As I drove out of town last Saturday to seek out a specific gift, I passed the fleet of trucks and the small army of helpers who were carrying on the work of the late Mike and Barbara Howard. Their children have a huge role to fill, if God calls them to it. And just like their parents before them, they can’t possibly do it without a lot of help. I prayed for them all as I passed and prayed that the rain forecasted would hold off while they busily went about doing good and handing out blessings to more people than can be counted.

I love Christmas because it is a time we can reach out to others, do good anonymously, and be a blessing without people questioning our motives.

I am part of a prayer team supporting ministry in another nation. Their Christmas ministry is to reach out to their nation’s leaders, politicians and people in high places, to pour the love of God into their lives while the door is open in this holy season. Since I am thousands of miles away, I pour out my prayers for them in silence, or in the written word on my computer when there is a specific need.

I do not know those for whom I pray, but the Spirit of God is not limited by time and space, so I add my prayers to theirs as they send specific requests. As I prayed for them this morning, I am left with the impression that this prayer is for our nation as well, so I share it here with a few changes that cover our nation as well.

“May the truth in this blessed season reign in all of our hearts this Christmas. May we give more than we receive. May we rejoice with those who rejoice and take a moment to mourn with those who mourn.

May our vision of Jesus not remain in the cradle, or stop at the cross, but hope in the return of the Lion of Judah, the blessed hope of Messiah.

May all that we do for the wounded and unbelieving portray the love of God through His Son Jesus Christ in this memorable season.

May each person seeking to do God’s work in this Holy season be filled with a “right heart” before God with motives compelled by a sincere desire to seek and save the lost. For those who have become a part of ministry for any other reason than to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit and the hands and feet of God to those around them find the truth they are seeking in their own lives as they minister to others.

May our touch on the lives of others with hands, words, and prayers make a profound difference to those who are hurting, to those who need encouragement, and to those who have stopped believing in the love of God and the potential power in their individual lives for good.

May God restore broken hearts and fulfill shattered dreams as only He can do. May He place within us the sense of importance for each individual life, our own value in His love for mankind, and increase our ability to believe in Him for miracles. May our ability to dream big be enlarged and fulfilled because of our hope in Him.

May our local politicians, our leaders, our national law makers, and our government be impacted profoundly by the love of God.

As we recognize that the dangers of imbalance in world governments (including our own) and lack of faith are a foreshadowing of things to come, may we also realize that we still have a window of opportunity to reach out to all.

In every nation, every race, every people of the world, may there truly be Peace on Earth this holiday season.

With much love from my corner of the world in southeastern Kentucky, USA, Merry Christmas!

Reach longtime Enterprise columnist Judith Victoria Hensley at judith99@bellsouth.net or on Facebook. Check out her blog: One Step Beyond the Door.