I have heard those words on several occasions in my life. More than most other words, these five have the power to somehow create in me a sense of peace, security, safety, knowledge that I am loved and that God is responding to prayers being made on my behalf. It is a wonderful privilege to intercede for someone through prayer and to have someone do the same for you.

So, that’s where all of this started. One of the "matriarchs" of our church told me, in passing, one day simply that she had prayed for me. I thought, "How nice," thanked her and told her that I really appreciated that, which I did. In fact, the emotions I explained earlier washed over me and it occurred to me that I prayed for people all the time. Why do I rarely TELL them that I prayed for them? I know that it’s not "required" and that God certainly hears my prayers for them and answers them. But I began to wonder if others would be as impacted as I was.

Well, I began to find out. I kept praying for people. In fact, God began to show me how important prayer is in His scheme of things. I did a topical study on prayer in the Bible and read books on the subject. But, most importantly, I kept praying. There is no substitute for actually going before the throne of grace in prayer to the Holy God of all creation.

During this time, God showed me some misconceptions I had about prayer. I used to tell folks all the time, "Hey, I’ll pray for that..." and would simply forget about it. No harm meant; it just slipped my mind. I learned that praying for someone is more than just thinking about them. Part of intercessory prayer is about making a case before God for that person. Abraham, Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah and, of course, Jesus just to name a few Biblical heroes all made intercessions for those they cared about to God.

Over time, the people in "my world" have gone through experiences that prompted me to pray for them. Serious circumstances like cancer, deaths, miscarriages, marital problems and more. I also pray for the joyous celebrations we have in life like births, "re-births," etc. but the serious occasions are the hardest for most of us to deal with. I was struck mainly with the fact that I rarely knew what to say in a card or a letter. So, on one such occasion, I simply wrote in a very short letter to a couple that I had prayed for them that day and what my prayers for them had been... what I had asked God to do for them.

I got a phone call from them telling me how much the short note had meant to them during the tough time they were going through. I knew how they felt. Over time, I continued writing notes and began to include in each note Bible verses that I had found encouraging in some dark moment in my own life.

In looking through scripture, I found a particular verse that really motivated me and called me to expand my ministry of encouragement. I remember that my college roommate and I had set out to memorize the entire book of Philippians in the Bible one summer years ago. I only made it through the first two chapters, but God showed me so much in those two chapters. The verse I found that has become my "mission verse" is Philippians 2:1-4, which says:

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." [NIV]

I realized that God has shown me incredible "encouragement from being united with Christ" and I need to be like Him, extending to all those that I can His encouragement, His love, His tenderness and His compassion.

So, I carried my encouragement ministry a step further: not only would I take the encouragement that I receive from God through His word, but I would also enable as many other people as I could to encourage those who need it in their lives.

As a graphic designer for the past 15 years, I turned to my vocation and started designing simple notecards with an encouraging verse on the front, a blank inside for writing a note and the logo on the back: "I Prayed For You Today. Let Me Know What God Does."^TM. At the moment, I have about a dozen designs to choose from and am designing more each week. I have also designed a Prayer Journal to help me remember the people that I am praying for on a regular basis, and not forget.

By way of illustration, one of our Sunday school teachers wrote us a 4 or 5 sentence note of encouragement and appreciation about two years ago. It is still pinned at the top of our bulletin board in our kitchen. When the tough days come, notes like these are great boosts to our spirits. It is our desire at Studio Seven Designworks to provide opportunities and resources to enable all who will to encourage all who need it. And believe me, we ALL need it sometimes.

Thank you for visiting our website and we hope you enjoy looking around.

Sincerely,

John D. Locklair,
President
Studio Seven Designworks, Inc.