Tuesday Prayer Day: One Year Old

Today marks the one year anniversary or birthday of Tuesday Prayer Day. Each Tuesday over the past year I have opened my social media outlets to receive prayer requests and earnestly prayed over each request.

In the past year, I have prayed for hundreds of people and seen God meet them in their places of need.

What many people don’t know is what birthed Tuesday Prayer Day.

The Birth of Tuesday Prayer Day

Just over one year ago today a dear friend died. It was a shock. It was unexpected. It tore my heart in to a million pieces.

My friend was young–too young. He left behind a young wife, two teen children, his mother, and many other grieving family and friends.

In the days after his death, I was full of anxiety. If you have been around me much or read my first book “Shifted Vision”, you know that I am a ‘jump in and help take care of things’ person. My natural instincts and giftings were to drop everything in my own life, rush to my dear friend (the wife) and provide support, care, and love.

There was only one problem. My sweet sister who was walking the darkest days of her life was already surrounded with people who were supporting her in all the ways she needed.

I knew I NEEDED to do something. I also knew that my presence would not be beneficial to her because God has already surrounded her with who she needed at that exact moment. My time with her would come–just not then.

I was crying out to God, asking Him what I could do. The only answer I received was “Pray”.

So I walked and prayed. The walking was not an order from the Lord, but a way for me to release pent up anxieties. I had so many anxieties that I ended up walking 14 miles one day–praying and crying every step.

For a few days, I walked and prayed for my friend and her family. I prayed for those who were supporting her. I prayed a mountain of prayers and poured out my own grief to God in the process.

The First Tuesday Prayer Walk

My friend tragically died on a Thursday. I had prayed and walked each day. I awoke the first Tuesday after his death and knew I was supposed to pray for others–not just my friend and her family.

At 6:00 am I posted on Facebook that I was going to do a prayer walk. Every hour on the hour I would walk a mile and pray for the requests that had come in since the last prayer walk. I did this for 10 hours the first week. Over time I found a plateau and walked and prayed 6 miles and 6 hours each week.

The Evolution of Tuesday Prayer Day

My own health began to fail, so I had to change Tuesdays from a prayer walk to just a prayer day. For the past year I have consistently taken prayer requests and prayed for the needs of others every Tuesday. (I missed only one day as I was without internet access)

Over this year, I have prayed for hundreds of needs. There have been beautiful stories of how God has shown up to meet these needs.

People will contact me on days other than Tuesdays and say, “I know its not prayer day, but could you please pray for me?” People from other cities, states, and even countries reach out on prayer day requesting prayer.

I had a young relative in California launch his own version of prayer day based on seeing the consistency of my Tuesday Prayer Day.

Different Facebook Groups have contacted me, and I now lead a Tuesday Prayer Day for them each week as well.

Tragedy was the Conception of Tuesday Prayer Day

God used the sudden and tragic death of my friend as a means to bring Tuesday Prayer Day to life. I had never heard of or seen a weekly prayer day before. This special day being birthed from the death of a person I loved is a perfect example of “God bringing good out of something the enemy intended to bring destruction.”

My Friend’s Widow and Tuesday Prayer Day

I recently met up with my dear friend and we shared several beautiful hours together. She let me know that based on my prayer walks, she had begun walking and praying. She had no idea why I had started Tuesday Prayer Day. I was humbled to share with her the how and why I hosted Tuesday Prayer Day. We wept together and prayed together.

The legacy God created with Tuesday Prayer Day from her husbands death is humbling to me. I will continue prayer day as long as God instructs me to do so.

Prayer Day Gets Reversed

God has an amazing way of working things out. In January of this year, my dad had been battling Cancer and was hospitalized with severe infection in his blood. We spend weeks not knowing if he was going to live or not.

I posted to accept Tuesday Prayer Day Requests, and wept as this community of people who I had lifted before God for 9-10 months, turned prayer day around and all lifted my dad, me, and our family.

God heard all the cries and my dad is now home and recovering slowly. I can never express what these sweet prayers meant to me and my family.