I think one of my sisters is going to try a three-day fast, but I'm not sure I can do that much yet..I will try to fast on his trial, though.

We need to start praying together again. Can we set up a prayer time for Saturday (tomorrow) at the time we did the prayers before 3:00 EDT, 2:00 CDT, 1:00 MDT, 12:00 PDT, etc.?

I'll be there, Faith. (Thank you for including my time zone!!)

You're welcome, Aliza! Thanks for being willing to come .

I'll try my utmost to be there.

YEAH!

I will be camping, so I will be unable to join. However, I will pray with you all from afar, at the same time.

Thank you, Airi!

Yep yep. Thank you guys.

Oh, Faith! I'm so, so sorry I did not come to the chat room prayer time on Saturday. It did not even cross my mind until now. I am so sorry I did that!

That's okay, Aliza! You can join us next week. I would really like to do this every Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT until Jay gets back if we can.

I'm sorry, but I am going to be gone from the forum completely next weekend. I would be happy to arrange a time early or when I get back, though. I also don't mind early-morning times, if those work best for some people.

Oh yeah, that's right! I forgot. Sure, I can do an early morning. How early for you? You are an hour behind me. If you could do 5/5:30ish, I could join you until 6 your time any morning this week. Or anytime in the morning on Friday.

That sounds good. Either tomorrow morning, Tues, Wed, or Thursday will work. On Friday I'll sleep in a bit, since I'll be leaving and a little more rest before a trip is good.

Okay, I'll make sure I'm on here then each of those days, as long as my internet works.

Okay. I'll be there tomorrow morning (Tues). I'm not sure if I can do it everyday, though. *Sets alarm*

EDIT: At 5:15 my time, as long as that works for you.

Yep, that works for me. I probably shouldn't do it each day either. I'm here when you're ready .

Let's have prayer again this Saturday at 1:00 pm EDT, 2:00 pm CDT, 3:00 pm MDT, and 4:00 pm PDT. Please join us in prayer for Jay and each other. Thank you!

I will be gone then, and unable to attend. But I will pray.

I've been praying, even though I haven't had time to keep up with and join in any of these sessions. It blesses me to see you all doing this for Jay!

I'll try and make it to the meeting, but I may not be home at that time, so we'll see. Honestly, I am still praying, I just haven't been able to come to the meetings.

*Cough* I did mention this earlier, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to re-suggest that people fast for Jay's trial...maybe the day before his trial or something? If we all did it together, it might be more meaningful.

Thank Molly! I hope you can make it.

Oh yeah, that's right, you did mention something about that earlier. I will pray about it and consider it. Thanks.

Remind me what day his trial is again? I forgot.

May 14

Okay, guys. What can people do for prayer times on the day of Jay's trial?

I can pray in the morning (until 11:00 CDT) and maybe the evening.

I'll probably be online early afternoon for about two hours or so.

I can probably do morning and evening, possibly not early afternoon... I don't know.

Were we going to fast today or tomorrow or what? I'd be willing to fast when you guys are, just if it's today, I better know before I eat anything.

I believe some people are fasting on the day of the trial itself.

Okay. Well, I fasted this morning, and will again tomorrow.

I've never fasted before. But I think I'll just try to eat a little less, and focus on prayer.

For those who have never done a traditional fast, fasting isn't just not eating food. Some people refrain from a particular kind of food instead of all food (eg. meats, junk food, etc.) or from an activity (eg. video games, movies, etc.) so if you're not sure you could get by on no food, don't feel obliged to do it that way. God honors all fasts, no matter what kind.

Very true, Calista.

Indeed.

This, however, is a bit misleading (as, if I recall correctly, a few of the Old Testament prophets had to rebuke the people on precisely this point)---any kind of fast can be efficacious, because what God looks at is the ("inward and invisible") attitude and actions of the heart that the ("outward and visible") bodily fast is intended to cultivate and demonstrate. But it's entirely possible to fast (externally) and have this amount to nothing more than bodily deprivation---it's the difference between keeping vigil and pulling an all-nighter.

My alma mater, Calvin College, at least used to have some suggestions for responsible self-deprivation in a collection of resources for Lent (I don't have the time or attention to spare to go looking for them right now, I'm sorry to say), and for a "traditional" fast you might want to look for some Roman Catholic Web pages on the subject (as the Roman Catholic Church still requires all its parishoners who are able to fast---to an extent---on Fridays in Lent). And consulting a physician (or at least the parent who serves as such in your family, if you're still living with your parents) may be advisable before beginning a fast.

It turns out I will be home all day. So I will be lurking in chat to pray whenever.

We are having a prayer time right now, if anyone wishes to join.

I would like to see the day of the trial bathed in prayer.... For this reason, I would like to propose a schedule. What if each of us took 30 minute stints to pray for the trial and all involved? That way every half hour we have someone who is devoted to praying at that point in time. So, in essence, it would look something like this:

Airianna= 7:30, am
_______=8:00 am
_______= 8:30 am

and so on.

I could do that, Airi.

Awesome!

Okay, so how shall we start this? When the trial starts? Does anyone when when that is?

Um... I'd have to ask Patrick. I can't remember....

I think just bathing the whole day in prayer would be good, though...

I'd do it too.

By the way, right now we are praying in chat.

Thanks for joining me, girls. May we all trust that God's will will be done. He knows what He is doing, whichever way things go. I plead with the Lord, though, that Jay will be released. I want my friend back, and I want him to be home when Baby is born.

I do trust Him, though. He knows best.

I feel we should really do some more prayer. If anybody would like to pray for Jay and his family as well as all of the HW people, I will try to be here tomorrow (Saturday, May 19) around 2:00 p.m. CDT. I think we should pray for each other, for Jay, for the Lauser family, and any other prayer requests we know of or that are requested.

I know this is a bit of short notice, but hopefully at least two of us can pray.

Hey, guys. *encourages everyone * I am sure everyone is praying on their own, I know that is how I have to participate in this because I can't often join everyone, but I wanted to encourage you all to continue praying as a group. It is a great blessing and encouragement to us. Or at least, it is to me.

* nods * I agree. I think we should definitely pray on the 18th; I won't have internet, but I shall be there in spirit.

A very good idea. I would be able to join in off and on during the morning hours until about 11:00 a.m. CDT.

I agree. Sadly, same as Elizabeth, I won't have internet access that day, but I'll definitely be praying.

I will be there to pray on the 18th.