We've all heard it said as a cliche before...but how much do we really believe and fully embrace the "Power of Prayer". Some people only pray when they WANT something. Some people pray only when they NEED something. Some people only pray when things are going badly, and some people only pray when things are going well. Some people pray to God the creator and some people just pray hoping that there's something or someone out there that's listening that could possibly perform a miracle. Some people pray with the intention to bargain..."God if you do this, or give me this, I promise I will...[fill in the blank]"
I've always been a person who has prayed since I can remember. My parents taught me about God the Creator and Jesus the Savior, and that because of Jesus we can have an intimate relationship with God and speak directly with Him, and Jesus as our Savior can even intercede those prayers and plead on our behalf! When I was young, every night before bed we prayed, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my Soul to take, God bless Mommy, and Daddy, Matthew and Patrick, Grandma and Pappap Obras, Grandma and Pappap Cimino, my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins and friends....Special Pray..." And then we would get to pray about what was going on in our lives, and present our special prayers to the Lord. The routine and the discipline of this prayer, and praying with my parents each evening was the greatest blessing ever. It taught me that God was there, accessible and listening!
As I got older and grew in my relationship with the Lord my prayer life began to mature as well. It became less routine and more intimate, natural, and as if I was talking with a close friend. However, I think I always struggled with praying for miracles. I've blogged before about my issue with setting high expectations and having a hard time when things don't work out as I had planned them in my head. When things would get hard, or I needed a miracle, I never really "petitioned" the Lord...I never pleaded with Him. I always thought, well God's way will be God's way...so I would pray that He would prepare me for whatever His will might be. Now...I don't think there's anything necessarily wrong with this; however in the past 4 months God has challenged my prayer life in a different manner.
I love reading Karen Kingsbury...if you like Fiction I would encourage you to pick up any one of her books. When reading one of the books in her series, something really hit home with me. One of the characters was going through a life or death situation, and family members and the community all came together to pray for her. The saying for the gatherings was PUSH Pray Until Something Happens. This has stuck with me ever since...but there was still a part of me that kept saying...it's out of my hands, what could I do to actually change the situation? I just need to prepare for whatever might happen. The more I stayed in the Word and the more time I spent reading, the more God pointed out to me that this was a major trust issue that I had. I wasn't trusting in God the Healer and God the Miracle Worker....God who conquered death on the cross!!!!
Another author I love to read is Beth Moore...Beth Moore writes bible studies. One I'm currently reading right now is about David and it's called "A Heart Like His" David's life feels like a real life soap opera. He was the chosen one by God to lead Israel. He definitely had his struggles, but through it all He never failed to acknowledge who God was and to give Him the glory. Some of David's struggles resulted in some major sin, which resulted in some major consequences. At one point David's son was sick and dying as a result of David's sin and direct disobedience to the Lord. Without making this blog any longer than it already is....basically David knew that His son was going to die...God had already told Him that; however, in 2 Samuel 12 it tells us that while the baby was ill, David wept, and fasted, and prayed...people told him to get up and eat, but He wouldn't...with all that was in him he was petitioning the Lord to save his young son. In the end the child died...like I said, David knew his child was going to die, but he spent 7 days of fasting and praying regardless. Some would say (and by some, I mean me) why did he do that? He KNEW that the child was going to die, why didn't he just pray that God would prepare him for that, and spend his time with his child? Well...Beth spells everything out perfectly so I'm going to quote her:
"As we attempt to determine whether or not David's efforts were wasted, we get to peek at just a little of the intesnse intimacy David shared with God. When he fell on his face before God, the prodigal returned home to the place he belonged. He was bankrupt in soul, demoralized, and terrified, but he was back. Too many months had passed since he had last entered the indescribable place of God's presence, but he still recognized the Father.
"Through Davids crisis, he was reminded of all he knew of God's ways. David did not plead with God out of ignorance or naivete but out of his intimate knowledge of God. God does indeed hear our prayers and reserves the right to relent if the change does not compromise and eternal necessity.
"David knew something about his God that we need to realize as well. God did not create humanity in His own image to be unaffected by Him. More than any other creature, we are products, not of His head, but of His heart. Numerous times in scripture God responds to the needs of His people with the words, "I have heard your cry." I would despair of life if I believed God is unaffected by our cries. The God is Scripture is One who feels."
This encouraged me SO much....so I challenged myself. I thought...where in my life or what in my life am I not taking to the Lord? We should take EVERYTHING to Him. Our praises, our fears, our concerns, our struggles, our joys, our hopes, our dreams...etc. At the time I read this our house had just recently gone on the market, and I was a few weeks away from volleyball pre-season and I still didn't have a freshman coach. Both of these things were stressing me out, but I was fine with saying...God will work everything out. However, after reading this part about David I was convicted. How can I say "God will work everything out" if I'm not even praying about it? So I began praying about it...daily...and any time it crossed my mind! And I started believing, that because I'm petitioning God, something is going to happen...I had so much more confidence that God would work things out...I mean I had ZERO concerns! Then would you believe what happens? A week before pre-season starts I decide to send an email out to my sand volleyball league to see if anyone was interested in coaching. I "accidentally" emailed the second session email list even though I wasn't playing in the second session, but there was a new couple that signed up for second session so they were on the list. Bridget who's only been in Indy for a year responded and she is absolutely the PERFECT fit for Park Tudor...I was SO thankful for God being faithful...but to be honest I wasn't surprised...because he IS ALWAYS faithful.
Then we have the house...I was so confident in the work that Austin and I had put into the house, I thought surely the first person that walks in the door will want to buy it...why wouldn't you? Well...a month in needless to say I was a bit discouraged after 15-20 showings and no offer! So I felt challenged again...I prayed day and night for God to find us a buyer who would give us a fair offer and that He would prepare just for this house. A week and a half ago when I got an email with an offer letter with an offer that was better than I could've ever imagined for a first offer I instantly cried. God is so faithful, and we sold our house!
So you can imagine after all of this, when I get news that Andrea Voss Vellinga had endured a serious brain injury from the State Fair stage collapse I knew what God was challenging me to do. You see Andrea was a BIG part of my life. My freshman year of high school I was the only freshman placed on the Varsity volleyball team. I had looked up to Andrea since I was in middle school...she was beautiful and a GREAT volleyball player. So I couldn't believe I was actually going to be on her team. Well being the only freshman was NOT easy. I had to prove myself, and no one wanted to be friends with or partners with the freshman. Well, Andrea did...she took me under her wing. Because of her I had confidence that I could go out there and play my butt off because I could. She drove me to and from Munciana practices. She was humble, honest, and wanted to be the best role model she could...and she was. Because of her, I walked through my freshman year with my head held high, and I think I'm the volleyball player I am now (or was through my career) because of the confidence she encouraged me to have my freshman year. So hearing about her injury stirred my heart more than you could imagine. She has so many more lives to touch...so I prayed, and I prayed, and I'm still praying...but not only am I praying, but I'm pretty sure the entire town of Pendleton, and MORE are praying...people that don't even know her are praying. And I truly believe God is working a miracle in and around her. People's hearts are changing because of the prayers they are praying. Just like David people are finding themselves back in the presence of the God that created them...and they're realizing that's where they should always stay. Please pray for Andrea!
God has placed another challenge in my path...my Aunt. She was diagnosed with cancer this year...she's gone through about 2 months worth of chemo treatments, and we just found out that her cancer has grown through these treatments. My aunt loves the Lord, and I'm thankful her heart and spirit are in a good and trusting place with God right now. Cancer...what a horrible disease! I often wonder, how has man not found a cure for this? I've come to realize that I believe we haven't found a cure, because there's got to be something that brings us to the foot of the cross pleading to our Savior for help...the only cure for cancer is GOD. Only God can heal it. I'm officially on my knees praying and petitioning at the foot of the cross for a miracle for my aunt, becuase at this point, only by the grace of God and his healing hands can she be healed. Please pray with me! God loves hearing from His children...and He hears us! I'm thankful that God gives me opportunities to see Him work miracles. I know it's in His hands and ultimately HE is and has the final say; however, we can all rest in the promise of Jesus is Matthew 21:21-22 "Then Jesus told them, "I assure you, if you have faith and don't doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, "may God lift you up and throw you into the seas," and it will happen. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
Lord you have proven time and time again that you hear our cries. God I never again want to doubt that you hear me, and that my prayers matter. I will bring all things to the foot of the cross and be active in my prayer life in all things. You are still the divine creator, planner and author of my story, so I will accept and trust you in all things. But I will never again doubt in gift of the Power of Prayer...LESSON LEARNED!
