Do you believe God hears our prayers and sees our needs?
Do you trust He is there and is in control?
I believe if we just open our eyes, we can see and hear Him speaking into our lives.
Let me share with you something that happened a few years ago...
Do you trust He is there and is in control?
I believe if we just open our eyes, we can see and hear Him speaking into our lives.
Let me share with you something that happened a few years ago...
I’d been in a bit of a funk
all day, really listening too intently to a number of Satan's lies. I
felt like I was taking hits from all sides–finances, work, the kids, and my
estranged husband.
I was feeling inadequate, incapable, and
overwhelmed.
I had just spent the little money I had on some groceries
when from out of nowhere I was overtaken by despair so deep that I just lost
it. I didn’t just cry...I sobbed. My shoulders heaved uncontrollably as I wept
and the tears that cascaded down my cheeks obscured my vision to the point where I was struggling to see the road.
As I
gulped for air in between the racking sobs all I could manage was, “Oh God, oh
God, oh God!”
The emotion was
gut-wrenching and I prayed that I could reach home without driving off the
road.
Once I arrived, there was no room to
park in front of my house. I pulled up
in front of my next door neighbor’s steps and sat in the car continuing to
cry. As I looked up at the full moon and
pleaded with the sky, God felt further from me than those stars burning
millions of miles away. He was like the
moon… immense and beautiful, yet distant and untouchable.
“God…I feel like the whole world is
against me. I feel so alone!”
I laid my complaints at His feet, all
the while feeling like there was no way to get out from under.
“I can’t function anymore God…I just
can’t do this on my own!”
Words were pouring out of me now….
”God, I have no money, how can I take
care of my kids? My kids, Lord…I’m so
worried about the road they’re going down.
Lord, I’m so alone…help me!”
I cried out to God for a good half hour
until the tears began to subside and my neighbor began to peek out the window
wondering what on earth I was doing.
It was almost 11:00 before I pulled myself together. I grabbed
some of the grocery bags, walked up the sidewalk toward my porch, dropped them off and turned back toward the
car as another neighbor drove up.
Maria had lived across the street from
me for at least a decade. I knew she was
a Christian. Our children had attended the same Christian school, but mostly we
just exchanged pleasantries on occasion.
She knew nothing of what I was currently going through.
“Hello, Toni, how are you?” she asked.
“Okay.”
I
responded as cheerily as I could. I knew
she couldn’t see I’d been crying because it was late and the street light
in front of my house had gone out. It
was pretty dark.
“My sister says the Holy Spirit is
telling her that you need prayer. Are
you sure you’re alright?”
I stopped dead in my tracks. I didn’t realize there was someone else in
the car, and how did she know….”No Maria, I’m not.”
“Can we pray for you?”
“I think God sent you to do just that.”
Maria’s sister got out of the car, grabbed
me by the hand and led me to the porch steps nodding and smiling. Maria parked her car and joined us.
“This is my sister from Costa Rica. She’s a missionary to Italy but she’s
visiting for a little while. She doesn’t
speak English very well. She says you
need to sit on the porch so she can lay hands on you…you’re too tall.”
Maria laughed. She and her sister were at least half a foot shorter
than my 5’ 8” frame. I understood the
predicament and dutifully sat. To my
left, Maria’s sister stood and placed one hand on my back and the other on top
of my head. She prayed in Spanish in the
most powerful way while Maria laid her hand on my right shoulder and
translated.
“God says you are not alone, He is here
with you.”
She placed her hand on my shoulder.
“Don’t say you can’t …you can do all
things through Him. I bind the spirits
at work in this house–I pray for your children....”
I caught my breath. How could she possibly know what to pray? Her prayer was so dead on that the tears
welled up in me again and I thought if anyone was up and about at that hour we
would make quite a spectacle–me weeping, her speaking in Spanish followed by
Maria’s translation.
Finally, she placed a hand over my heart
and said...
“You've been bearing a large hurt for a long time and in the name of
Jesus you are released from it.”
She prayed for His peace in my life and
it was like the burden just fell away. The crying stopped and I was flooded with peace. I knew
immediately that God Himself had spoken clearly and personally through this
woman I had never met.
Everything...
absolutely everything I brought before the Lord in the privacy of my car that
night, that dear woman addressed through her prayer for me.
It was as if
she’d had a checklist of my concerns and God gave them to her one by one to
tick off.
It was
proof that He not only heard my desperate cry, but that He cared about my pain
and wanted me to know He loved me and was there for me. It was a a beautiful answer to prayer!
You may be feeling desperate today. It may seem like God is a million miles away. He's not.
He's walking this road with you and His Spirit resides within you providing strength and peace. Take a moment to cry out to Him.
He will make His presence known to you.
It may be through a scripture, a song, even nature.
Or it may just be through the prayer of a faithful servant who hears His voice and responds by speaking His Word over you.
He's walking this road with you and His Spirit resides within you providing strength and peace. Take a moment to cry out to Him.
He will make His presence known to you.
It may be through a scripture, a song, even nature.
Or it may just be through the prayer of a faithful servant who hears His voice and responds by speaking His Word over you.
Toni, you are such an inspiration to others who feel they can't go on, because of one hurt or another. I have sent your website to my eldest daughter, who has struggled with bi-polar disorder and mental illness since she was a tween. She loves your site. Thank you for any and all encouragement you bestow on friends and strangers alike. You are an amazing person, and I am honored to know you. Much love, Anne Backes
ReplyDeleteAnne...how did I not know about your daughter's struggle? I'm so sorry to hear that you both have that burden to bear. I've mentioned in several posts like this one (http://lakesidelessons.blogspot.com/2013/01/hope.html)that my son suffers from anxiety and depression and I know it is not an easy road. I'm so glad she enjoys the posts and gets encouragement from them. I'm humbled by your comments! I hope you're well - miss you at our get-togethers, but appreciate being able to stay connected via Facebook :) Blessings to you and your daughter!
DeleteWow Toni! What a powerful testimony...God surely hears and answers our cries. Bless you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing your story. This touches my heart. Blessings to you! :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to stop by Melissa. May you experience God in a tangible way today!
DeleteOh, Toni, what a beautiful story of how much God loves us and makes Himself known!Thank you for sharing it!❤
ReplyDelete