HEARD A WISE & GODLY MAN SAY SOMETHING THAT CHANGED ME!
Just so you know, I will always pray for people, I will storm the gates of hell in prayer for you. I pray when I am silent, and I can pray softly and I can pray loudly. But weeping doesn't come! I assumed it was not as God created me to pray, or possibly because my tear glands are stopped up and I have dry eyes. But I accepted the way I prayed. P.S. there was nothing wrong with how I was praying, but I was about to learn something very important to my prayer life, something God was doing in me when I heard my pastor say.
My daughter Angela, was in the hospital with COVID, fighting for her life, we were at church praying for her, and with great passion in his voice I heard my pastor say; "When I pray for Linda's daughter, Angela, I pray like she is my daughter. We are family and we pray for one another as family". I don't recall every hearing someone say that before, if they did it must have went in one ear and out the other. But this has not left me. Even last night as I slept it was in my thoughts and I had to repent, because I have not prayed as if you were my child, my parent, my sibling, my flesh and blood.
You see when it is my flesh and blood "I weep". I cry out non stop. God reminded me during the night hours of a scripture "We rejoice with those who rejoice, we weep with those who weep." It is found in Romans 12:15. Now this doesn't mean that everytime we pray we need to be weeping. It does mean that when my brother or sister in Christ are hurting so badly that I hurt with them, I don't sit myself up to judge whether their hurt is overly exaggerated, that doesn't matter, what matters is to them it is great pain and I pray as if their pain is my pain.
We are to pray, some call it "Travail in prayer". I looked up what that meant and here is the definition:
Travail tells God that this is important.....that this matters to you....that you will do whatever it takes to see God move on behave of the person you are praying for.
Do we pray like that for those who are not our blood relatives? God forgive me, for I have fallen short in this.
I do not believe the "name it and have it" theology that a lot have fallen for. But I do believe in aligning my prayers with God's promises and praying His word over all I am praying for. I have often heard "just pray Your will be done". That is a true statement, but what is His will? We learn His will through His word, so we pray His word, we speak is word, we hold onto His word, we trust His word. We pray expecting God to hear and to answer even when someone is dying we keep praying for their healing until they take their last breath.
FOOTNOTE: There are times a person may have suffered many years from a disease and the family realizes that it is God's grace, and mercy that Jesus take them home to be completely healed and whole in heaven. But the pain of their loss to us is still great.
On November 24, 2020, I heard God say; "This is not unto death". I knew it was scripture, and for a few days He kept speaking it, so I looked it up, found in the account of Lazarus death, John 11:4. But I held onto that word, I prayed it, I expected it, I believed it. We saw miracles where the doctor said no hope but God stepped in and I held onto that word and I expected it and I believed it, I prayed it and I spoke it. Then came the call on December 26,2020, Angela left us for her heavenly home. And I looked at that word and I said "Do I even know Your voice?"
"But I read on in John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
As a believer in Christ death does not happen, instead we just have a change of address, our bodies are left here, but our spirit, our soul continues to live. And one day when the trumpet sounds we will be raised in our new bodies and connect with our soul and spirit. We will be known as we were, we will know our loved ones and they will know us. Do you believe this?
But here right where we are we persevere in prayer, we align ourselves with God's promises found in His word, we pray as if they are our family member and we weep with them and for them.
John 11:35 Jesus wept
John 14:14 If you ask anything in My name I will do it
1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked Him for.
My finite mind cannot comprehend all of this, but I know who my God is and I have placed my life and my families lives in His hands. Though there are many times my prayers didn't appear to go the way I planned, there were more times they did. So irregardless I pray, and I battle and I weep and I praise. Because the greatest sacrifice we can make is to praise Him when we can't find a reason to.
Hebrews 13:15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Be blessed and keep praying, keep expecting, keep trusting.
Love you all, Linda
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