It had been a long hot day and the people that had followed Jesus to hear His teachings and hope in a miracle had a problem, the day was ending and the people were hungry. They needed something to eat. The disciples decided that they had the solution to the problem and they told Jesus what to do: “And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came to him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat (Mark 6:35-38).”
But Jesus had another solution: He told the disciples “ Give you them to eat (Mark 6:37).” The disciples then asked Jesus if they should take some money (from the common purse) and go and buy bread. It’s easy to spend money when it’s not your own.
Once again, Jesus had another idea. “ How many loaves have you? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes (Marc 6:38).” Then Jesus commands His disciples to seat the people in groups of fifties and hundreds. Taking the five loaves of bread and the two little fishes in His Hands, just a boy’s lunch, Jesus prays.
“And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. And they did all eat, and were filled. And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.” (Mark 6:41-43)
Time after, a similar incident happened and this time the multitude had been with Jesus for three days and they were totally exhausted and hungry. This time it is Jesus who, having compassion on the people, said to His disciples that the people were tired and hungry and that they couldn’t send them away as they would faint by the ways. Jesus then asks His disciples “How many loaves have you?” (Mark 8:5) The disciples this time were ready for this dilemma, and they replied. “Seven.” So once again Jesus had the disciples to seat the people on the ground.
“So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets.” (Mark 8:8)
This time there were seven baskets and not twelve like the first time that Jesus multiplied the bread and fish.
We want miracles. We want God to bless us and use us. We want to see more souls saved. But are we willing to offer God what we have or what or who we find, and let Him do the rest?
Twelve baskets. One for each disciple. I believe it was just Jesus’ way to say, “Here, I have not forgotten about you and your family. There is plenty for you and them and also there will be plenty of leftovers to give to others. Distribute the bread and use the ‘fish’ that are already in the nets to fill hungry souls with God’s Word.”
Then how come there were seven baskets only on the second occasion of multiplication of bread and fish? My own opinion is that the seven baskets represent the seven days of the week. In other words, be ready to share the “Bread” every day, on any occasion that rises, to whomever you meet or to whoever follows you as you follow Jesus.
Notice that Jesus not only multiplied the bread but He also multiplied the baskets. He will supply every spiritual need and also all our physical needs. But there is a catch. Before anything was done…Jesus prayed.
While travelling on an airplane flight, I casually took the shortbread biscuits [cookies] offered to me by the stewardess. The shortbread was especially good, and I turned over the package and began reading about the ingredients. Here’s what it said: “The Isle of Mull is renowned for wild and unspoilt landscapes and its welcoming islanders. It’s our home and where we make these particularly characterful biscuits. We mix only the best organic ingredients and bake them using unique ovens that are heated by Mull’s plentiful renewable timber. Like our organic ingredients this is not only environmentally sustainable, but the gentle heat gives a slow, perfect bake.
Our mixers whizz with clean hydro-electricity generated on the Tobermary River that flows past our bakery. This works best on Mull’s frequent rainy days . . . every cloud has a biscuit lining.” I love it! “Every cloud has a biscuit lining.” I like it even better than the old cliché: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” I love biscuits [cookies] and cakes and this little line really resonated with me. I have a lesson entitled, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” All of us go through trials and tough times. It’s just life, whether you’re saved or unsaved. The question is: do the rainy days and clouds bring about something sweet in my life? Do I make lemonade with the “lemons” in my life?
My desire is that when people observe my life that they will want to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” I want the bad times in my life to make me better, not bitter. When life throws me a lemon, I want to get all the juice out of it and then throw away the rind. Some people chew on lemon rinds for years, never getting over the bad times and constantly reliving them. Yes, Scotland has lots of rainy days. We also have lots of “clouds”, both naturally and figuratively. I’m going to keep looking for that biscuit lining!
I’m going to keep praying for my children and grandchildren through the good times and the bad. My desire is to be there to encourage them and cheer them on when they’re going through tough times and to humbly be grateful when they are going through times of blessing. Until I draw my last breath, I will keep praying daily for our children, their spouses and our grandchildren that they will walk in Truth, holiness and integrity all the days of their lives AND that they will love it. Some only walk in obedience, but I want my family to also LOVE Truth, holiness and integrity.
When you get discouraged and the clouds block your view of the “Son”, remember that with every cloud there can be a “biscuit lining”. Hold on in prayer. Never give up!
“For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers” (Romans 1:9).
Recently, while sorting through our family members’ clothing and preparing for the transition from winter to spring and summer, I came across two small T-shirts with these words printed on the front: “My mom prays for me”. They were given to our two boys from the Daughters of Zion several years ago, and I never had the heart to give them away. They are a precious reminder of the fact that as mothers, we earnestly pray for our children. In fact, we tend to pray more fervently and more frequently for the ones who are close to us, especially when there is a need. Intercession, or intervening for another, happens when we willingly put ourselves in someone else’s place and pray on their behalf. Interceding in prayer for someone far away or for someone we don’t know may not always seem natural to us at first, but a heart and readiness to pray for our own children, whether natural or spiritual, is something we are often more ready to do.
“So I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it; but I found no one” (Ezekiel 22:30).
God is searching for anyone who is willing to intercede – to stand in the gap before Him – on behalf of others. We live in a world in desperate need of God. Our first priority is to pray for and meet the needs of our own children, who have been given to us. But it doesn’t stop there. A gate into intercessory prayer is to see any person we are praying for as if they were our own child, sister or brother, dear parent or closest friend. We need to be willing to care about the salvation of others, as we would care for our own family members.
Intercessory prayer requires a true humbling of the heart. We don’t intercede for other people because they are worthy of it, or because there is some gain in it for us. Moses interceded over and over again for people who rebelled against God and were given over to their own selfish ways. Many people we pray for may not know exactly what they need, or how to get out of their mess. They need our help.
As women of God, we need to rise and intercede on behalf of our neighborhoods, our cities and our nations. Will you answer the call?
Ingunn Bakke Turner
Ingunn Bakke Turner was born and raised in Norway. Nate and Ingunn Turner are UPCI missionaries to Estonia and pastor in the capital city of Tallinn.
Prayer in its simplest form is interaction between man and God—a two-way street. Then when we pray for someone else, another person enters the equation. As it affects others, prayer’s influence expands. And, as can be seen through Biblical examples, prayer can resound through time and impact generations.
One definition of interactive is “a two-way flow of information between input and output”. Another definition states, “influencing or having effect on another”.
Interactions are often illustrated by using graphs or pictorials. Last year, I taught a class on prayer once a month. It was my desire to show how explosive and extensive prayer was. With the use of a white board, I began to illustrate some of the well-known Bible stories that involved prayer. (Inevitably, there were some comments on my lack of expertise as an artist. However, that was not the point.) I wanted to show at a glance the influence of prayer.
Some of the Biblical examples that I depicted were the stories of Hannah’s prayer, Jonah’s prayer, Elisha’s prayer, Daniel’s prayer, Cornelius’ prayer, Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane… If you read those passages and illustrate them in some way, it can then be seen at a glance the enormity of the result of prayer.
Personal modern-day prayers can be illustrated in the same way to show the interaction. It was during the start of the Ukrainian and Russian war. Our son was heavily involved in getting supplies into the Ukraine. On a particular day, he had spent hours shopping and packing his car for the trip to the border to pass off the supplies to our church contacts. At that time, I was in a church service in Texas and after presenting the request for prayer cover the church went into intensive prayer. My husband was in Indiana and experienced a similar happening. Our daughter was in Alabama, and she also experienced intense prayer. In Romania, at basically the same time, a car accident happened with a large truck. The car rolled multiple times until coming up against a tree. Two men who were traveling behind our son said that they were afraid of what they would see as they approached the totaled car. What did they see? Our son with barely a scratch on his shin. They thanked God. And those two men helped in all things needed as though they were angels.
God is a prayer answering God. The results of prayers live on. The stories live on.
[Cornelius prayed to God.
The angel came.
3 men were sent to Peter.
6 brethren and Peter went to Cornelius.
Cornelius gathered his kinsman and near friends.
Apostles and brethren of Judaea heard the message.
Jews of Jerusalem heard the news.
Ultimately the message came to me and you, and we heard and responded.
This scriptural reference is found in Acts 10 and 11.]
[Peter was imprisoned by King Herod.
Placed with 16 soldiers.
Chained on each side with a soldier.
The church prayed.
The angel came.
The angel took Peter out the prison and out the prison gate.
Peter went freed to the house of prayer.
This scriptural reference is found in Acts 12:1-24.]
“And whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith” (1 John 5:4). Powerful prayer requires faith, so how can we increase our faith?
In Luke 17:5, the disciples requested, “Lord, increase our faith.” Jesus responded by asking if a servant should be thanked for following orders. What did that have to do with faith? The first step to great faith is obedience. If we fail there, nothing else will substitute.
Interestingly, the disciples’ desire for more faith followed Jesus’ command to forgive. If I cannot forgive those who hurt me, my faith is hindered. Whatever discomfort or embarrassment I experience from someone else, it is not worth losing my faith.
Next, we can’t have strong faith without being strong in the faith. The Bible nourishes faith. Do I need to mention that we will not have the Word settled in our lives if we don’t read it regularly and know what it says?
Apostle Paul reminded us that faith must work by love (Galatians 5:6). True faith is not only mental but must display the Lord’s love. Have you ever seen a sad person and thought, “I should ask that person if I can pray for her”? If you are like me, you added, “That was just me.” But I have learned that the Lord moves in that way, so it usually is Him. Also, even if it were my thought, the prayer will encourage someone’s soul and glorify Jesus. The more I respond in faith, the more I see God work, and the more my faith grows!
Faith does have a condition. “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? No: but by the law of faith” (Romans 3:27). If I can do a miracle without the help of Jesus, I do not need faith. Since clearly I cannot do that, I cannot take credit for anything He does through me. If I focus any faith on me, faith weakens. But as soon as I put all the confidence and glory in Jesus, my faith rises.
Words display our faith and encourage it. “We believe, and therefore speak” (2 Corinthians 4:13). God meets our declarations of faith with His divine ability. Great faith that moves the hand of God may well depend on what we say, particularly in times of adversity.
An easy avenue to effective faith is gratitude. When we are thankful for what Jesus has done, we recall His ability to do even more in us, our families, our churches, and our communities.
I think, though, faith hinges on friendship with Jesus. When someone tells me something, whether I believe it depends on our relationship. If I trust that person, I do not have to try to believe what he says. Jesus has given us exceeding great and precious promises (2 Peter 1:4). When He and I have a loving relationship, I don’t wonder if those promises are true or if He means for me to have them. He said it, He is faithful, and I expect Him to fulfill His Word. You have the victory as soon as faith says, “It’s mine!”
“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:16-16) In the last week of December, 2025, I began to reflect on the end of the year and the beginning of a New Year, 2026. I stopped making New Year resolutions a few years ago, as I have seen and experimented their short duration. We all like to think at certain times during the year that we will start anew or start something new. Like at the beginning of a New Year, or right after school finishes, or right after vacations, or right after graduation, and the list could go on and on. The fact is, resolutions often don’t evolve into long-term actions. So with all of this in mind I noticed that there are people who choose a “word” for the year to help them go in a certain direction. As I pondered this thing, I thought to myself “what would be a good word for me?” And immediately I thought of the word “write”, something I would like to do on a regular basis but I don’t. Then I began wondering if the Lord would give me a word, so I asked Him: “Lord, do you have a “word” for me? I’m thinking of “write” which I feel you want me to do more of, but is there a specific “word” for THIS year that you want to give me?” And I waited for an answer but received none. On the last two days of the year during my prayer times, I forgot to remind the Lord of this prayer I had made days earlier. I was busy with many things that do come upon us at the end of a year and the beginning of another. It is on the first day of every year that I always pray and ask God for a verse or verses that He knows would be of particular encouragement for that year when finding myself in difficult circumstances. However, I was desiring something more from God, so I started praying a week before this day “Lord, do you have a “word” for me?” Do YOU ever desire something more from God? In my mind I had figured that if the Lord was going to give me a “word” it would be during this particular prayer time. However, I woke up on the last day of the year 2025 and heard God speak to me loud and clear. I had forgotten my prayer of days ago but He had not. I was amazed and humbled at the same time because God chose to meet me in this way and all because I had sought His Presence and asked Him for a “word”. And that “word”, so softly spoken on the last day of December 31, 2025 was-TIME. What we do with our TIME is important and I am sure that every one of us can find where we can borrow TIME from useless activities (what about doom scrolling? and other such activities) and use it for better things for the Kingdom. “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) I want to use my TIME evermore so wisely with what days the Lord has left to me on this earth. I want to make those day and hours count and to be of good use for His kingdom. Ecclesiastes 3:1: “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”
There is a TIME for every purpose, and how we spend the TIME in every season is up to us to do and spend as we will. TIME is precious and it is a daily gift from God. Let us use it wisely. Take TIME with God every day and He will take TIME with you.
