The idea for this prayer initiative began in a small, unassuming way. My cousin Elizabeth was in ICU recovering from back surgery. Since the doctors suspected that she had contracted COVID, she was not permitted visitors and was treated by nurses in hazmat suits. Understandably, she was feeling very much alone and reached out to me via email.
The only thing I knew to do was pray for her. Since I had just been reading a daily devotional, I thought about sending a few written prayers her way. This was the contents of my original email to her, “I’ve decided, if it’s agreeable with you, to send you a daily prayer, given how isolated you are right now from everyone but God. Deb [my sister-in-law] recently sent Chris [my wife] and me a devotional written by pastor and author Paul Tripp. When we received the book a month ago, I opened it at random to December 8th. When you shared your predicament with me, my mind flashed back to this December entry. Paul Tripp writes, ‘You will never, ever be left alone. There is always someone who understands you and offers you the help you need. You don’t have to worry because you have a Savior who has invaded your life with his grace and has made you the place where he dwells.’ He concludes, ‘You have been invited to enter into God’s rest for the rest of your life.’ His invitation has a calming, prayerlike effect on me. May God bless you today as you read it.”
What an extravagant overture! Enter into God’s rest today: