Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.
QUESTION:
WHAT DO ALL THESE COUNTRIES HAVE IN COMMON?
Israel, Honduras, Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, China, Indonesia, U.S.A., Pakistan, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Guatemala, Cambodia, India, Senegal, Macau, Jordan, Dominican Republic, Philipines.
ANSWER:
These are 18 countries that I found in my closet.
Now I know what most of you are thinking, "oh no! Sarah is so in love with Narnia that she thinks she's traveled the world in by walking in her closet!"
Not quite. (though... that would be totally AWESOME!)
This past weekend I went to the Mission's Fest held at the Conference Center in town. It was brilliant! I had a really good time, but what stood out to me most was what a speaker Paul Borthwick said during one of the sessions. He was talking about getting a "global mindset". I admit for a moment I scoffed.
"Oh please, I do not need to hear about a global mindset! I grew up overseas!"
WRONG! God said.
The speaker went on to talk about, getting a global mindset is not about traveling overseas or serving in some third world country. He said a global mindset can start in the comfort of your very own room. He challanged us to go to our closets and look at the tags on all our clothes. Then to count how many different countries there are. Then, everyday when we get up in the morning, when we get dressed... take a few extra seconds to look at what "country" you are wearing. Then take another few moments to pray for that country.
I thought to myself, "so pretty much everyone is going to be praying for China."
WRONG AGAIN, God said.
18 countries in my closet. 18! That is not even including my dresser, or summer clothes which are packed away still. A few of these countries I didn't even know the location is. What a challange... and what an amazing way to develop a global mindset. Not only has it been really cool to have purposeful prayer for the world in the mornings, but speaking to God in the morning has almost been like therapy for my soul. At the same time, it has been convicting about finding "Godly" purpose in everything. Including getting dressed in the morning.
So my simple closing is this:
How many countries are in your closet?
The world needs all the prayer they can get :D