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Tag: Prayer

June 24, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

We’ve all experienced from time to time what the Spanish poet and mystic St.John of the cross referred to as “a dark night of the soul”. Or, as Psalm 23 puts it, “the valley of the shadow of death”. Darkness and despair haunt the night for countless souls. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, or so it seems.

I remember as if it were yesterday a dark valley my family went through when our daughter’s husband was tragically killed in a construction accident while teaching at a university in Zambia. My immediate response as she tearfully told me via a long distance phone call that he had died took me a bit by surprise. Shocked and with instant anguish I found myself saying, “Though he slay me yet will I trust in him”. Why Job 13:15 burst out at that moment was evidence of something Elihu asks in 35:10, “Where is God my maker, who gives songs in the night?”

The “night” of bereavement, black as it was, could not dispel “a song in the night”. That song was more than a reflex. It was witness to a “peace that passeth understanding”. The storms of life cannot wash away a faith that is built on the rock.

C.H. Spurgeon (1834-1892) was an English pastor who was referred to as “the Prince of preachers”. In his powerful poetic style he preached:

“So, then, poor Christian, thou needest not go pumping up thy poor heart to make it glad. Go to thy Maker, and ask him to give thee a song in the night. Thou art a poor dry well; thou hast heard it said, that when a pump is dry, you must pour water down it first of all, and then you will get some up; and so, Christian, when thou art dry, go to God, and ask him to pour some joy down thee, and then thou wilt get some joy up from thine own heart. Do not go to this comforter or that, for you will find them Job’s comforters, after all; but go thou first and foremost to thy Maker, for he is the great composer of songs and teacher of music; he it is who can teach thee how to sing: “God, my Maker, who giveth me songs in the night.”

No, this is not the power of positive thinking nor of mind over matter. Rather it is the spring of living water that flows from the very throne of God into the hearts of all who put their trust in him.

June 10, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
2 Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3 For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4 In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it;
for his hands formed the dry land.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down,
let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!
7 For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would hearken to his voice!
8 Harden not your hearts, as at Mer′ibah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9 when your fathers tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10 For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, “They are a people who err in heart,
and they do not regard my ways.”
11 Therefore I swore in my anger
that they should not enter my rest.

Psalm 95

WOW. Check out the key words: “joyful noise…salvation..thanks giving…songs of praise…a great King…his hands have formed…worship and bow down…he is our God…we are the people of his pasture the sheep of his hand”.
One could take several prayerful hours exploring the implications of those words. Why not take a week and read this psalm every morning? It will feed your soul.

May 27, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Recently my wife Kathy and I spent a few hours with a childhood friend of hers who has been battling several serious diseases. It’s remarkable that she is yet alive but she is. Not only alive but buoyant, good humoured, and joyful. Indeed, her attitude and worldview in the face of constant vulnerability is both countercultural and truly inspiring. We went to see her, prepared to encourage her, but found ourselves as the ones encouraged. It reminded us of our visits these past 26 years to dying orphans and widows in Africa and India.

We have visited and prayed for countless numbers of what Jesus termed “the least of these” in our Home Based Care (HBC) ministry with WOW (Working for Orphans and Widows). In concert with hundreds of local pastors and church based volunteers we have done and are doing this to bring healing, blessing, and encouragement to the dying in Jesus’ name.

Interestingly, as happened with our visit to Kathy’s dying friend, we are encouraged and inspired. Even as we pray for these afflicted ones we find ourselves uplifted by their peaceful joy and the Lord’s presence. It’s as though we are “under the shadow of his wings” by proximity to the ones in need of his touch, their vulnerability a reminder of our own.

We are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. And “the times of our lives are in his hands”. What’s more, our short lives here are merely preparation for everlasting life on the other side. Death awaits us all. But for those who die in faith it will be a glorious homecoming. So like our friend whose days are numbered so are ours. As lovers of God we both live and die in hope of resurrection and the life to come.

Jan 07, 2026

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

New Year’s resolutions are “de rigeur” every January. We make these resolutions with tongue in cheek. We rarely follow through no?

Most have to do with losing weight, joining a fitness club, or some other subjective concern. It’s an exercise in navel gazing.

Such self-focussed resolve is looking more than a bit superficial this year. Our world is in crisis. Wherever you look you see conflict. The war between Russia and Ukraine, Middle Eastern tensions, protests in Iran, various African catastrophes (especially Sudan), the mounting tensions in Cuba and other Central American nations after Maduro’s downfall in Venezuela, etc etc make our petty self improvement new year commitments seem… petty.

Better we should try to assume the “30,000 foot view” and take on the responsibility of lifting our troubled world to the Lord in prayer. There’s an old adage that declares, ”prayer changes things”. ‘Tis a mystery but for his own reasons God chooses to engage us in universal outcomes through our fervent, faithful petitions.

Perhaps the most sustainable resolution we can make this year is to pray. Pray for our world. Pray for our families, our churches, our neighbours, and, of course, for ourselves. As the scriptures say prayer “availeth much”.

November 12, 2025

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

My wife Kathy and I founded WOW 26 years ago. Our calling and vision was to mobilize African churches to transform their communities stricken by the decimating scourge of HIV and AIDS, leaving thousands of orphans and widows in its wake. We started with very little but over the past quarter century WOW has grown into a force in Jesus’ name.

In that time our African champions with their local church-based volunteers have ministered to thousands of dying and at risk patients. And at least once, sometimes twice, a year we have visited our ministry partners to encourage and inspire them in their endless work. We speak to entire villages, sometimes with as many as 2000 sitting on the ground in relentless heat to hear words of challenge and encouragement. Then, as always, we walk from these gatherings to the humble dwellings of those in need of prayer.

We’ve prayed for hundreds personally over the years but from time to time there are patients who linger in our memory.

One such patient is a 65 year old Malawian by the name of Luciano. He was/is suffering from HIV and AIDS complications, as many do, but also from an affliction that I can recall in none that I’ve ever prayed for: leprosy(!).

As he lay on the ground outside his mud brick home I was struck not only by his vulnerability but by the stigma and discrimination that has historically accompanied this frightful affliction. I remembered that Jesus resisted the cultural rejection of lepers and against all wisdom actually touched them physically as they came to him for healing. I felt I could do no less. So I bent down and laid my hand on his fevered head as I prayed. I could hardly find words to speak.

It occurred to me that the old adage applied: “There but for the grace of God go I”. Sooner or later we will all be lying on a bed of affliction. We are all mortal. How important then to commit ourselves to the mercy and love of God. To hear him welcome us home with “Well done” is the goal.

Oct 15, 2025

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Recently in Malawi Africa, Kathy and I spent a few days with our team of volunteers visiting and praying for dying villagers. The dusty ox cart trails between the villages and the oppressive heat exacerbated our awareness of the adversities these precious people face every day. Over the past 25 years we’ve prayed for countless patients under the care of local church based volunteers, true angels of mercy.

In the picture you see us praying for a noble looking 65yr old man who is HIV positive and has leprosy. As I prayed, I recalled how Jesus healed many lepers and, against cultural convention, touched them as he ministered. I felt I could do no less. So I placed my hand on his head and held him up before the Lord.

In the picture, you also see our dedicated volunteers reaching out in fervent, compassionate prayer. Over the past 25 yrs of WOW’s ministry, several hundreds of these ministering angels have faithfully provided Home Based Care for “the least of these” as Jesus put it in his name. They are true heroes sometimes spending an entire day walking to and from the care of their patients. Their dedication is humbling and inspiring.

It’s an honour to partner with them.

July 09, 2025

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

As I write there is an ongoing search for missing children and adults in the aftermath of the horrific floods in Texas. We’re all shocked and saddened by the loss of life, especially the little girls who were swept away from their idyllic summer camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River. It’s hard to comprehend how a river can rise 26 feet in only 45 minutes, from a meander to a torrent. It’s a grim reminder of the irresistible forces of nature that can suddenly overtake us.

At times like this there is the predictable call for “thoughts and prayers”. And rightly so. It’s an indication of the latent sense of our dependence on our Maker. I say latent because for many of us it is. We don’t call on God except when we’re in trouble.

Perhaps a better word would be “intuitive”. There’s an upward call in all of us because, in biblical terms, we’ve been made “in the image of God” and we have a homing instinct for heaven. In that sense we’re pilgrims with only a few moments to “strut and fret our hour upon the stage and then be heard no more”, as Shakespeare famously wrote.

This world is not our home.

So even as we pray for the bereaved Texan families our hearts look upward. Dear Lord have mercy.

April 02, 2025

Written by Jim Cantelon on . Posted in Blog.

Recently a few personal friends have been diagnosed with serious illnesses. As is often the case these afflictions came on suddenly. From one day to the next they went from life as usual to what Shakespeare famously described as “a walking shadow who struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more”. It’s brutal being blindsided by our mortality.

The transitory nature of life is a key component in WOW’s vision for ministry to the dying. As mentioned in my last blog, the spectre of certain death is again rearing its ugly head in Africa due to the suspension of PEPFAR funding for ARV (antiretroviral) medication. HIV afflicted people who had been living free from worry because of these meds are now facing a grim future ending in an early grave.

So WOW is back to square one facing the urgencies of an always fatal disease like we did when we started 25 years ago. But we’re committed to the faithful care of the “least of these” in spite of the perfect storm of sorrow that prevails. Every patient we have cared for through our champion volunteer partners over the years has felt the physical touch of the extended “hands and feet of Jesus” to their last breath.

And as we reach out in Jesus’ name we’re reminded of our own mortality. Truly “the times of our lives are in his hands”.

CCCO Update

Written by WOW Staff on . Posted in Blog.

WOW – Working for Orphans & Widows, brings an update from our partner, Kyle Tolman of Cross Connect Community Outreach in South Africa.

First big news – Cross Connect is submitting the registration for our new Children’s House to the government. This is a huge step forward, and it’s a process that takes about three months. We’re praying for smooth registration approval.

Cross Connect is pleased to announce that Nicole Tolman is joining the CCCO team. She will be taking up the development role with a view to renewed growth and expansion. They have asked us to pray for God’s blessing on them and their family and a fresh, expanded vision as they step into this new future together.

And of course, we need to keep the children of Cross Connect in our prayers. Many are facing deep emotional struggles—some carrying burdens far too heavy for their young hearts. But we know that Jesus is their hope and healing.

So let’s keep being the hands and feet of Jesus together! Thank you for your prayers and support.