Praying in the Last Days
VALENCIA, N.M. – Women’s Day of Prayer was held this year on March 5. Women from the Valencia Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church took this day to celebrate what God has done for women in our church and around the world. Along with their families, they gathered to take part in this year’s theme “Praying in the Last Days.”
Church members were encouraged to have an intimate moment of prayer in our prayer room. The prayer room allowed each participant to complete activities such as writing our sins in sand and erasing them, just as God erases our sins when we repent and ask for His divine forgiveness. Other activities included writing worship phrases to lift the name of God, writing intercessory prayer requests and making a prayer chain representing our church united in prayer. The calm music, dim lights and sweet smell made each prayer experience one that could be felt with all of our senses and one that lifted us to the throne of God as we poured our hearts out to Him, who is eager to hear our plea.
Women of all ages were able to participate and lead in the morning Sabbath School program and second service, where our speaker shared God’s message about what it means to pray in the final days. Just as Joshua was attentive to God’s plan for his people and trusted His plan for victory over the city of Jericho, we too are called to trust and obey in prayer for our final battle, which God has already won for us. During the divine service, church members participated in filling our prayer garden with flowers that carried the desires of each heart. This represents how our prayers are lifted to Heaven and reach our Father with such a sweet fragrance.
After service, we fellowshipped by having lunch together and participated in an afternoon seminar given by a licensed therapist, specializing in family relationships with an emphasis in domestic violence. We learned and remembered that as children of God we were made to be loved, made to love others and made to have love for ourselves as well. We learned that self-care is essential for our mental health and overall well-being as women of faith. We finished our seminar by learning about essential oils and their calming and healing effects on our bodies when used properly. Each lady was able to make their own essential-oil roller ball with their favorite combination of fragrances to take home as a reminder of taking time to breathe in goodness and healing at times when life becomes overwhelming.
Sabbath ended with an outdoor petition burning moment where all prayer requests were burned while we sang hymns of praise to God for all that He has already answered and all that He will answer in due time. We shared prayer requests for the week and together ended this special day, praising God and asking Him for His never-ending presence in our life so that we may hear His voice every day until our final and most glorious day when He returns for us to take us home with Him for eternity.
By Aracely Robles
