One morning after Dr. Jack Hayford’s father’s devotional reading, he told his wife that he noticed something he had never seen before. Exodus 28 tells that the priests were to bear the names of the twelve tribes on their shoulders to the Lord. When they went to stand before the Lord, it would be a memorial to God. His father suggested that they bring their families’ names, Hayford and Farnsworth, each morning to the Lord, and simply say, “Lord, today we hold before you everyone anywhere living named Hayford, and everyone anywhere living named Farnsworth. And we pray that You would let Your blessing be upon them and that there would be some opportunity for any of these to whom we are related by blood to have an opportunity to come to know Your Son. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
Praying this prayer became their daily pattern.
About seven or eight months later a man called and asked, “Is this Jack Hayford?” Mr. Hayford, Sr. replied that it was.
The man said, “I’m just traveling through town on a business trip and my last name is Hayford also, and lately I’ve just started looking in phone books wherever I am to see if there are any other Hayfords.” They asked about each others’ families and when his dad mentioned he had two sons in the ministry, the man shared that he was a Christian.
“You know,” the man said, “it’s an exciting thing to get to share that with you and to find another Hayford that’s a Christian. I only received the Lord about five months ago.”
In the year following their starting to pray for all those named Hayford and Farnsworth, they had three occasions, where through peculiar encounters of people seeking them out, they learned of people named Hayford who had come to Christ during that year. Dr. Hayford’s parents said they believed that God gave those encounters to them as a confirmation not only that their prayers were being heard, but that this was a very valid principle.
Thank You, Father, for a way to give You access to the hearts of others.
"Since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you" (Colossians 1:9).
Today's Prayer Request
Pray that the program logistics and all the behind-the-scenes working will flow effectively and not distract from what God wants to do in the lives of the women who attend.
