A friend of mine recently attended a prayer conference held in Turkey. As part of the conference, there was a programme running for the children where they were learning how to pray. My friend told me, on day one the children practiced praying for each other, on day two they practiced praying for the team, and on day three they invited any adults to come from the conference who wanted to be prayed for. My friend who has had a wheat allergy for many years was prayed for by two children; a 6 & 7yr old, and now no longer has an allergy to wheat!
A few days later she visited her sister and told her the story. At the time her sister wasn’t feeling well: she had a headache and sore throat and so my friend offered to pray for her. She prayed a couple of times but the headache and sore throat didn’t leave. Later her sister remembered the story she had told her about the children praying and thought she’d ask her 8yr old daughter to pray. As her daughter prayed a simple prayer, the headache left, and very soon after she began to feel better!
Remembering what God has done before produces faith for breakthrough
Yesterday morning I was meditating on Psalm 77 where the psalmist is crying out to God in the midst of trouble. Unable to sleep and feeling too burdened to even pray (and we’ve probably all experienced times like those) he is crying out, “Where are you, God? He says “Let me remember the songs I used to sing to you.”…and then he starts to remember the songs of worship he used to sing in the night. He starts to remember the miracles he has seen God do and he starts to praise him. Remembering the goodness of God when we are feeling abandoned is a powerful choice but when we choose to go there it leads us to thanksgiving and praise and lifts us above our circumstances and to see where God really is.
If you are in a hard place right now start remembering times when you knew God’s closeness. Start remembering all the times he has rescued you and all he’s done for you and begin to thank him and praise him. Even whilst things may seem to remain the same I believe you will experience a shift in your heart towards God and in your circumstances. Let’s keep remembering how good he is because he is the God who makes a way where there is no way! He is the God of miracles!!
Photo credit to Ben White