40 days of prayer

I was dog sick in bed all morning and afternoon with the flu. My temperature spiked a bit and I could not keep any solid foods down. But when 5 o'clock rolled around, I gathered the strength to pick up the kids, fix them dinner, and welcomed my husband home. I planned on rolling back into bed for a nap but Jeff insisted I accompany him and the kids to the 40 Days of Prayer service in Peoria. The mayor asked the city to pray for the decrease of crime in Peoria to kick off the new year.
I'm so glad I went. It uplifted my spirit to be surrounded by my church family and even unfamiliar faces who gathered together to ask the Lord to do a mighty work in our community. We asked God to strengthen marriages and families throughout the city; we prayed for our children (Max and Laney were seated next to us, bored to tears I'm sure); we asked the Lord to remove moral barriers that keep people in bondage on the streets, cleaving to drugs and prostitution for a quick fix to try to satisfy their deeper needs. I fell in love with Jeff all over again listening to such eloquent words roll off this tongue, asking the Lord's hand in redeeming the brokenness in people's hearts as a result of rampant sin.
I'm so encouraged that the Peoria Police Chief is a faithful member of our church and is such a phenomenal spiritual head in his home. He's a man of integrity and compassion who cares deeply about those he serves and protects. He reported that so far, there have been no homicides in the River City. Praise God for that. This wasn't the case last year and the number of homicides climbed to a whopping 16. I've covered so many homicides in 2007...I was desensitized to seeing body bags roll out of run-down homes...kids killing kids in ignorance. I do pray that the Lord breaks the cycles of sin, hate and poverty that chain so many to the enemy...there is hope if we fix our eyes and hearts on Him.