Our community is made up of those in a particular geographic region that we live, work, or inhabit, as well as the close and extended relational contacts that we have. Most people's communities in this day and age are wide and diverse, made up of many different demographics, social, and religious backgrounds.

There are two passages that come most to mind when seeking to pray for our community.

• "18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" (Ephesians 6:18).
• "2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3 And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace . . . " (Colossians 4:2-6).

Taking these two passages combined, we see that prayer can be offered up for all kinds of different people in our community, that God may bless them and that they may come to know Christ more fully.

We should also pray that God helps us in our conversations with those in our community, that we may speak words of grace that bless them, and that God may help us to share a message about Christ.

So for this week, I have on my heart to pray for single mothers. I was blessed with a home with both a mother and a father, and I have a wonderful wife who is also a mother. Parenting is hard enough with two--I cannot imagine raising a family with only one parent.

And it seems that single moms have many additional challenges. Not only do they have to be nurturer and provider and disciplinarian. Women often are paid less than men, and are not always treated fairly. Children who grow up without fathers, like those without mothers, face many life challenges. 

So my heart goes out to single mothers. We need to lift them up in prayer, that God may ease their burden and help them to find peace, love, and companionship.

We also want single mothers who are not practicing Christians, as with all people, to discover the life that is found in Christ. There are many blessings found in Christ, including the church, where fathers and mothers and grandparents, aunts and uncles, and brothers and sisters can be found. 

We need to pray that God would bless our conversations with single mothers, that our words might be filled with love and grace, and that God would help us to share some message of our faith that might be a hope and blessings to single mothers.

I have always thought that churches that offered things such as parking spots for single moms, babysitting or oil changes for single moms, seminars for single moms, etc. were a good idea. Why? By doing this, we show single moms that we truly welcome them and want to bless and serve them--and be blessed by them. That can go a long way in helping someone desire to seek out Christ.

So this week, let us pray for, bless, and share Christ in simple ways with the single moms that God has placed in our paths!

"Father, may you bless all of the single moms this week and ease their burdens. May you help us in our conversations with single moms, that our words may be filled with grace and that you might use us to lift their spirits and their hearts. May you help us look for opportunities to bless single moms in simple ways this week. And may you help us to share Christ with single moms this week and invite them to the eternal life that he provides. Amen."

What should we pray for for the single moms in our community? How can we bless single mothers and share Christ with them in simple ways this week?