The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help.
Psalm 34:17

Whether you’re hosting or attending a gathering with friends over the holiday, don’t neglect the most important part of your party preparations: Prayer!

Prayer is what gives your party that extra special something that nothing else can. It invites the meaningful and the supernatural into your gatherings.

Here are a few simple prayers that can make a big difference:

1. Invite God to be the Host.
2. Ask Him to arrange the seating.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to move in conversations, directing them in the ways He wants them to go.
4. Ask for the grace to make every guest feel loved and special.

Last weekend, I had an opportunity to put this suggestion into practice when I gathered with 20 family members at a local restaurant to celebrate my parent’s 50^th wedding anniversary. Wanting it to be an extra special occasion, I took time to pray beforehand.

God seemed to immediately answer by giving me creativity I had not previously considered – the ideas of a family sharing time, a video and praying with intentionality during the party were brought to mind.

As with many things in my life, the idea of pulling off a video seemed almost impossible at such late notice. However, on Friday night, my niece heard about the need and put together a great video, setting it to the 1976 classic “Still the One” by Orleans. Talk about answered prayer!

When it came to seating, I could not have created a better seating chart! Jesus organically placed us.

When it came to prayer, I had originally asked someone else to open us in prayer, someone I knew would invite God’s Spirit to be among us. At the last minute, that role shifted back to me. Amazingly, God had already given me the image of a chord of three strands not quickly broken, and I was able to bring glory to Him as the strand that enables their marriage to endure after all these years.  (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

Finally, when it came to the sharing, I invited the guests to come prepared with a story or fun memory. Many participated, resulting in a very special time of sharing. We laughed. We cried. We toasted. We had so much fun walking down memory lane! In the end, Jesus was honored, and it was a very memorable evening for everyone.

All of these blessings were possible because the “extra special” had been added.  The extras that brought Jesus into our midst and resulted in joy, love, and meaningful conversation only He could have orchestrated!

Have a great July 4th holiday!