Pray for the unemployed

A year ago I was unemployed because of the pandemic. It was the first time I had been out of a job since the 1980s recession. Even though I knew it was temporary, it affected me deeply. I didn't realize how important it was, beyond finances, for me to work.
     At first, it was like my identity was taken away from me. I felt lost and without purpose. The depression was overwhelming and it was difficult for me to do anything.
     For the first month, dealing with the Unemployment office became my full-time job, but that wore on me, too because of the perceived futility in all of it.
     The second month I finally got around to turning to God. He lifted me up and helped me to relax and make the most of this time. I got to where I enjoyed being home. When everything reopened, I found myself deeply depressed again having to give up the freedom and peace I discovered while being off. But we work in order to pay the bills, so I had to adjust my feelings and attitudes once again.
     The whole experience was so draining. It really gave me a renewed appreciation for the unemployed and what they go through in order to navigate the system. They have to deal with the unemployment office, look for a job, fend off debt collectors and cope with the strain of not having an income. It's a lot.
     So this week, I'd like for us to pray for them. My main prayer is that they turn to God like I finally did, and allow Him to guide them through this situation.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Proverbs 3:5-6 NKJV

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Please join me this week in praying for the unemployed, those seeking work, or those who have given up looking. Pray that they turn to the Lord for guidance and encouragement and strength. Let's also pray that God opens doors for them and that they recognize those opportunities.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

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Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #unemployed #jobseekers #encouragment #poor #poverty #work #depression

Prudent wife

 

House and wealth are inherited from fathers, 

but a prudent wife is from the Lord.

Proverbs 19:14 ESV

I had to look up the word "prudent" and just in case you were unsure about it, too, the Oxford Languages Dictionary (online) defines it as, "acting with or showing care and thought for the future." 

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup

Adornment

 

 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. 

1 Peter 3:4 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup

Let her be praised

 

10  An excellent wife who can find?

    She is far more precious than jewels.

11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,

    and he will have no lack of gain.

12 She does him good, and not harm,

    all the days of her life.

17 She dresses herself with strength

    and makes her arms strong.

20 She opens her hand to the poor

    and reaches out her hands to the needy.

25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,

    and she laughs at the time to come.

26 She opens her mouth with wisdom,

    and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.

27 She looks well to the ways of her household

    and does not eat the bread of idleness.

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;

    her husband also, and he praises her:

29 “Many women have done excellently,

    but you surpass them all.”

30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.

31 Give her of the fruit of her hands,

    and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31 Select verses (ESV)

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup

She loves Him

 

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

Deuteronomy 6:5 ESV

Pray that your Pastor's wife loves God with all her heart and that she feels how much our Father loves her.

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup

Qualifications of an overseer

 

This verse is in a section of my Bible labeled "Qualifications for Overseers" and I thought it was fitting for a Pastor's wife also, so I modified (italicized words) and removed one section (...) of 1 Timothy 3:1-7 to fit with our prayers this week. 

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of Pastor's wife, she desires a noble task. Therefore a Pastor's wife must be above reproach, ... sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. She must manage her own household well, with all dignity keeping her children submissive, for if someone does not know how to manage her own household, how will she care for God's church? She must not be a recent convert, or she may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover, she must be well thought of by outsiders, so that she may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

The role of Pastor's wife must be a daunting task, having to share one's husband with the entire congregation, personal events being shared as the sermon anecdote, being held to higher standards in the minds of some. Please lift up your Pastor's wife in prayer. Send her a card. Text her to see if she needs anything. Love her as your sister.

If you have a bible verse or a prayer you would like to share for your Pastor's wife, please leave it in the comments below.

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup

Love from a pure heart

 

When my husband and I started attending The Ridge, we went sporadically because we were visiting different churches in town each week. After visiting one or two we'd go back to The Ridge for a week or two. I was definitely drawn to that particular church but my husband wanted to check out as many as possible. 

     During our third or fourth visit, the woman sitting in front of us turned around and introduced herself as Terry. We talked for several minutes before the service started and then she asked if we had heard her husband speak before. I asked her who her husband was and she said, "Rollie." 

     Until she said that, I had absolutely no idea she was the Pastor's wife. I don't know what my expectations were, maybe that as the Pastor's wife she would be surrounded by people needing her attention, or busy doing something other than talking to me, a stranger. I don't know. What I do know is that, smooth as silk she struck up a conversation with me and made me feel like I belonged there. I don't remember anything she said, but whatever it was, it was what I needed to hear at that specific time.

     So, to Terry and all of the wives of Pastors, I want to say "thank you" for everything you do, for your words of kindness, encouragement, and love, and for fulfilling such an important role in God's Kingdom.

The aim of our charge is love that issues 

from a pure heart and a good conscience 

and a sincere faith.

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

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Please join me this week in praying for our Pastors' wives. Pray that they feel nothing but love and encouragement from their congregations. Pray that the church family lift her up in their prayers and support her. Also, pray that their husbands are sensitive to their needs.

I'll post daily reminders on:

twitter @7DegreesOfMe

Instagram @7DegreesOfMe <--- recently changed
Pinterest Prayer Group #7thHourPrayerPower

Facebook group 7th Hour Prayer Power

#7thHourPrayerPower #BibleVerses #bible #PastorsWife #woman #church #love #ChurchFamily #wife #PrayerGroup