Putting a Glow in My Heart

This one may be a little long, well, actually, it is quite long. It can’t be helped. When God does big things we need to let the world know that He still does big things, even if they are only big to us! I had two of the coolest God moments today and they did need to be shared.  God has been working with my faith in general throughout the past few weeks, and really, since my momma passed in September. 

At 11:13 a.m. this morning, my friend Lisa, that lives in Georgia, texted me the following, “We’ve been at the park looking for my wallet.” First, I looked back to see if I had missed a text from her from earlier. I knew this was something I would have been praying over. I didn’t see an earlier text.

I asked her when she lost it.  She positively remembered having it on Sunday.  She said she is home so much she didn’t realize it was gone until yesterday (Friday.)  She “assumed” it was in the pocket of another pair of jeans.  She said it was a credit card sleeve with her absolute most important cards, along with her driver’s license. 

 At 11:50 a.m.  I texted her back, “Praying that it will turn up in the most unlikely place!”

This reminded me of the time  I lost the little book that had all of my passwords in it.  (And yes, I know, probably not a good idea to keep my passwords in a book. They are now in a password safe.)  I looked for days for that book. I called Margaret in Kentucky. She is the lady to call if you have lost something and it really needs to be found! I’m convinced that she has a special connection. I looked everywhere. Finally when I had about given up, I just looked in the closet, and there it was. laying in the closet on the shelf, in a place where I had probably already looked twelve times and just looked over it. That was a prayer answered for sure!

So, today at 12:12 p.m. I get a phone call from Lisa. She starts telling me how they have been looking for the wallet for 24 hours solid. Her husband even looked in the lettuce crisper. I told her, yes, you always have to look in the refrigerator.  She told me again she had her cards and license in a credit card sleeve stuck in her back pocket. She thought maybe she could have lost it along the trail at the park as she was taking her phone out of her pocket to take pictures. 

They went back to the park.  She looked at all the pictures she had taken that day to see each location she might have slid her phone out of her pocket. They retraced their steps from the day they were at the park without any luck. If you think about it, five full days passed, it probably was not likely to still be in any of those places. 

She said she texted me and told me about it and I told her I would pray.  She said she felt better just knowing that I was on the job. I told her that was a whole lot of pressure. She laughed and said that it was well deserved. You want to think that you can pray and God will move. I think we pray sometimes and we have good intentions, and we believe God can answer…but with our human frailties we question if our faith is big enough for however He answers.  Sometimes it is….

Two weeks ago I prayed a very big, very bold prayer with a friend. (Yes, I know, I just changed the subject…but bear with me here.) Then, after I prayed, I thought… “That was a massively big prayer.” It was a little overwhelming.  You know when you pray really big prayers, it is scary. Is God going to answer? Is he going to do what I asked?  Is He going to work in a totally different way than I have pictured? I think the scary part of really big prayers is being afraid that I will be disappointed in my God…or possibly that I will be disappointed in my reaction of His answer. 

I found out this evening that God did answer that very big prayer. It was not in the way either of us expected. It was a most unlikely outcome.  But I think it was a faith growing process for both of us.  I had been on my toes for two weeks wondering if that big prayer was going to be answered. God is faithful.

OK, back to the lost wallet.

AfterI told her I would pray, Lisa said that she thought of one more place to look. She remembered that she had a box of rugs she had been going to give to a friend. The box was close to something she had laid her jeans over. She went through that box and there it was. Talk about the most unlikely places. She said they had looked for twenty four hours without success. Then I tell her I am going to pray and within fifteen minutes, she finds it. That is nothing on me. It is all on God. Maybe she and I both needed to be reminded to not be afraid to pray big prayers…and to pray with faith. 

God wants us to have complete faith when we pray. He wants us to come to Him in absolute assurance.  He wants us to believe that He will answer our prayers in a way that will conform to His will and His plans. 

Isaiah, a major prophet in the Old Testament, is known for his prophecies, so it is certain that he had an ongoing dialog with God. In Isaiah 65. God is telling Isaiah the good things that will happen to His people. He tells him in verse 24, that He will answer their prayers before they even call on Him—actually, that while they are making their needs known to Him, He will answer their prayers. He knows what we need, even before we do and will answer our prayers—even today. 

Then we see again, in Jeremiah 33:3, God talking to one of His prophets. He tells Jeremiah that if they would but ask, He would tell them amazing and unknown things. God does want us to communicate with Him. He wants that relationship with us. 

Finally, in Daniel 10:12, we see Daniel hearing from God through a vision.  Daniel has been in prayer and mourning for a few weeks at this point.  He encounters a heavenly being, thought to be Gabriel that tells him his prayer has been answered—and that it was answered the very first day he began praying. The answer came to Daniel in God’s timing. 

What is the challenge of these scriptures to our Christian walk? I see the challenge as taking time out of our busy lives to actually come to God in prayer…more than a, “Please…” “Help…” “Give…” or even. “Thank You.” God created us for fellowship with Him. Come to Him!  Come to Him with unwavering faith in our hearts. Come to Him with  big, bold, audacious, awe-inspiring prayers.

How can we apply this to our lives? For one thing, we should develop a prayer plan. The things that matter in our lives take thought and attention. Communing with our God should be pretty high on our list of priorities. It doesn’t just happen. Yes, we can send words up to God all day long. The thing is, “just words” do not equal much of a relationship. A solid relationship requires that we have things in common and that we spend quality time together, and that we build on it day by day. As we build our relationship with God we find the fearlessness to pray those big, bold, audacious, awe-inspiring prayers.

What does this mean to my faith? I can’t even put into words how God has ministered to me through answered prayer; not just these few, but throughout my life.  My faith is strengthened when I see that God knows my needs and already has the answer to my prayers before I even utter them. Will the answers always look the way I think they should? No. But what ever the answer is, I need to have faith in the eternal process and God’s plan.

Lord, I am humbled by how You answer our prayers. I am humbled by how You allow us to bring our lives and lay them at Your feet. Thank You for how You build relationship with Your people. Please continue to show me Your ways and encourage me with how You respond to My needs. I know, with all my heart, that my prayers are not in vain. Thank You for putting a glow in my heart from Your presence that strengthens my life. 

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“It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.” Isaiah 65:24 (NKJV)

“Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3 (NKJV)

“Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.” Daniel 10:12  (NKJV)

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I feel that since God has given me the gift of this platform, I must always tell you about my Jesus.  

What is your relationship to the all-knowing God of the universe?  Do you know Jesus? Do you know the peace that can come only from an intimate relationship with Him?  You can know Him.  Jesus Christ, God’s Son, born into human flesh, sinless, crucified and giving His life freely, buried, arisen on the third day, will come into your life and change the outcome of your eternity.  You just have to be willing to believe and accept His truth.  

Here is an excellent website that can give you additional information about making your decision for Jesus Christ!  PeaceWithGod.net

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