Thursday Thirteen—My Prayer Job Jar

Thirteen Things about NORMA'S Prayer Job Jar—a rerun from a TT seven years ago

1.  The jar is real, physical, clear glass and has a lid.

2.  Originally the jar held bubble bath, had a pink ribbon around the lid, and was most likely a birthday gift when I was a teen.

3.  When my children were small, this jar was our cookie jar.

4.  It sits on the kitchen table, catching the sun’s rays (or the Son’s).

5.  We pray one or two items from the jar each evening before dinner. I need to add the President’s name—that he will be guided by God’s spirit.

6.  Most often the prayer request is actually someone looking for a job, i.e., employment or career, so it really is a “prayer job jar.” Sometimes the prayer is about God’s job--to bring someone to saving faith.

8.  Sometimes the prayer is general, sometimes specific--it’s every Christian’s job to pray even if we don’t understand how or why. In fact, I think it is a command.

9.  Although I haven’t kept a record, most job (career) prayers have been answered to the satisfaction of the job seeker.

10. Marriage solutions are another kettle of fish and loaves. A personality transplant?  A memory freeze? Get that other woman a job transfer to Alaska?  Maybe we should just cut to the chase and ask God for a miracle instead of a reconciliation or resolution?

11. Because of our age and the ages of our friends and family, health issues are frequently in the prayer job jar.  This usually has to be a partnership between God and the unhealthy--it’s asking a lot of God to heal if a cancer or COPD patient won’t give up smoking or an arthritic or diabetic won’t lose weight.  I mean, God does allow some free will here, and bad habits he may leave up to the person while he attends to someone a bit more willing to change.

12.  The prayer job jar has made our prayer time much more interesting and meaningful for us, and probably for God, who I imagine gets a little bored with the rote stuff. . . "We thank you Lord for Jesus Christ/ and for the blood he shed/ we thank you for his risen life/ and for our daily bread."

13.  Here’s a photo of the jar, cropped from another picture.  Looks like just one or two pieces of paper, but I think it is a list. 

                                       

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