Prayer.
There is so much power in that little word.
If you’re like me, you probably don’t pray as often as you’d like, as you should or in the way you’d prefer. By that, I mean:
- I pray when I’m scared, asking God to intervene
- I pray when someone I love is sick or facing uncertainty
- I pray for blessing when there is financial crisis
- I pray when I hear about a disaster
But true prayer, the kind that can deepen my relationship with Christ, is rooted in thanksgiving and awe. It’s a dialogue in which I express my thanks, acknowledge His unmatched power, lay out my concerns or questions and then I WAIT. Wait for Him to respond or reveal. It’s where I submit my will to His, knowing His ways are better than mine, higher than mine and He knows the entire story, when I only know a small portion.
Recently, my mom faced a potentially life-threatening diagnosis. All indications were that another form of cancer had developed less than a year after she beat breast cancer. Honestly, we were devastated by the possibility. But, that’s all it was, a possibility.
So, instead of panicking and thinking the worst, I took a different approach. Reaching out to every praying friend I know, we all began to speak words of truth instead of words of doubt. Rather than focus on the “what if’s” of the situation, we prayed prayers first of thanksgiving, then laid out our concerns and then waited.
God answered!
His answer in this case was in line with our petition. Mom’s diagnosis was completely treatable and non-life threatening. Praise God!!
But the most amazing part of it all was the peace I felt the day she was getting her results. Before her appointment, I was praying and speaking Scripture over the situation. I felt His presence with me. I knew He was there, holding me up and breathing peace into my heart. THAT was a breakthrough in my prayer life!
I don’t know why God answered our prayers the way He did – sparing my mom this diagnosis. I know that many other times, the response is not what we hope and pray for and we lose loved ones. I can only humbly thank Him for this gift and trust in His sovereign plan. Because even if the news here on Earth is bad, the news in Heaven will always be good.
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Prayer became the means to helping me understand faith.
ReplyDeleteFaith was a word that I have heard all my life, but never knew in my heart or understood.
Prayer became something that I would offer to someone in need or it would be asked of me. As friends shared their needs or concerns for prayer, I prayed. I saw many answered prayers and saw my faith grow. A "realness" with God that I had never experienced before. And a soft whisper in my heart from God telling me, that if He will hear and answer the prayers I lift on behalf of others, He will hear the prayers of my heart also if I give them to Him.