Opened

For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:8 NLT)

Today's meditation:

• We have been praying for Emmanuel College, some of us for half a century or more, but since December 3, 2014 when this prayer blog began, many of us have prayed more intensely than ever before. Along the way, we have at times received exactly what we asked for, but we have also been surprised by answers we did not expect and by opportunities that required difficult decision-making and hard work. 

Praise God today:

• And give thanks for things we asked for and received: for record-breaking enrollments, for remarkable favor with agencies and authorities, for donations and other financial support, for significant reduction in debt in 2017. 
• And give thanks for the unexpected and miraculous: for estate gifts and other donations we had no idea were coming, for new shingles on all our roofs for about 5% of the cost thanks to a hail storm and good insurance. 
• And give thanks for the opportunities we've had to assess and evaluate, to analyze and strategize, to collaborate and innovate, and to tell our story over and over and watch God's goodness and grace emerge.

Pray First! Pray Through!