There's a woman I know who's battled cervical cancer for years. Two years ago, God laid her upon my heart while she was in remission, and I didn't know why because I don't know her all that well. One year ago, she relapsed. She was unable to eat solid food for months and spent a lot of time being fed in the hospital through tubes. Her outlook was very grim, to put it mildly.
Today she found out she's cancer free. That woman's name is Diann Hunt.
There's a baby I know who was born April 12th of last year at 23 weeks of age. In some states, abortion is still legal at this stage. Pierce was born weighing in at a grand total of 1 pound and 8 ounces. In the days that followed, his parents were told that his fatality was certain. Doctors did everything they could to save Pierce, but too many things were going wrong, and his potassium levels were so high (9.9), his outlook seemed completely hopeless. His heart was supposed to stop beating. But it did not. Pierce kept living, kept growing strong, defying all odds.
Today he weighs over 19 pounds, is developing well, and continues to defy all odds. If you would like to follow Pierce's journey or read his miracle story, his mom Lindsay writes a beautiful blog at http://littlebabypierce.blogspot.com. The picture above shows Pierce next to an ink pen shortly after he was born. The picture below shows a comparison a year later. God is good.
I'm writing this blog today because God has put his healing power on my heart. I believe that the God of the Bible is still doing miracles today, and that there is hope for our lives. We get used to the power of God when we've been in church long enough. We're used to His story of mercy, to conviction in our lives. But we need to open our eyes.
Do you believe that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective? Do you pray like that? Think about how much more we could accomplish in our daily activities and our prayer lives if we saw the person God wants us to be and allowed that to be the person we are, allowed that to shape the kind of prayers we pray.
If you knew your prayers to God were powerful and effective, would it change the way you pray today? Maybe you've forgotten what it even feels like to pray that way. Something I've been learning lately is what it means to come to God like a little child. Maybe encourages you too.
When we start believing who we are in Christ, miracles happen in our lives.
It seems fitting that we welcome prayer requests on the blog today, so if something is laying on your heart and you'd like to mention it to us (or even just to mention that you'd like prayer), please feel comfortable doing so. I believe that God is wanting to do something in your life.
While we're on the topic of prayer, if you're having trouble staying focused in the presence of God (and don't we all struggle with that sometimes?) I wanted to mention that recently I've been listening to worship music on Pandora that has really helped focus my mind. Just go to Pandora and search something like "Bethel Music."
*Prayer photo from http://www.nyuseed.com/2009/0405/pray-for-new-york-city/
