Day 17 - soft spoken power

i stand on the street corner alone, my little ones playing in the park behind me. 
i'm praying softly, calling on His name, as i gaze at that clinic with the full parking lot across the street. 
A car drives by, and the driver hurtles obscenities & i cringe, hoping my children are out of earshot.  His insults shock me, and my lips cease their movements for just a moment as i look heavenward, cheeks crimson trying to find my train of thought...
Honestly?  i feel like the loser he calls me. 
i'm tender - & yet i feel compelled to be here, and so i am, and my Father meets with me. 
Suddenly around the corner, a cheerful trio bustles down the sidewalk to join me.
"Aren't you cold?" One asks the other.
"Oh no, it's not so bad," the other answers, "When the sun comes out, it's really quite pleasant."
And i find that she's right.

The murmur of their gentle prayers fill the slushy sidewalk and i know that i'm beginning to believe something i have long heard... Our prayers are powerful, they are our most effective weapon as believers and as we pray, not only are the things we pray for being influenced, but we ourselves, as we pray in submission to the will of God will be changed too.