The prayer that rises for the creature under your care is a right and tender thing, for a righteous man regardeth the life of his beast. Are not these little companions given to us as tokens of the Creator’s kindness, and does not their suffering often draw out of us a compassion which mirrors, in some faint way, our Lord’s own pity? When the anxious heart bends low over a suffering animal, let it be a tutor to drive you to the throne of grace, where the God of all consolation waits to be entreated. He who marks the sparrow’s fall and hears the young ravens when they cry will not despise your concern. Lay the case of this poor, trembling creature before the Great Physician; ask that the skill of the veterinarian be guided, that the medicine be blessed to its appointed end, and that the ordeal which lies before the dog be mercifully lightened. Weep if you must, for a model home missionary is one who can weep, but let those tears be shed before the Lord, mingling your frailty with His strength.
Yet while I bid you pray for the beast, I must also point you to a weightier matter that touches your own soul, even that important decision regarding your home. Here is a home question indeed, and it must not be settled by haste or mere carnal reasoning. Many a mischief in human life is authored by haste, and many a ruin is built where prayer should have laid the foundation. Your home is your first mission field, the very spot where your hand findeth its duty; begin there, and build before your own house. But be clear in this: the decision you make must not be severed from a prior decision of the heart. Moses chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, and the source of his decision was faith, faith in Jehovah, a reliance upon the unseen God, a bowing of the will to divine counsel. Have you such a faith? Have you lifted your hand unto the Lord and cannot go back? If so, then wait upon Him for guidance, for it is written, "You shall guide me with Your counsel."
Put these two requests together, and see how they are one petition for guidance. If you take God for your Guide, you must do so in the chamber of sickness where your dog lies, and in the council of your own spirit where the future of your dwelling is weighed. There are great principles infused in every soul that yields to God’s guidance, and chief among them is this, to avoid everything that is evil and to walk in the path of obedience. Let your decision about your home be openly declared, as Joshua’s was, and let it be the calm, deliberate fruit of faith, not the rash impulse of fear or worldly advantage. Go not the way the current goes, but ask which way the Shepherd leads. The sure result of such guidance is that afterward He will receive you to glory, and what is that home but the true home to which every earthly roof should point?
Delay not in this matter. The prophet’s cry is a home stroke: "Why will you deal so sternly with your own soul by lingering between two opinions?" Make this very evening the crisis of decision. Bow in the secret place and cry, "You shall guide me with Your counsel." Write it on your heart, if not with pen: "As for me, I will serve the Lord." When that is settled, the fret over the creature and the anxiety over the dwelling will be cast upon Him who careth for you. Go then to the mercy seat; pour out the whole case, the suffering animal, the unformed purpose, the trembling heart, and believe that He who began a home mission of mercy on earth, going about doing good, will attend to your cry and give you peace.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. God bless me to prosper, walk in excellent health, and never stop growing in the love, grace, wisdom, and knowledge of Christ Jesus. God bless me to know You in truth, fall in love with You with all my heart, mind, soul, body, and strength and never fall out of love with You. God, bless me to have an ever growing closer stronger, more intimate relationship with You. Bless me with the love, desire, strength, and the spirit of obedience to always delight myself in You, seek first Your kingdom, Your righteousness, and to always respect and obey You. Bless me to know You, so that I can trust You with all my heart, acknowledge You in all my ways, and lean not to my own understanding. Bless me with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding in all You have called me to do. 
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