Prayer Changes Things

"Pray without ceasing." "Not as one with no hope."

Prayer moves the hand of God, and prayer moves all the people who come to his throne room to petition for a need or express thanksgiving. Prayer is bigger than the plea that our earthly minds can utter, and expands to touch the many people who surround the request.

Prayer is connecting with the heart of God, and that, in itself, will change us if we allow it to.

We harbor many questions, most of which we may never know the answer to until we reach the other side. They tend to compound even more so when you or your loved ones are faced with unsurmountable troubles. I am there. Yet, all the doubts and questions fall by the wayside when I focus on the fact that God is God and He controls the outcome. I never question that His will be done—it is my surrender to His sovereignty.

I can only trust that many lives have, and will, be affected eternally, simply because we have come together and turned our eyes toward Jesus for this brief moment in time.

Prayer provides a closer communion with our Savior.

Prayer lets us know there is power at work beyond our control.

Prayer builds faith, hope, and renewed love in our hearts.

Prayer is our lifeline—even sceptics bow their knee in a crisis.

Prayer for others lifts the burdened hearts of our fellowman.

Prayer keeps us humble in the face of the Almighty.

Prayer comforts us and gives us peace.

Prayer can move mountains.

Prayer for one another connects the family of God.

Prayer is talking, but involves a lot of listening for His still small voice.

Prayer for ONE thing encompasses and touches an array of issues surrounding it.

Prayer ultimately affects eternity; it is not designed to simply satisfy temporal purposes.

Prayer boils down to trusting that He sees the bigger picture.

Prayer is trusting that He has our best interests at heart.

These are just a few of my thoughts this morning as I reflect on the season my family is going through. I’m sure the list is endless to the many benefits available through a life of prayer.

It comes from the ache in my heart for my great granddaughter, who lays in a hospital bed on the brink of death. Will God miraculously heal her and return her whole to her family? He certainly is able. Or will he heal her eternally and take her home to heaven? Either way, He knows the beginning from the end, and I take comfort in that fact.

Did that make all of our prayers useless? Certainly not! In this case, our family has felt the strength of Christians holding up our arms as tragedy strikes our hearts. For the faithful ones looking on from the outside, God has used prayer to draw you closer to Him, and we are grateful for those willing to carry another’s burden. God is working all things together for our good, whether we see the results of it with our human eyes or not. God has built up our faith simply in our communion with Him, with one another, and our surrender to His will.

The results of prayer are always open for personal debate and I clearly do not have all the answers. But I do know that He is God, He is in control, and He loves us more than we can comprehend. It might not appear to our earthly minds that He is winning a lot of battles these days, BUT His plan WILL unfold despite the forces that war against it.

He wins the war in the end.

Stand firm in His love and let peace replace fear. Jesus is as close as the mention of His name, and is faithful, even when we are not.

“There is coming a day when all the tears will be wiped from our eyes “and “all will become clear; understanding His perfect plan.”

This blog is written from a broken and contrite heart, one who is hoping and grieving over her great granddaughter who might never see one month of life here with us. Without an earthly miracle, she will soon be ushered into glory. I thank God that Christians have the assurance that we will spend eternity with our loved ones—that this is not our forever home, we are simply passing through.

Thank you everyone, from the bottom of my heart, for your petitions on Paislee’s behalf. God knows all, and will honor your obedience to pray on our baby’s behalf.

Until next time, keep the faith, and keep on praying.

Marlene from Heartwarming Romance, signing out.

Sending love and hugs to all of God’s prayer warriors.