And please keep Mr and Mrs. Pris in your prayers....things are very rough right now for Pris. Thanks.
Have a blessed Sunday.
z
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Sunday Faith Blog ANSWERED PRAYER
And please keep Mr and Mrs. Pris in your prayers....things are very rough right now for Pris. Thanks.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
38 comments:
We still believe our marriage was a miracle. It's a long, complicated story, but there were so many roadblocks, cliffs and dead ends, a non-believer would have given it up for impossible.
Somehow, it all came together.
I wish you could give us a glimpse, SF...but I understand when a story's that long it's tough to type it all down.
I'm very glad it did come together and, since you write of your family with such tenderness and happiness, it's clear it was what was meant to be!
When Nancy and I prayed in agreement for my healing of Lymphoma. God answers prayer. The work of my healing had already been accomplished 2000 years before . All I had to do was pray , accept it and confess it.
You can read the entire story here. It is lengthy but you can start at the point of Healed of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. This link will start you on Page 2. http://1williamsplace.com/DallasHealing2/DallasHealing2.html
Ticker, a young man at the church I attended suddenly was diagnosed with nonHodgkins and another very virulent cancer...PET scans, CAT scans..at UCLA, City of Hope, etc. Very bad diagnosis....almost no hope at all.
His mother stood steadfast in prayer and faith. The church rallied, as did hundreds of others in her circles of bible studies, etc.
He's now showing no evidence of the cancers. Nothing. The doctors are completely mystified.
Even believers are a little stunned!
Wow, Ticker, I just read your stories about your health and what the doctor wrote in your chart after the mass had disappeared before your surgery that didn't have to happen.
that is AMAZING.
thanks so much for directing me to that site.
Maybe the story will be helpful to your friend who is in need of our prayers.
My story is a simple story of faith, a faith that I did not understand for many years until Nancy came along.
I knew something was missing but didn't quite know what.
I was missing the full story of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. With out that knowledge and being accepting of it we would not be having this conversation.
To God be the glory for great things He has done, is doing and will do tomorrow.
Prayer, fasting, confessing sin I KNOW lifted a deep depression off of me. I knew I had to be in spiritual warfare. I did not seek out a shrink; I needed God's word which is truth.
My father suffered horrible cluster headaches for nearly a decasde. One day @ church they prayed and he never had another. God doesn't always relieve our burdens on our schedule.
So many others... "my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness...."
39th Annual March for Life - today-Sunday-
Carol-CS
"God doesn't always relieve our burdens on our schedule."
Vicomtesse, that's very important input here. Very strong believers who pray don't frequently get the answer they seek or in the time frame they'd like to have that answer. Sadly, this can be a deal breaker with Christians less mature in Scripture and understanding.......meaning ALL of us from time to time!
"God doesn't always relieve our burdens on our schedule."
We have our timetable and God has His. So often we expect Him to comply with our plan when He always has a "Better Plan". It has took me a long time to understand this and caused me to rebel which brought about a lot of unnecessary pain and waste of time.
God did not say, "Be still and know... just to have something to say. Read the entire 46th Psalm to understand the power of this .
About 26 years ago I was at a crossroads with my career. I was absolutely demoralized working where I was. We were always broke. Everything I put my hand to and tried seemed to turn to crap. At one point I had fleeting thoughts of suicide.
Everyone at church prayed for me and that night for the first time in a long time, I genuinely felt everything was alright. I still hated my job, but was able to cope. About a year later I was in a job that for me was like being on paid vacation. I'm still in the organization.
Later on I talked to HR and they told me they were still perplexed how I got on. On the list of 30 candidates, I was midway in the pack. Yet everyone ahead of me either declined the position, didn't return their calls, or took the position and then didn't show for work. The last guy ahead of me decided to get married and move to his new wife's home state. That left me. The paperwork went through in half the normal time. HR told me it was a speed record and they still don't understand how it went that fast.
When God decides he is going to put you somewhere, no employer, no one in HR, no one in government is going to stop him. Stepping out on all the prayers from lots of friends made the difference.
Alligator, I could just hug you for that. What an amazing witness!
Thanks, and I am SO happy you're in that wonderful position now...what a true blessing.
Ticker, "be still..." you're so right.
My point is that it's rough for some to feel that, if they've been praying a long time, and their prayers aren't answered as desired, God's still there.
One has to have done a LOT of maturing in the faith to understand that.
don't you think?
I have a long story too but will condense it
My father was diagnosed with cancer while I was in the Navy, he and my Mother lived in Arizona. My wife and I prayed for God to make it clear where our next duty station should be. We both felt God leading us to Arizona. (I had been reading a biography of George Muller, a mighty man of prayer) HOw does a sailor get stationed in Arizona? Well the only way is to be a recruiter. I went through the qualifying process, passed and then waited to find out my orders. I had been sharing with a non-Christian co-worker that we believed God wanted us in AZ so that I could redeem some time with my father. So the time for choosing orders came and the detailer said that all he had was Buffalo, Houston and Denver. I asked him if I could decide the following month when new orders would be available. He said yes. I called the next month and he had already chosen orders for me to the San Diego Recruiting District (which included Az.) My parents lived in Mesa. I called the District and they said they had three choices for me. Phoenix...way cool God, I'm thinking...Tempe...even closer to home..thank you Lord or......Mesa. I about fell out of my chair. I told my co-worker after I got of the phone...she was so amazed at what God did that less then a week later, she became a Christian. I was able to redeem the time my father had left and inexplicably I was even involuntarily extended 4months. Just long enough to be with my father at his passing and to help my mother.
God is bigger than the Navy. Praise HIm!
ouseparMy wife, months before we met, was a single mom raising her son, working three jobs at times.
That year she had put her son in a Pennsylvania military academy at the urging of her boss (who helped her with the tuition: this is Nate of whom I've blogged).
She had to put Scott on a plane from Detroit Metro to get to PA.
She insisted he fly in uniform (which he resisted).
He was a 14 year old who would have to make his own bus connections and there was concern about the bus fare at the last minute.
Scherie said they would pray, and God would make a way.
At the gate, a woman noticed Scott's uniform. She asked if he was going to Carson Long. He was, and she said she lived near there.
My wife and she talked about the bus connections, and she offered to drive Scott to school.
He called later to say that she played Amy Grant on the car stereo during the ride so he found she was a Christian.
As for myself, I prayed that God would give me a blonde. Twenty years next month.
Z: would you fix that pleeeeez?
I will keep Pris and her husband in mind.
I hope you are having a good Sunday, Z!
One has to have done a LOT of maturing in the faith to understand that.don't you think?
Yes it does take maturity in faith but those who are young in the faith can do this by being in prayer and allowing the Holy Spirit to direct them. Reading of God's Word will reveal answers that we never thought possible which is why we need to be active in the reading and study of the Word. That is where the Holy Spirit so often reveals God's answers or at least the path to them. If one remembers the story of the woman who only wanted to touch the hem of Jesus garment they can take away a great step of faith. This woman was not a "mature believer and in fact it doesn't even say that she was anything other than a woman who had heard of the works of Jesus. She acted on her faith, a thing that a lot of us have difficulty doing. We often say, I believe.... but take no action to show that belief. Faith is an action word be it verb or noun it still says action. Example is , one can have faith that their car will get them to the store but sitting there with the key in the ignition will not get you there. You have to turn on the key, starting the car , put it in gear and GO otherwise you will never get to the store.
Those who are young in the faith or less mature for I have known many who have been believers for years but are still infants in faith need to turn to one who is mature. Those who are mature need to seek out the young and guide them, not push, to an understanding that God's timing is the best timing. He always has a "Better Plan" and his timing is always ON TIME. He is indeed an ON TIME GOD ALL THE TIME.
Elbro, that story is fantabulous! If God's hand wasn't on that, it wasn't ever on anything :-) Thanks so much; you did a great job shortening a longer, wonderful story. bravo, you got all the really important stuff in !
Ed...fix what? those few letters before your comment starts? We all have typo stuff happen..no worries!
if it's something else you're referring to, let me know!
Your story is just terrific...what a gift that woman was...and it sounds like your blonde wife has been a beautiful gift to you, too. Treasure her...I lost my Mr. Z 2 years ago and when people ask "what can I do for you?" I say "cherish your spouse even MORE and show it...for me and Mr. Z"
Brooke, I'm having a very quiet SUnday and am adding your name to the list of people I'll tell Pris are praying for her and her husband. This week is going to be the toughest of Pris's life..
Ticker, I didn't imply we must be mature believers, but it's very difficult to explain why God's timing seems to fail us when you don't have that background of much Scripture reading and mentorship.
Your reminder of the woman who only touched His robe is such a good one. I adore that story.
I'm losing my mentor; she's become ill and is moving to a retirement home pretty far away..this week. It's devastating..she was THE most amazing believer I have EVER EVER MET. Her presence in my life was one of the very biggest blessings God ever gave me, and he's given me PLENTY.
Z..where to begin?
There are so many answered prayers in my life, and so many miracles.
I was, miraculously, healed of an hereditary blood disease, which was potentially fatal, and had been told that there was nothing that could be done, other than to make me as comfortable as possible.
After I was healed, I went through Cleveland Clinic, through every department, including cardiology, urology, neurology, and even the psychology department, too. Samples of my blood and urine were sent to all the major labs, and teaching hospitals, and all tests came back perfectly normal, with no traces of the disease, or any indication that I had ever had the disease.
My Internist had told me, when I told him that Jesus had healed me, that something had happened, but it was probably that I was only in remission, and that I would be back in the same condition as before...but that was many, many years ago, and the disease has not returned.
God is good, and He is faithful. In answer to the question of why some are healed, and some are not, I say that there is no answer, other than that God's will is not always what we think it should be, but He has said that He will never leave, nor forsake us, so even if we are never healed, in this life, we know that He will be with us until we are safely home with Him.
Not only have I seen many miraculous healings, but those of protection, too, where it was obvious that it was only the hand of God, intervening at the crucial time...and there were many, many times when He made provisions where there was no other way.
I could fill a book, probably, and I'm sure many others on here could, as well. I have enjoyed reading the other testimonies, here.
thanks, Jan, such an amazing story!
I agree, and I think all the above commenters do, too, with your assessment of what we think is unanswered prayer....my point is that it's very difficult to help people keep faith when they aren't ready to hear all of that yet....I've seen people so often slip from faith with the loss of a loved one or debilitating illnesses, etc., JUST when we need to lean in MORE, right?
I'm so glad you were cured and have so many stories you have seen of God's being there with you.
This thread got a late start but I couldn't be happier than I am now reading these wonderful testimonies.
I hope they'll bless someone who's looking in and reading. Another "God thing".
Z..I do understand, perfectly, what you were saying, and I agree, because I have seen that happen, myself, with some who didn't see their prayers answered in the way that they were hoping they'd be.
In times like that, we have to be as supportive as possible in helping them to understand that God has not let them down, don't we?
Sometimes, it's not easy, either, as you can attest, I'm sure. :)
xoxo
Our story of prayer: when my daughter was 14 she was diagnosed with stage four alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. That is a very NAS-T and agressive cancer. It was assumed the cancer had spread through her body. An MRI showed that it crossed two joints, the wrist and elbow and was part of all of the soft tissues of her arm. We were told she would have to amputate her arm and then treat with chemo and radiation.
Further opinion suggested we might not do the surgery. Instead we settled on 11 months of chemotherapy and radiation and a lot of humility, Faith and prayer. That decision invloved much prayer.
We called on everyone we knew to pray. I even arranged for prayer at a mass at Notre Dame university and we are in San Diego.
Three months after diagnosis my daughter had a follow up MR study. The radiologist report read that the post-op patient has no sign of the cancer in her arm. EXCEPT, she never had surgery. The entire staff at San Diego Childrens Hospital literally call her their miracle patient.
We followed through with the next eight months of chemo and she is she is now age 24 working at a non profit (Cancer For College) with Will Ferrell and awards four year college scholarships to kids who have survived cancer. She was a recipient during her four years through university. She will be baptized in May and her younger sister was baptized last year. We are very humbled.
Jan, when Mr. Z died, I had less "why US, God?" than I'd have thought I'd have (or anybody, for that matter) but it does seep in, of course.
I clung to Psalms....had some astonishing experiences during those readings, too, I have to say.
I know he's with God and looking down saying "Hey, Z...it's a blink of an eye and you'll be here with me and God." I like that :)
KP...what a fantastic story. i'm SO glad your daughter's doing so well and is giving back to others with such challenges. God bless her and your family.
You must have REALLY gone through it. xxx
I don't believe prayer heals or spares us from tragedy. The world turns and we suffer, believer and non believer alike.
Life is organized around tragedy and sorrow and that is our condition.
What prayer can do is help us for community and live in understanding and compassion with our fellow beings. Hardly an insubstantial blessing.
Hi Z, I tell you truly God answered my prayers with my dear husband. After the death of my first husband, I was so despondent and emotionally upset. God gave me my life back with this wonderful husband of mine. I am terribly grateful for this.
I wish the same healing for you some day. I hope that doesn't upset you to say that. But I so wish you the same gift I received.
Gee, Ducky.
You must me right, and we're all deluded.
Us and millions of others who've seen God answer prayer.
The first time God answered my prayer was in Germany in a hotel when I had a painful attack that reminded me of the appendicitis of a few years before that.
I did not know what to do and I was in intense pain.
So I called out to "God" and told Him that if He healed me then, I would seek Him out and submit to Him as He revealed Himself to me.
The pain passed immediately.
I then spent the next few years studying magic, Eastern Mysticism anything but Christianity.
Finally I started reading the Bible to round my literary education.
That's when I found Him.
That's the second time He answered my prayer.
Thanks Z. I appreciate that, very much.
Ducky: "I don't believe prayer heals or spares us from tragedy. The world turns and we suffer, believer and non believer alike."
That has been my experience.
"Life is organized around tragedy and sorrow and that is our condition."
True, and how we respond to the challenges in life (ours and others around us) helps to define us.
"What prayer can do is help us for community and live in understanding and compassion with our fellow beings. Hardly an insubstantial blessing."
More understanding and compassiion at home and around the world would be a huge blessing. Almost a miracle!
Ducky, as we've heard in our lives and read here, prayer certainly doesn't always spare us.......but it can. And yes, it unites us in special ways.
I've felt buoyed in the midst of real trouble by something I can't explain and then hear many friends were praying for me. That's no accident and I've heard this MANY times.
Still, God's not our butler, you're right in that inference; we can't know the grand scheme, can we.
There are people who think Tebow actually prays to win; any Christian knows that's not the case.......but, you have to keep quiet and hope people catch up to a man like that's faith and what he would be praying for; like safety for him and all the players, a chance for him to witness on the field and off, protection, etc.
Ed, another amazing story...I have to admit I've not had any 'EUREKA' answers like pain suddenly stopping but my friends do say , on smaller things "man, Z, you sure get answered and you get answered fast"......I'm not so sure about that, but I see it work, that's for SURE. It builds faith.
Your stories are really appreciated here, thanks.
Studying the Bible does what I shouldn't call 'magical' by the nature of what it is, but I can't help it....I never thought I'd EVER EVER get what I do now from Scripture, after having studied it now intensively for 12 years (9 of which have been a Bible study core group leader).....it IS magic (sorry, but that word works, tho I know it's anything but :-)
KP: YOu said...
Ducky: "I don't believe prayer heals or spares us from tragedy. The world turns and we suffer, believer and non believer alike."
That has been my experience."
It's been your experience that prayer doesn't heal but your daughter got such a healing after tons of prayer...? Or you mean "prayer healing HAS been your experience"..?
I'm wondering if you're drawing a distinction somewhere and I'd like to understand it if you are. thanks
When my dad had a heart attack and was in hospital we prayed for him to survive, i don't think it was anything miraculous, the operation went well and he's still with us.
I believe God works in all ways, steadying the hands of those who stitch and repair, helping them to get the skills and ability to save a life. Simple things like getting them in time to save a life.
We often overlook the small things and take them for granted.
"I don't believe prayer heals or spares us from tragedy. The world turns and we suffer, believer and non believer alike."
Ducky, of course..scripture, plainly, tells us that. It says that it rains on the just, and the unjust, and that time and chance happen to all men.
But to say that prayer doesn't heal, or spare us from tragedy is just simply not true, in all cases.
I pity the one who just cannot believe in it.
MK:
I love the way you expressed what you believe, because it is so true. I'm sure that none of us ever, really, know just how often God is working on our behalf, in such a myriad of ways.
I have always said that it is the doctor who sets the broken bone, but it is God, who heals it. :)
Z..I love what you said about feeling a buoyancy at times when, in the natural, you shouldn't have, then learning that others were praying for you.
I know what you mean.
I share your love of scripture, and believe that no matter how often we study, and read it, there is always another treasure to be found in it.
God bless Mr. & Mrs. Pris.
I hope they have family and friends with them to comfort and help.
MK, you make a great point; I think we overlook little miracles, thinking we're LUCKY, etc. when God's so in it.
I also see a lot more God-incidences (versus COincidences) the more I thank Him.
I'm so glad your dad's doing well.
Jan, all well said.
FW...I have a list here by the phone of those who send their best wishes to Pris and email here every couple of days...she definitely has your message. thanks so much. You and I know, all too well, what she's going through, sadly.
The prayer of a righteous man effects much.
James 5 duhkkky, I realize the Bible is not your strong suit so let me help you :
James 5:13-15 NASB
Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises. Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
Z: << KP: YOu said...
Ducky: "I don't believe prayer heals or spares us from tragedy. The world turns and we suffer, believer and non believer alike."
“That has been my experience." >>
Hi Z. Happy to clarify. I meant to agree with Ducky that prayer does not spare us from tragedy.
Let me be clear, it has also been my experience that prayer does support healing; ours and others.
Believers and non-believers can argue whether positive results of prayer are the act of God or whether learning personal humility and maintaining a positive outlook on life result in increased plasticity of the brain and increased immune function; things we seem to be able to share with others.
My experience is that it the role of attitude plays an enormous role in recovery. Prayer is part of that. So is spirituality. Attitude and humility will open man up to the powers of the universe or God.
Whether recovering from the experience of personal loss, financial disaster, the failure of community or sessions in chemotherapy, we need all of our resources to be our best. Humility, prayer and spirituality enhance that.
My suggestion, which I have published before: “be kind, exercise and seek to maintain a positive attitude. There is a healing force in the body that is enhanced by positive attitudes. This healing force is something no one can dispute and no one can say is philosophical rhetoric. When we boil health down to a healing art and science, it is clear how powerful our choices can be.”
I'm losing my mentor; .....
And Z, now God has a better plan for when one door is closed He always opens another.
The scripture found in Isaiah 40:31
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.
Is one that is often misinterpreted.
So many people think that this means those who "sit and wait" upon the Lord but it is quite the opposite. It literally means to 'wait" as in to serve Him.
So in light of the loss of your mentor continue to "wait upon the Lord" and He will show you even greater things just as He promised in the scripture above.
Elbro...great Scripture to remind us of here....James is such a good chapter, though it slightly breeds confusion on DOING GOOD, or ACTS.
KP...no, it doesn't spare us from tragedy, true.
And yes, I think a positive attitude can definitely heal, etc... prayer also helps us keep that positive attitude...through belief.
Ticker, thanks so much. It's just heart breaking and almost scary to me because she has been so wise and so amazingly inspirational. I've known this time would come but have not let myself think too much about it...and now it's here.
I love your reminder that God will open another door.......I hope I recognize it. I do know I want to take what she's taught me and try to 'wear' it enough that I can help others.
To duhkkky:
Well I just wonder why God would exhort us to pray if it did no earthly good?
A faith that saves...works out of gratitude for salvation not as a prerequisite.
James is saying
salvation + works = faith
NOT
savlation = faith + works.
and duhkkky this has nothing to do with the Protestant work ethic.
One commentary puts it like this:
Satan is the prime example of faithlessness. Satan believes God exists, but his is a dead faith because it does not lead to right action. James 2:19-20, from the New Living Translation, forcefully points out the futility and foolishness of Satan's faith: "Do you still think it's enough just to believe that there is one God? Well, even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror! Fool! When will you ever learn that faith that does not result in good deeds is useless?"
There are at least two possible ways to understand what He means. The first is that God is always working to produce faith in His people so they can properly use their free moral agency. The second, however, is the primary meaning because they ask what they had to do. Jesus replies that godly work for the individual is believing in or on Him as Messiah.
In other words, as Jesus uses it, faith is itself a work. Labor is involved in faith because living faith requires activity to meet the definition given in James 2. As the apostle says, faith without works is dead, and such "faith" is in realty not even faith. Some, especially evangelical Protestants, object to this because they feel it creates a "works" salvation.
Their objections, though, are so much sound and fury without biblical substance. Jesus says at least a dozen times in different ways that salvation is by grace. Biblically, merely believing or agreeing with God or some biblical doctrine is of itself no better than being dead. Dead things produce nothing because nothing is working to produce anything. This is why Paul in Hebrews 3 can use "unbelief" and "disobedience" interchangeably. In other words, if a person only agrees, he merely has a preference, and his works will be at best inconsistent and sporadic. If a person has a living faith, however, his belief will be a conviction, and works will occur.
I know you understand Z and it's really not confusing at all when the Bible is taken as a whole. Jesus was clear that salvation was by grace and grace alone. There are consequences (fruit) when we place our trust in Him. Otherwise, (Satan is the example)that faith is dead.
Post a Comment