The power of prayer,,,,,

Greetings!!

God gave us an incredible ability when He gave us the power of prayer.  We can move mountains when we pray in faith.  Actually, God moves the mountains for us,,, but we have to ask in faith.  The bible tells us time and time again to ask in faith, pray in faith, have no doubt what can be done when we pray.

Praying with that kind of faith, with no doubts in our hearts and minds is not always easy.  We have been conditioned to have doubts.  But God says, we can not doubt Him.

Many people will use the Lord's Prayer as their guide for praying.  And you should.  But do not use it in the wrong way!  There are different types of prayers for different circumstances.  When I pray for healing, I already know what God's will is regarding healing.  The bible tells me.  His will is that we be healthy, so therefore I do not use the phrase, "if it is your will."  Why?  Because that phrase causes doubt.  Think about it!  "If", lets the door open for you to think, OK, maybe it is not His will, maybe He won't heal me.

When we pray for healing James 5:15 tells us a prayer in faith will heal.  Pray in faith, accept it, believe it and thank the Lord for it, because you WILL be healed.

In the Lord's prayer we say, "Thy kingdom come, they will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."  We are not asking for healing at this time.  We are asking for God's will to be done on earth.  There is a huge difference!!  To ask for God's will to be done, we must first know what His will is.  We can find His will throughout the bible.

Does God ever say no to prayers?  Yes!  Pray for something frivolous or something that will not be good for you in the long run and God will tell you no.  He knows what is best!!  If you ask to win the lottery,,,, chances are pretty good, you will not win it.  Why?  Money can corrupt and cause sin.  It is not that God does not want you to prosper or be rich,,, it is a matter of whether you can handle in a proper and Christian manner that kind of money without making it your God.

God will always provide for your basic needs,,, but not your greed's.  That is a hard concept for some people to accept.  There was a time when I was homeless, living in a tent, at a state park 15 miles from the nearest town, grocery store, post office and phone.  I had no car, so I was basically stranded.  I relied on a friend to come out once a week and bring me into town so I could get some food, go to the post office, etc.  One week I was down to just a sleeve of crackers and a half a jar of peanut butter and waiting for my friend to show up.  He did not, and he had no way to call me.

His car had broken down and was in the shop.  I prayed in faith and asked God for a vehicle.  In poor health I was unable to walk the 15 miles to town to go to the grocery store and I needed food.  I did not ask for a brand new fancy car, just for something that would get me to town and back.  The first thing that happened was God provided me a ride for that day, so I could take care of my immediate need of food.  But three days later a miracle happened!!

There had been an older rather wealthy gentlemen in the state park where I was living.  He was staying in his huge million dollar motor home while he was in a golfing tournament in the area.  Each day he was there he would come and sit with me in the evening by the campfire and talk.  I had told him about my situation, how I was hurt on the job, my employer stopped the weekly TTD and I had lost my home with no income and no ability to work at that point.  I told him how I had heard about camp-hosting as a way to have a place to stay that was safe and I would not get arrested for vagrancy and living on the streets.  I had no where else to go.

I also told him that I was fine and trusted that God would provide and I would make it through this.  Little did I know while talking to this man that he was a Christian.  He kept saying to me that he was surprised that I was not bitter and angry.  I told him we all have trials and tribulations to go through in this life but we can all get through them if we trust in God.

The last day he was there he stopped by my campsite and gave me a large package of flavored crackers he had won in the golf tournament, wished me well and was on his way.  He did not know this but during the time he was there, I was praying for a car to get me around.  Also praying for a way to plate it and get the required insurance on it, so I could be legal.

The very next day,  the park rangers came to my site and said I had a phone call to return from the guy who had been there golfing and they gave me a toll free number and said I could go to the office and use their phone as it sounded urgent.  My first thought was he left something behind and wanted me to find it for him.  Never in my wildest imagination did I think what happened next would happen!!

I walked the mile to the office and dialed the number and asked for the man.  Not sure what to expect.  A couple of minutes later he came on the phone.  To make a long story short,,,  he felt the need to help me.  He said,,, I have a mini van you can have.  It is old but in decent shape.  If you can get a ride up here, I will have it ready to go.  The ride was about 2 1/2 hours north of my location.  I called my friend who had been coming out to bring me into town once a week and said can you take me up there, he said yes.  So we made plans for his next day off to take me up near Chicago.

At this point I still did not know how I was going to put plates on the van, gas in the tank or insurance but this was a step of faith.  Because I knew if God was answering my prayer and providing a vehicle he would also provide a way for me to get it back and take care of the essentials of getting it on the road legally.  So off we went.

When we arrived at "Bill's" business, not only did he give me the van, he gave me a check with enough money to buy a new battery as it needed one, put plates on it, fill the tank and pay for the first 3 months of insurance.  God is so very good!!!  He does answer faithful prayer!!

I have also received total healing of serious health conditions through faithful prayer.  I'll tell you about those another time.

Until next time,,,, keep the faith!!