A Son's Prayer

    

 

I was a single parent for many years.  My children were very young when I divorced.   I was lost (spiritually) and did not know how to deal with my unsettled spirit.  Depression...anger...hurt...negative emotions trying to control me.  There was a point in my life that I had given up.  But God used my children to experience His unconditional love and mercy.

 

It was one Sunday morning when my children went to church with their aunt. I had no interest in going to church and wished the invitations to attend would stop. 

 

When they arrived home that day, they entered the house with much excitement and commotion. The first statement Miguel made was, "Guess what, mom, I got saved today.....I asked Jesus into my heart."  Mari added, "And I got saved, too!  My response:  "Oh, honey, that is real sweet". 

I gave my sis-in-law the look that implied that I was uncomfortable with their statements.  Then Miguel looked at me and said, "Mom, I prayed that you would get saved next week."  And all I could say was, "thank you, honey."

Little did I know what God had in stored for me.  Yes, the following Sunday (February 14th), I went to the evening service at El Templo, a small pentecostal church in Dallas, where I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I had spent the day believing that no one loved me, but that night God revealed his love by giving me His Son. Wow!  And it all began with a son's prayer.   

What I want to share with you that prayer is powerful.  My husband told me years ago that prayer is arm that moves the hand of God.  And I believe it.

Prayer will give you hope; it will strengthen you to wait and trust the Lord.  Isaiah 40:31, says, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Be encouraged today knowing that God loves you and cares about every area of your life.

Shalom!

Does God answer prayers?

I remember as a young child that prayer was important in my faith but it was wasn't until my early 20's that I experienced what it meant to cry out from my heart to God for some bad decisions that I made. I wanted God to change everything instantly but what He wanted to do was to change my heart and I didn't let Him. It was several years later until I finally realized that I needed a Savior. I felt that heavy burden be lifted from me and my spiritual eyes and ears were opened. What a glorious moment that experience was for me.

 

As a result, my prayer life did change but I knew there was more to prayer.  In the thirty (30) plus years that I have been serving the Lord, I have learned to use the Word of God in my prayer time.  For example from the book of Colossians 1:9-14, I have prayed this prayer "God, fill me with knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of you Lord, fully pleasing you, bearing in every good work and increasing in your knowledge......".  Folks, there is something phenomenal about praying God's word.  It will affect your spouse, your children, and your loved ones. 

 

Now here's the big question about prayer.  Does God answer all your prayers?  I will say this. God is not under any obligation to say yes to every prayer request and sometimes He says "no".  

At times He will say yes but we will have to wait.  Today we live in a "I want it now" culture.  We want hot food we put in the microwave.  We get hungry, we stop by Jack in the Box (love those nasty 99 cents tacos...lol).  We find ourselves not willing to wait on God because we want it now. How many times have we missed out on God's blessings becasue we were not willing to wait on Him?

Or other times He does answer our prayer and it's not what we expected.  It is in times like these that God calls us to trust him. 

He might yes and will give you more than what you were expecting. I remembered when I worked as a Child Support Investigator for the Attorney General of Texas and an opportunity became available with State Bar of Texas.  Honestly, I did not have all the qualifications for this position but I prayed about it and applied.  Bottom line:  God moved and I was hired.  Six years later I became the Senior Investigator for the Dallas Regional Disciplinary Counsel with a great increase in pay. 

Sometimes God says "yes, I thought you would never ask".  I remember when I would take my children, Miguel and Mari, to an outreach ministry in Irving, Texas. One Saturday night, one of my contact lens popped out.  Can you imagine looking for the lens in a parking lot?   We were searched for the lens diligently but "nada".  All I could think about was the replacement cost.  Then it was if the Lord said "pray'.  I started to pray and asked the kids to do the same.  I don't remember how long we prayed, but we found the lens.  Isn't that just like God...he was waiting for me to ask him. 

Beloved, prayer is essential in your daily walk with the Lord. It is your life-line that connects you to God.  You can be totally real with Him...He knows you oh so well....and loves you unconditionally.  I encourage you to start 2015 with some time with the One that will never leave you or forsake you.  He is waiting for you with open arms!

 

 

Until next time, Shalom!

Prayer is my Lifeline to God

Several years ago, I was browsing at a nearby Christian bookstore and came across a tote bag that caught my attention.   It was blue and with the scripture verse from Deuteronomy 4:7: "The LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him."  At that moment I had an idea that I could use that tote bag for the purpose of filling it with written resources regarding prayer and having a prayer list.  Since I had experienced time after time how God had answered my prayer requests, I felt it was time to begin a new chapter in my prayer life.   You may be asking, "How could you possibly improve your prayer life if you already had one?" 

Good question. 

Yes, I have always prayed for my children, my siblings, relatives, friends, co-workers, strangers at WalMart, etc. Whenever I had an opportunity I would take advantage of it.  But now I wanted to have a deeper relationship with my God. More of him and less of me.  I wanted to hear His heartbeat.  I wanted to hear His still small voice everyday. 

I decided to place this tote bag a.k.a. My Prayer Bag, in the backseat of my car.  It was a reminder to continue to pray for others and stay in continual communion with my Heavenly Father.  As a matter of fact, my car became my prayer sanctuary away from home.

Although, I don't carry that my Prayer Bag with me like I use to , I have learned to bask in His presence wherever I am and prayer has become my lifeline to God.

Though God commands us to pray, God does not need our prayer.  Really, He doesn't; He can do without our prayer but we cannot do without it. Prayer is what connects you to God.  When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us. 

As I start my new journey with this blog, I pray that I can bless you in some way.  My blog posts will pertain to prayer, stories, book reviews, etc.  If you have a personal testimony about prayer, your comments are welcomed.

If you need prayer, please send me your prayer request to theprayerbag@aol.com.   It will be an honor to pray for you.

Until next time may,
“The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;  The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace."   

Shalom!
Vivian Marie