“Have faith in God,” Jesus answered. “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” -Mark 11: 22-25Now on first read, I think, "WOW GOD! For real? Anything I ask for, if I believe hard enough it will happen? Done, a million dollars."
But wait, there's more:
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." -1 John 5: 14-15For the past few months I have been consciously changing my prayer life. Do you know what happened when I started praying for God's will to be done as opposed to my little plans to work out? I began to see God's will being done. I think I need to type that again with emphasis. GOD'S WILL WAS BEING DONE.
Let me share with you a few testimonies:
Excerpt from my journal: "God- I feel so lonely. I am so lonely. I know you are here. I know you hear me. But God this truly and utterly sucks. Please allow doors to open to let me feel your joy again. Please don't let my heart harden. I don't want to miss out when the people around me are trying to love me. I believe you have made me sensitive and caring. I believe you have made me an "all in" lover of people. I don't want to become jaded and hard hearted. You call me into a life of abundance. Help me see and share this with someone. Holding onto you. Amen"Answer: I cannot even begin to express the magnitude of joy I have experienced in my new friendships with Julie Franklin and Hayley Kelly. Truthfully...I was praying for a man. But God...he is so good and knows my heart so much better than I ever will. God opened the door to these two beautiful and honest friendships. I have never experienced anything like this. It is true discipleship. I have found someone to share my heart with open and honestly, I have found someone who I know will pray for me, and I have found someone who loves me wholly and without limits. It has been an awesome journey to be a witness to their ups and downs as they have been to mine. As sad as I am to leave them physically, I know that they have helped my heart stay mushy and kept it from hardening and building up a fort around it as I journey to seminary.
Prayer on the way home from Asbury: "Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. My heart is so weary. My heart hurts so much. My mind is so tired. I'm drained. My body aches and groans to find peace. God- I want to do exactly what you want me to do. I want to see your call for my life in a greater and richer way. I want to sprint towards you and not look back. God as a prisoner for the Lord, I want to live a life worthy of the calling I have received (Ephesians 4:1). God- Do not let me have to make a decision. Do not let me have to decide between two paths. My heart cannot even handle it. I think I might fall apart Jesus. Open each door, widely and with a door stop. This I pray boldly. Amen"
Answer: LITERALLY, LITERALLY not LITERALLY, FIGURATIVELY. Every single thing worked out. People keep asking me, if I'm nervous, sad, or anxious, but I am none of those things. Yes there are tears...I am a Martin, but they are tears of excitement and joy! I am so at peace about this journey. Every door that needed to open opened, everyone's support I needed, I received. I have not had one negative or doubtful conversation about going back to school. When I told people what I was going to be doing, they were all like, "Oh man...yes...that makes sense." You know that verse I quoted last time from Romans? Read and believe! "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28
Here is how prayer has changed Hayley Bond's life: "During the past 6 months I feel like I pray as much as I breathe. I found myself in such a broken place during my separation and divorce, that without prayer I would have collapsed into the depths of depression. Prayer is powerful and has been my shield and comfort through it all. I see God moving in me now, not because he has made himself more known, but because I have submitted to his will. He has been there all along.
Being faced with supporting
my daughter and I on my own for the first time was a scary thought. I prayed so desperately for God to provide
for us and for me to have the wisdom to discern what his will was. I became frustrated when I received 0 calls
for interviews in the months right after my divorce. Worry began to creep in. I began to seek God even more during this
time, praying that he would reveal his plan to me. I began to find peace and joy for the first
time in a long time, but I still had no idea how I would provide for my family. I was approached by a friend to think about
applying for a children’s ministry position during this time. I nodded politely and said I would think and
pray about it, but inside I was thinking “there is no way God would want me to
be a minister when I am divorced”. How
could I minister to others when I had been in such a broken place? On my way home from church services that
Wednesday night I began to think about the position and warm wave of peace
washed over me. I felt like God was
calling me and that there was a plan that he wanted me to be a part of. Even after that I tried to dismiss the
idea. Pursuing a teaching job would
provide better financially. I felt such
a strong calling from God that I continued to pray about the job for 10
days. On day 5 I was feeling
particularly lost and down hearted.
After a run I lied down in the bottom of my shower and cried out to
God. I prayed “God, I know you have a
plan that is greater than I can comprehend.
I now you are preparing me for something, but I am drowning! I need
something. I need a little glimpse of
what you want for me because I am at rock bottom." I dried myself off and sank on the
couch. A few minutes later I received a
message from a friend at the church encouraging me to apply. Every day after that for the next 5 days I
received Facebook messages, phone calls, and texts from people asking me to
consider the position. God answered my
prayer and gave me what I needed. I
found peace in doing God’s will and submitted to what he wanted. I knew that if God wanted me in this position,
that he would provide everything I needed.
Even if that meant living with my parents longer than I wanted to. I was excited to follow him and ready for
whatever that would look like. I applied
for the job praying that God would show the committee who was supposed to be in
the position. I did not pray to get the
job because I wanted what was best for the church. After my interview, I was offered the position.
Another way I have clearly seen God work is through my daughter. After my daughter had spent a week with her father, I was crying to a friend about how hard the transition was going to be when I picked her up. I knew she would miss him (He lives 5 hours away and sees her once a month since our divorce.) I knew she wouldn't totally understand and I couldn't bear the thought of her broken heart. I also knew there was a possibility that she wouldn't want to leave and not be excited to see me. My friend told me that she would pray for God to guard her heart and that it would all be ok. After hearing those words, I came to the hard realization that I didn't intentionally pray for my daughter. As a "fixer" I would pray for strength for myself to be a better mom, but not specifically for her. How could I not be doing that?!? I truly prayed for her that night and felt at peace. The next day, I drove to pick her up and God blessed me beyond belief to have one of the smoothest transitions to date. My prayers were answered for my sweet girl. She was happy and somehow "ok" about it all. God is so good!"
----I would love to pray for you and your needs. Please feel free to message me or comment your prayers and know they will be prayed over with and in confidence. Be bold as you pray for God's will to be done. Keep going prayer warriors! -Sarah
Ever growing steadfast. And if need be the one that’s in the gap. Be the never turning back. Twice the heart any man could have
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