Have you Heard of the G.P.S. Group in Florida?

Guest blog by Candyce Trew in 2011. Be sure to read the recent report at the end of this story.

I was searching my bookshelves for a reference book to help me with a Bible study I was facilitating. A red hardbound book distracted me with my grandmother’s name embossed in gold on the binder. I had not looked at the book in years, but I suddenly had a yearning to see her handwriting once again. I took the book, sat down, and lovingly fingered her words. It was a book of all her favorite recipes. I could have cared less about the recipes; it was her handwriting that carried me back so many years to when she was such an inspiration in my life. At that moment, the Lord chose to speak to me. As one of His sheep, I know His voice. He said, “How much more would you have loved a book of all your grandmother’s prayers for you?”

That moment changed my life and my ministry. I began immediately to start journaling my prayers for my grandchildren IN MY HANDWRITING. With computers, it would be much easier to type my prayers. However, God had shown me how much I treasured the personal touch of my grandmother’s penmanship. At that time, I believed that the Lord had given me this ministry for only my grandchildren as a legacy that would outlive me.

A few months later, a dear Christian sister was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. I brought her to my home and showed her what the Lord had put on my heart. She immediately decided to journal her prayers for her grandchildren, too. I helped her set up the prayer books. I advised her to ask God to give her a life verse for each child and to put it at the front of the book. Then, I encouraged her to write her testimony and include it so that her grandchildren would always know how God had worked in her life. Now, she was ready to begin journaling her prayers.

Soon after that, our Heavenly Father urged me to take the ministry to our church leadership. I was amazed to see their excitement and hear their testimonies about how their grandparents had been instrumental in bringing them to the Lord. A decision was made to go forward in one month, with an advertisement in the church bulletin. The group was named “Grandmothers Prayer and Share” or G.P.S., as we were navigating our grandchildren’s lives through prayer and journaling.

Only God Almighty could have inspired and developed this ministry! We meet every Tuesday morning and not only pray for our grandchildren, but we SUPPORT each other in prayer. I publish a prayer request and praise report each week, so we can petition the Lord and give Him all the glory for answered prayer. We have seen many miracles, upheld our sisters during every imaginable crisis, and drawn closer to our Lord through our fellowship. We also have F.U.N. together! We have matching G.P.S. t-shirts that we wear on field trips. We celebrate birthdays and have an annual Christmas party.

We sing praise songs and have lunch together after our meetings each week. The joy of the Lord is alive in the G.P.S. grandmothers! However, we never lose sight of our mission: to pray for the salvation of our children and grandchildren and to model the love of Christ in all we say and do. On the back of our G.P.S. t-shirts are Psalm 145:4-6. “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty. They will tell of the power of your awesome works, and I will proclaim your great deeds.”  

We rest assured that God is blessing this ministry. We can only imagine the impact these prayer journals will have on the lives of our grandchildren when we are worshipping at the feet of our Lord in Heaven. Amen!

G.P.S. report January 2020 by Candyce Trew, Melbourne, FL.

When I began this G.P.S. ministry, I could not have foreseen what God would do with it. We met in a small Sunday school room in our church. About 14 ladies showed up, and I was thrilled. We have had to move venues three times as our numbers increased. We now have approximately 140+ members, with new ladies joining weekly. We meet in a large auditorium with a stage, sound, and video, all operated by our ladies. We devote 15 minutes each week to share praise reports. It is encouraging to all of us to hear that our prayers are being answered. We raise a Hallelujah each week because of the goodness of our God! He reigns!

P.S.: I had the privilege of speaking at this wonderful group in January 2015 when traveling in Florida.  Lillian Penner