"From a very early age, I was taught the importance of prayer and what it meant to really pray. Countless prayer meetings and countless family devotionals cultivated a desire within me to communicate with my Creator."
"So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning…" Job 42:12
Heritage undoubtedly greatly affects who each of us are and who we become. Great names such as Rockefeller, Kennedy, and Bush tout great conquests financially, politically, and socially. Great names, however, are not withstanding of great heritage. If I were to mention the names Barrow, Voss, or McDuff very few would be able to attribute one specific conquest or remark on the common bond between those names. Thus, it becomes my great pleasure to share what those names mean.
Barrow, Gladys Barrow, is my great grandmother. Granny, as we affectionately call her, is still alive and well at the sprightly age of 89. What is remarkable about Granny is not the fact that she still has one of the best gardens in Southeastern Texas or that she can out-talk anyone on the telephone; it is that she is a prayer warrior. Over and again she tells us, “Prayer changes things, and I am praying.” On one occasion a Thanksgiving dinner turned into a prayer meeting. I remember staying with her some during the summer -- the first thing we did in the morning was pray, and the last thing we did at night was pray. Granny's prayers stretch well beyond “now I lay me down to sleep” and into the realm of spiritual warfare. Her prayers touch and rock the heavenlies.
Voss, Gayle Voss, is my grandmother (Nanny). Nanny was raised to trust in the Lord and raised on Granny's prayers. This tradition of prayer continued on in Nanny. Nanny tells the story of her family being at a great point of need when my mother was young. At the prompting of the Holy Ghost, she got down to pray and God gave her the promise of Job 42:12. Her latter end would be greater than her beginning. Her prayers continue to reach heaven to make a difference in the lives of her children. Her three children, my mother and her two brothers, are all ministers. Both of my uncles pastor and my father is a pastor. Nanny daily prays for a hedge of protection about our families and for God to keep us and bless us.
McDuff, Valorie McDuff, is my mom -- my praying mom. I can remember running in the house yelling for mom (because I needed immediate attention and permission to go play down the street), but I would stop still in my tracks outside the office door as I heard mom praying. Suddenly playing down the street was not as important as it seemed, and I would just be content with my own yard. From a very early age, I was taught the importance of prayer and what it meant to really pray. Countless prayer meetings and countless family devotionals cultivated a desire within me to communicate with my Creator.
Oh, what a heritage! The heritage I have is not in the names of my Nanny, Granny or Mom, but it is in their prayers. I have been handed a heritage of prayer that I must carry on. I believe that just as in the days of old the sins of the fathers were visited upon their children, the same was true of the blessings. There is no doubt in my mind that I am blessed as I am because of the prayers of my Granny, Nanny, and Mom. The burdens of prayer and blessings that these prayer warriors of my heritage have born have become the blessings of today. Truly, just as the Lord promised Nanny, the latter end is greater than the beginning. As I stand here upon the precipice of new things for my life, I understand that dialogue with the Almighty is what brought me to where I am and is what will keep me as I continue on. And Granny, prayer changes things, and I am praying.
