As I was growing up I was taught what I call "tribal knowledge Bible." It was kind of like Bible--only it was seasoned 'a little easy on the Spirit.' (I don't mean to be offensive about this.) When you're a kid you rely on adults to tell you about God. My training wasn't always thorough. I’m not pointing blame, this is just what I perceived.
So regarding the power of prayer, I got the strong impression from so many of my teachers that . . . well . . . God listens and sometimes will grant but there are certain rules and conditions attached. "He uses doctors to heal people,” some would say. Who could argue with that?
As a young one, those disclaimers sounded like a list of adverse reactions one might get from taking certain medications. So I decided to play it safe and made my prayers short and filled with all the 'right words' that I had heard really cool people say through the years; I remember thinking, "Why can't I just tell God what's on my mind?" I wondered, but was too afraid I might say something illegal and cause something bad to happen.
When I grew older, I read what James (in the Bible) had to say. I was curious about this power that determined, honest, and fervent people reportedly had when they prayed. But I was in seminary before I was confronted by a prayer of faith that healed me. I had been sick, not bad sick but one-fever-and-infection-ache-pain-after-another-and-the-docs couldn’t-get-me-well sick…..for months.
Two church friends heard about this and decided to come and pray for me. It was an amazing moment for me, which is another story for another time, except to say I felt as though I were standing in bright light and it was perfectly warm on a cold winter's day. And before that prayer was over, I was well. No fever. No sick feeling. It seemed only a few minutes in prayer, but it had lasted over an hour.
I was speechless. I didn't know what to think. I had no category and no experience to explain this to myself. I followed up with my doctors, and they were amazed I had recovered so thoroughly and quickly. "It must have been the ‘right’ medications," they smiled. I felt like a million bucks!
When God touches you, you want to tell everybody. So I began to tell my friends and fellow seminarians, who SURELY would rejoice with me, the good news of what happened. To my amazement, they began to tell me it was psychological. Or, implied that the medicine finally kicked in. They had some pretty creative reasons why IT COULDN’T BE GOD (probably) without actually saying those words. One told me, "Well, God works in mysterious ways." I was disheartened at these streams of reasoning and decided it was probably wiser to never again mention this event to anyone else.
But while teaching a large Bible class of college-aged folks on a passage in James one Sunday morning I opened up myself to mockery again. This time was different; many believed and were greatly encouraged. Still, through the years, I’ve been mostly quiet about this.
Fast forward 40 years:
I posted a prayer request one night for a dear friend and his wonderful wife after some other long-time mutual friends I love decided to join in prayer on his wife's behalf. I invited my Face Book friends because I knew them to be believers in prayer. I wanted them to see God heal. I wanted everyone to be a part of a good thing. And I waited expectantly for God.
The next morning, here is what my friend posted on FB:
(It is edited to protect their privacy)
“As of yesterday afternoon, my wife was only saying 1, maybe 2 words at a time and could hardly answer a question. She couldn’t get out of bed by herself. I fed her what little she actually ate.
“A little later, the prayers began to be answered with God’s marvelous power being displayed. She began to recognize family pictures and to talk. She even sang a verse of Amazing Grace with me. She continued to “wake up” and by 10 PM she was talking and seemed almost normal.
“She had an MRI done early this morning and she continued to improve. The doctor came in a few minutes later and said that there was no sign of a stroke!!! The doc supposes that it was, "a TIA that just lasted longer than a normal TIA". The doc said she could probably go home later this afternoon or certainly by morning. Thanks so much for all the prayers and support given over the last 3 days!”
I have nothing to add; my account would carry little significance. But what God said through James about prayer should encourage us to go to God more, and more confidently:
No other options is the way to come to God:
“If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves. Don’t think you’re going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.
When there's no place else to turn:
“Are you hurting? Pray. Do you feel great? Sing. Are you sick? Call the church leaders together to pray and anoint you with oil in the name of the Master. Believing-prayer will heal you, and Jesus will put you on your feet. And if you’ve sinned, you’ll be forgiven—healed inside and out.
When you're willing to sacrifice yourself:
“The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain, and it didn’t—not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.” (From the Book of James~MSG)
I hope it rains all over every one of us tonight…
© April, 2019 mypericope.com
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