From the Prayer Journal of Fr. Paul Uwemedimo

From Fr. Paul Uwemedimo

Puso Ng Ama Foundation

Let me share an extract from my prayer journal this morning. The words in “inverted commas” are words that I felt the Lord was saying to me:

Prayer Journal

14 April 2020 | 5:30am | Payatas

"TODAY, Paul, is the day when you need again to start putting prayer first. In the midst of this crisis, prayer MUST remain your first priority. Trust in me and see what I will do. Do you think that what has happened so far is the result of your own efforts, Paul, or even the efforts of others? You must not start thinking that or I will allow the provision to start drying up, I will stop the floodgates that I have opened. Trust in ME Paul, rely upon me Paul and see what I will do"

The Lord wants me to continue to work hard, the Lord wants me to continue to work very hard, the Lord wants me to continue to work extremely hard BUT he wants me to place and keep prayer as my very first priority AND he wants me to make sure I take adequate rest. Doing BOTH of these things is an issue of faith, trust and obedience in God AND an issue of love for God.

In this time, in the midst of the crisis, as at all times, indeed even more than normal, the Lord wants me to spend good time in prayer: 

in praise, worship and adoration,

in listening to him and speaking with him,

in intercession and petition,

and in simply BEING with Him

Encouraging, inspiring, challenging and organizing others to pray is also important. 

I need to help the people staying in their homes to realize that their prayer is so, so important.

"Paul, I want to use you to help people who remain in their homes know that I have called them to be FRONTLINERS through prayer. People need to know that prayer is a frontline activity, and that it is so, so important, that it is vital. Encourage people to pray, Paul, inspire people to pray, challenge people to pray, and help organize people to pray: people in Payatas and people out of Payatas.  "Payatas people and others.”

”Paul, I also want to use you to encourage, to inspire and to challenge those actively serving at this time not to forget prayer"

Even as I call on people to give of their money and to give not just to Payatas, but to give wherever there is need, I also need to call on people to give of their time in prayer.

I am to encourage, inspire and challenge those who are having to stay at home to pray, especially as they have so much time on their hands. But I am also to encourage the "FRONTLINERS" to pray, to inspire the FRONTLINERS to pray, to challenge the FRONTLINERS to pray. I need to help them see, as I need to see more myself, that this does not make them less effective but rather more effective and also that it is actually a way of preventing burn out. For those relying simply on themselves and upon their own energy and their own internal resources are extremely likely to burnout.