think that I wouldn’t need the same kind of support?

Prayer is powerful in ways that I can’t fully understand. In fact, Jesus clearly implied that there are indeed some things that we cannot accomplish, cannot survive, cannot navigate, cannot change without prayer and fasting. We desperately need powerful prayer in our lives.

Finally, James encourages us to ask for prayer support.

Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.” ~ James 5:16

As much as I believe in the spiritual accountability implied at the beginning of this verse, I think it’s important not to disassociate it from the final statement. We’re not just supposed to share our struggles with each other; we’re supposed to invite the other person into the solution by asking for their prayer support. If we don’t, we miss out on the unique effectiveness of that prayer covering.

An Example in Real Life

This all came to a head for me one Wednesday as I had just wrapped up teaching a session of Bible study to the women at my church. As I often do, I asked if there were any final questions or thoughts anyone would like to share. A precious woman raised her hand and shared how she had been affected by the lesson. But in sharing the conviction she was under, she also opened up about a situation in her life that was causing ongoing stress and weariness. And this situation isn’t going anywhere; it’s a permanent new reality. Honestly, we were all amazed and deeply affected by her story and her admission of a struggle.

I affirmed her, as did several others. But I felt prompted to ask a personal question right there in front of everyone, too.

“Sister (I used her name), do you have people who regularly pray for you as you carry this extra burden?”

Tears still in her eyes from having been so transparent with us, she shook her head. “No, I haven’t asked anyone,” she admitted.

And so, having learned this lesson fresh myself, I said, “You need prayer support for this. You need to ask two or more women, people you trust and can count on, to pray for you consistently about this.” Then I volunteered. I told her she could count on me to pray for her every Wednesday because, you know, that’s Women Wednesday. And I have…prayed for her every Wednesday since.

It’s Me Standing in the Need of Prayer

So, if you’re still reading after all my wordiness, I come to you today and ask for prayer. No, you don’t all need to commit to praying for me every day or even every Wednesday. I hope you have others you regularly pray for. But right now I’m just letting you know that as of yesterday, I’m standing at the trail head of one of the most difficult and scary paths I’ve ever had to walk. Things are very uncertain right now. And I desperately need some prayer support. I’m okay. And I have peace that passes understanding. I really do. But I also know there are tough days ahead.

Will you just pause and pray for me today? You can pray for strength, wisdom, courage, staying power, faithfulness, God’s blessing and provision, just about anything, and you’ll hit the nail on the head. Just cover me in a little prayer.

And I’d love to do the same for you.

If you have a burden or struggle or need for which you could use some prayer support, I volunteer. Just send me an email or comment below (if you don’t mind sharing with others) and I’ll pray for you. You can ask me to pray this once or let me know if you’d like for me to pray for you weekly. And I will. On Wednesdays.

Blessings.

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If you’e struggling with a hurt heart you might benefit from my 10-Day Prayer Journey for the Wounded Heart. I have people subscribe to this free service almost weekly, and they tell me how much it helped with the healing. If you subscribe you’ll receive a daily email from me for ten days in which you’ll be led through the healing verses of Psalm 27. Simply click the link to be taken to the subscription page.