I don’t like prayer to be directed at me. I would rather be the prayer than the prayee. But there are times the power of prayer is needed for me, and this is one of those times.

Some of you may know I had a very mild stroke last week. It apparently occurred last Sunday but wasn’t diagnosed until Thursday because there were no stroke symptoms except a sudden loss of peripheral vision on my left side, leading me to seek ophthalmic care. My ophthalmologist gave my eyes a clean bill of health, indicating this was a neurological issue. That’s when the scans discovered a small bleed in the brain. After a few days of tests, rest and observation, I expect to be released tomorrow and I fully expect the vision to return to normal in the coming days, weeks or months.

This event was important because I am scheduled to fill the pulpit at West Fayette (NY) Presbyterian Church for the next three weeks. Which leads to the prayer a) I am able to preach and b) that the words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:4).

I’m not implying my words will be resoundingly poignant, but I have learned through the years, the more obstacles when presenting issues of faith generally means the devil is working overtime to block the message. And this sudden illness appears to fit that pattern. Something I’m presenting over the next three weeks has Satan shaking.

Over the week, I have turned over the stroke to the Lord and I know He has been directing the doctors and has sent a legion of angels to watch over me. There is something that has to be shared. I’ve read and re-read my sermons and I don’t see it. But it’s there to help someone find their way to the Lord.

I have prayed the words and meditation I craft ARE pleasing to the Lord. And that’s what I ask of you, my friends.

This week I expect to preach on The Gospel According to Luke. Next week it will be WWJD and the final topic is If We’re Honest with the assistance of Jen Gray as special worship leader, combining contemporary praise music with traditional hymns.

So, if you happen to be in the Finger Lakes area of New York, I welcome you to join us at 9 a.m. at West Fayette Presbyterian Church, on Route 336 just east of Route 96A and a few miles south of Geneva and north of Sampson State Park. I invite you not to listen to the guy in the pulpit, but to enjoy the fellowship of the little church with the big heart.

THOUGHT TO REMEMBER: What if we stopped killing babies and gave them the right to chose the path they wanted to take in this life.