shards of something else.

Thought this was interesting..... i think we really aren't aware of how big our Family is..... for sure there are people with many many needs immediately around us, but we just don't think about all these other ppl that to a greater or lesser degree impact our lives everyday -- they need prayer just as much as we do!

Prayer is Precious (Russ Breimeier - ChristianityToday.com))
Hard for me to fathom that it's been nearly nine years since my long internship with EMI Christian Music Group in Nashville. I remember it like yesterday, not just the excitement of working for a prestigious record label, but also the adventure of going out on my own away from all my family and friends. Because I was alone and exploring the possibility of calling Nashville home should I find employment, I had the pleasure of sampling several churches in the area during my stay.

One week early on, I was caught off guard during the prayers in the worship service. There were petitions for an ailing relative of Michael Card, a difficult pregnancy for Wes King and his wife, and some other request on behalf of Phil Keaggy. I had no reason to be surprised, having learned in advance that several Christian artists called this particular congregation home. But just like at my home church, my mind triggered at the sound of a familiar name, causing my heart to send along a little extra boost of prayer.

For me, it was a reminder that the church is much bigger than we often make it. Over the years, I had prayed for people in my congregation that I'd never met, for missionaries overseas, for our country's leaders, for people in the national news. Why then should praying for Christian artists be any different? When you think about it, some of them are more present in our lives than we realize, depending on how often we play their CDs or sing their songs in church.

Looking back, perhaps I was letting celebrity getting in the way of prayer, allowing their spotlight and perceived success to get in the way of recognizing the needs and joys of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Since then, it's something I've tried to take more seriously, especially now that I interact with so many within the industry. Though artists do try to maintain some privacy with their personal lives, I encourage you to keep tabs on the happenings of your favorites via their websites. Additionally, knowing that we're all capable of criticism, I challenge you to pray for an artist you don't care for. It could simply be for someone who you think can do better, or perhaps even a non-Christian artist that has offended your sensibilities many times before. None of us are beyond the need for prayer and God's mercy, even if they are outside our everyday spheres of activity.