Wednesday, August 22, 2007

The Power of Prayer

Yesterday, I was nearly overcome with sadness and emotion. It was dealing with our case and I needed to talk with someone. Honestly, I didn’t want too. I just wanted to run, or hide, or fall asleep for a very long time. My husband even gave this person my cell number. Then, he called me and told me to be expecting the call. I told him that I had already seen the call (caller id) and that I had chosen to ignore it. My attitude upset my husband but I frankly didn’t have the strength to take the call.

My day had started in an ordinary way. My older son is off doing training with his college. My youngest son ate breakfast. I reviewed some terms with him for a test. Mark tried to read the scripture to us – but wasn’t able to complete the chapter we were on. This was followed by morning prayer. Then, he and Paul left to go to their prospective schools.

I decided to watch Joyce Myers and have a bowl of cereal. Since, I am trying to lose weight, I also exercised. I checked my emails and my ChristianMom board and then decided to finish up my laundry and complete the ironing. I had just been hanging all of the guys’ dress shirts up in the laundry room for most of the summer and only ironing a shirt for them on Sunday mornings. The past few days, I had been trying to work through that pile of shirts and some of my summer slacks.

My plan was to get the ironing done, sweep the kitchen floor, mop it, and start to work on some college assignments. I was interrupted. Mark called me to tell me that I needed to talk to this person. And, I proceeded to lose it.

Frustration with myself overtook me. I know that this person is trying to help but the emotional toll it takes on me is debilitating. I went to my board and simply posted that I needed prayer. I didn’t post a reason but simply something like, “I need prayer right now.”

Within minutes, the sweet ladies on my board began responding and letting me know they were praying. I was no longer alone in my situation because God had provided me with immediate outreach and support through the wonderful technology of the Internet. Knowing that a group of ladies from all over this country were praying for me gave me strength. But, it wasn’t just that head knowledge. I could feel the power of their prayers. I began to gain a sense of protection and peace within my mind. My thoughts began to settle down and God began to speak to my heart.

He reminded me that He is with me and that I can do all things through the authority of Christ. Christ understands my frailty and is fully able to put within me His strength. In those moments of despair and sorrow, that is easy to forget. I wish I could say that all the fear, sadness, and heartbreak were immediately taken away from me; however, that wasn’t the case. Instead, I gained wisdom and courage. I still had to walk through (and continue to walk through) the situation but I didn’t have to do it alone. God is and will continue to walk before me as my shield and He is also my rear guard.

Intercessory prayer is so powerful. Before I sought prayer, I could hardly breathe due to the sorrow. Yet, the prayers of my board ladies gave me reassurance. These prayers were indeed received by the Father and He imparted to me grace to get through the day regardless of the difficulties that I had to endure.

I want to encourage each of you today to stop and pray for someone. Pray for them fully knowing that God hears your prayer and will step into the situation and relationship for which you are praying. I was blessed by prayers yesterday from ladies and I was able to do what I needed to do. Be a prayer warrior for someone today.

Blessings,
Debbie

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love you. You know I'm praying.

((((Debbie)))))

Shenandoah

Deborah said...

I love you and am praying for you,too.
Your posts are really awesome - you are a gifted writer. I'm going to ask you to sign your book for me one day :)
Deborah