Day Twenty-Seven: Miracles

You are the God who performs miracles;

You display you power among the peoples.

(Psalm 77:14)

The doctor told them their unborn son had severe hydrocephalus and would some suffer brain damage. They could clearly see with their own untrained eyes that he was correct. They rallied prayer partners and fervently lifted up their baby to the Lord for healing and received a peace that passes all understanding. They just knew he'd be okay. When Jaden was born, he was perfect. The tests they ran after his birth showed evidence of what would have been the sac where the swelling had been on his brain. The doctors were confounded. 

***

Marcus lay in a vegetative state in an astronaut-type suit as the physicians raised his temperature slowly as not to disturb his head. He had fallen down the stairs and smashed the back of his skull seven weeks after getting married. It was a true test of "for better or for worse" for his young wife. People prayed on every continent and much to the shock of the professionals who cared for him, he healed rapidly with no lasting damage to his brain.

***

After learning of the affair, people said she should leave her husband. She lay in fetal position day after day, eating nothing. When she mustered some strength, she turned to the Lord in prayer and begged for His intervention. The wholeness and love for her husband that resulted from deep intercession for her marriage was palpable. His commitment and affection returned and years later, they are helping separated couples fall in love again. 

***

She never had enough money for simple things like gas in her car. Her kids missed opportunities to go on special trips that their friends attended. But, when they were down to their last bag of milk or loaf of bread, she prayed and someone knocked on the door with a few bags of groceries. As years went by, mentors came alongside her children and offered to pay for camps and lessons. In hindsight, they could all see how prayer always rescued them in their most desperate moments. 

There are inexplicable happenings that can only be attributed to the outcome of petitioning a Heavenly Father. I've witnessed it myself and experienced healing in my own body directly after being prayed for. Jesus is alive and well and the miracles He performed on earth are still being accomplished today. God has been doing wonders since He created the world. Don't give up on prayer. My sister-in-law passed away after we prayed for years, but I'd just as zealously and faithfully pray for the next loved one. We don't know why the Lord chooses to cure some and not others in this life, but He promises one day they will surely be healed. Our joy and hope rests in the fact that my sister-in-law is with Jesus completely whole. Because He does heal many here, we must persevere and trust that what the Lord wills is exactly what is best. 

 Look-alike cousins

 found kitten--we gave him to a loving home

 first 5 minute piano lesson

Thank you for your patience, Mrs. Anger :)

Day Twenty-One: Unanswered Prayers

Country singer, Garth Brooks twangfully mourned that his earnest plea to make a beautiful girl his own went ignored by God. Later in life, as he appreciated the gift of his wife, he understood the bigger plan that was accomplished to protect him from second best and how everything worked out just as it should. He ended by thanking the Lord for unanswered prayers. If only we could see all of our seemingly disregarded requests from tomorrow's rooftop. But since we don't get to know the future, we must trust that God has our best interests in mind. That all those desires don't go without a reply, but sometimes a "not yet" or even a "no" for our own good. 

It's important to look at some reasons the Bible gives for God being silent at certain times in our lives. Because we can't calculate the reason perfectly for every instance, we need to whittle down the possibilities so we can be sure we're living according to God's Word. First and foremost, God is Lord and we've been given finite minds that cannot fully comprehend His breadth. However, we can do our best to align ourselves with His will. How do we know His will? By reading His Word. It's impossible to be reading daily and not come across Scriptures that demonstrate what God yearns for of us and what he abhors. 

The Bible clearly states, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." (James 4:3) Do you have poor intentions? Can you be honest with yourself?Another reason for unanswered prayer is the verse in Psalm 66:18 that challenges us to play a game of introspection: "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear." Is there someone you haven't forgiven? Is there some constant sin you keep returning to? We all sin every day but if we live in sin, we block God's response to our prayers! How sad! And we blame Him for not caring! It's like a brash teenager who smashes up the car more than once, is unremorseful and then doesn't understand why we don't just hand over the keys the next time they beg to go out.

Yet, if the Holy Spirit is not revealing anything in particular to you that needs change, consider the possibility that there's an intricate design being painted on the canvas of your life. God sees the end product in all its glory. You must trust that the Master Artist will complete what He began in you. Job and the blind man (John 9:1-3) testify the trials that happened in their lives were not a result of sin, but to glorify God. Honestly, I'd really like for the Lord to share the exact colours, textures and shapes on my canvas, but if He doesn't, I'll do my best to be thankful that He takes joy in working on the masterpiece of my life. And any unanswered prayers? I pray patience and trust will lead my doubts, my emotions, and my prayers.