Saturday was my birthday and the plan was to do our longest training run in Forest Park that morning. But due to some circumstances beyond our control, we had to push our run off a day. That meant that we would leave a little later in the day on Sunday, after both Crystal and I had attended the first worship hour at our respective churches.
I woke up on Sunday joyful and excited about our run. Yes, about a 20-mile run. Joyful. I knew that we were ready and was looking forward to different scenery surrounding us during our run in St. Louis.
But something changed part-way through the worship service. I started to get apprehensive, scared, and anxious. By the end of the service, I was literally shaking and almost in tears I was so panicked. I didn’t know what was happening. And when Pastor Doug reminded the congregation that Prayer Band members were at the front and available for prayer, it was as if he was talking to me, and I turned to Mike and asked him to come with me to ask for prayer.
As we got to the front, all the Prayer Band members were busy, so I asked someone else who happened to be standing there to pray with Mike and I. Even as I tried to explain the anxiety and panic I was feeling, I was nearly overwhelmed with those feelings. Through the prayer, I could feel myself coming back to center, but not fully. As we worked our way out the door, I saw a number of people who knew my plan for the afternoon and who encouraged me and whom I asked to be praying for us as well.
By the time I got home, readied myself and all my supplies, and got in the car with Crystal, I could tell that my anxiety was dwindling, but it wasn’t until that first step on the trail that it melted away completely. From that point on, not once did I question my ability to finish the 20 miles. Not once did I even consider quitting. Even when my breathing was labored (there was pollen everywhere!), and my legs got tired, I knew we were going to finish. And finish we did.
But I know that we did it all with a covering of prayer. Prayers that were lifted for us because we asked.
Sometimes, that’s all it takes, just an ask. Reaching out for prayer when we know we can’t make it on our own. I am so thankful for those who prayed for and with us yesterday and for the way that the Lord answered their prayers. And then, when I got home last night I got a message from a high school friend who was doing some asking of her own. And I am privileged to be able to lift her situation up in prayer in the same way others did for me yesterday.
Do you need prayer today? Just ask! Leave me a message and I will be glad to pray with and for you, or grab a friend and ask them to pray.