It All Goes Back To Prayer

Devotional for Monday, May 26, 2003 by Mary Daniel

Matthew 4:19 - And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. (KJV)

Just as prayer is an important part of our daily life, so, too, is it an important part of Daily's "life". In fact, it was prayer that put Daily on the Internet. Today marks seven years since Daily's inception, and the Presbyterian Prayer Partnership prayer request has been a staple of Daily since before it was Daily!

The story goes like this. After Michael Farris founded PCCWeb for the Presbyterian Church in Canada, Robin Ross (our Technical and Oversight Editor) suggested that the brand-new PCCWeb home page needed to have something on it which changed every day, to keep readers coming back -- something like the Presbyterian Prayer Partnership prayer request.

Instead of putting it on the home page, Michael designed a separate page on which to update the prayer request each day. Then, perhaps because it looked bare, he thought that he would combine it with a daily devotional. And so Daily was born, to augment meeting the needs of people reaching out to others in prayer.

In those days, Barbara Persaud was in charge of the Presbyterian Prayer Partnership, which is now overseen by Grace-ann McIntyre. From small beginnings, and through prayer, come wondrous things, and today, Daily goes into what now numbers in excess of 4,200 homes worldwide, serviced by a bevy of some 240 volunteer writers. We are blessed to have the volunteer staff of Mary Jane Hanson (Submissions Editor), Rev. James T. Hurd (Devotional Editor), Rev. Robin Ross (Technical and Oversight Editor), Jane Anne Waller (Subscription and Feedback Editor), Garnet Schenk (PrayerLine Editor), and Rev. Dr. John C. Carr (Pastoral Counselling).

As a writer, and a reader in touch with other writers, I can testify that prayer plays a huge part in what we are led to write. It plays a huge part in working through the technical problems that arise, and I'm sure it plays a huge part in the busy lives of our Submissions, Subscriptions, and PrayerLine editors, for decisions must be made with which others may sometimes not agree.

God has been gracious in gathering us together -- senders and receivers of His Word. Our lives are enriched by learning from each other -- making us all "fishers of men".

Prayer: Our heavenly Father, we give thanks for the wondrous ways that one little suggestion works for the greater good with Your help. As we move about throughout our daily lives, may we always remember to give You our thanks and our requests in prayer and supplication, no matter how small something may seemingly be. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, we pray. Amen.

Mary Daniel <marydee@shaw.ca>
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

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