Call to Care for the Widows and Orphans - A Pray for Me Mondays Post

JAMES 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (NIV)

PSALMS 116:2 "Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live" (NKJV)

Join me as I blog with Pray for Me Mondays hosted by Tiffany at Home Grown Families and Pamela over at Troop Petrie. Basically, it works like this: both blogs are hosting this blog link-up and will post about relevant topics and may perhaps have a prayer request and will pray together with their readers, coming together in agreement to go before the Throne of Grace.

This week, Tiffany blogged about the emotional upheavals that single mothers often deal with as they find their way to glorify God in their families. Her post reminded me of another blog I read this past year.

I can't remember which blog I read it on (so sorry, and if you know please share) but the blogger wrote about widows and orphans. Specifically, that some women and children have reached this point not because of a death, but maybe through other means such as becoming pregnant outside of marriage or through divorce.

These precious women are often overlooked when we consider the Scripture's call to care for the widows and orphans, though their situations are the same (lack of husband/father) and they struggle just as greatly as those made widows and orphans by death.

When we look at it that way, it sure makes your heart realize just how much we should care for these families.

So, please take a few moments to pray for single mothers and their children and take that Biblical command to care for widows and orphans of all kinds to heart. Find some way to encourage and uplift a single mom. There are all kinds of ways you can do this and here are a few ideas to get you started:

~ Babysit her children so she can get a little rest or do something she's neglected for herself
~ Take her family a home-cooked meal (and be sure to let her know ahead of time so she doesn't stress about dinner)
~ Send a card and spend time in prayer with/over her
~ Buy her some fresh flowers
~ Invite her and her children into your home for dinner
~ If you know her well, maybe take over a task for her for a day or two to give her a break (like maybe cleaning or laundry, or washing the car, etc.)
~ If you can afford it, maybe give her a few gift cards to various restaurants or grocery stores

There are so many ways you can reach out and care, but mostly you just need to be there for her in whatever way works best for her.

This week's prayer request: My prayer request this week is just to ask the Lord to show you how to bless and encourage the single mom's in your life!

Praise Report: My last Pray For Me Monday request was for a friend diagnosed with breast cancer and the discovery it had spread to her lymph nodes. They went to remove a lump and found out that it was only in one lymph node and it appears it was caught very early. They believe they were able to remove most, if not all, of it. She is currently undergoing therapy, but is much relieved and praying for full recovery and remission! Thank you for your prayers.




If you have a prayer request, please feel free to post on this blog or be sure to visit Home Grown Families and Troop Petrie and add your request(s) there. You can also find the linkup for your own blog, if you wish to participate in that way.