The Power of Prayer

During the past couple of months, I've been busy with book signings.

Because of spinal fusion, the bending and standing for lengthy periods has caused me much discomfort. Last Sunday night my right hip felt so weak I feared it might give way, so I went up for healing prayer. By the end of that prayer, my pain had eased to a dull ache. Next morning, I was pain free! Jesus is indeed the great healer.

The promise is in Psalm 103:2-3 "Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases".

What a promise from the great creator. I believed, and I have received and been healed. All praise goes to him.

Sometimes I doubt the power of our almighty God. I'm wondering if my doubts hold me back from receiving the healing he wants me to have. Jesus performed healing throughout his ministry and we learn about the many successes he had. God is with us through the holy spirit so there shouldn't be any reason why we can't receive his healing today in all areas of our lives.

Do you believe in God's healing power? Are you receiving strength and grace that is freely available to you?

If you're struggling emotionally, physcially or spiritually, I encourage you to ask for healing only Jesus can give. You'll be amazed at the results.

Praying Simply

Praying is a meaningful practice to get closer to God, but what happens when the words don't come? Sometimes, when I'm praying, God seems far away, and at other times he's here beside me, holding me and encouraging me. So why do I think he's far away sometimes?

As with everything in this life I'm living, I've come to realise I'm keeping some part of myself back from him. This is an unconscious action, but what that tells me is I'm not tuned in to the Holy Spirit. I'm allowing my ego to take over instead of trusting the Holy Spirit as the guiding force in me. When this happens my prayer is forced, disconnected and frustrating.

When I'm in tune with my spirit, I hear God speaking. He comes as a gentle voice, a prompt that says something like "not that way, try this way". By listening to this small voice I free up the kinks in the link between God and me. He only wants what's good for me. When I'm tuned to his will for my life, I can achieve more than I would normally do under my own steam. Through obedience, I've found I'm drawing closer to God and through that relationship, I'm learning the purpose he has for my life. The spin-off from this is a deeper connection in the relationships with people I meet every day.

So prayer for me is fundamental in making the connection with God at that extraordinary deep level he wants to be with us. Prayer starts a relationship with God. As I continue it becomes a trickle that grows to an ocean where it washes my spirit, calming and nurturing it, until I become compliant for God so he can use me for his purposes.

By taking the time to pray in a private place where I won't be disturbed, I ask my heavenly Father for his guidance. My Father already knows what I need before I ask him. Sometimes the words tumble out unceasingly and become a jumble of meaningless words, but he doesn't want to hear that. He wants to hear the words of my heart, to know what the deep concerns are, but he also wants me to keep it simple. We're instructed in Matthew 6:5-15 NIV to pray as follows:

"Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

Next time you're praying and you can't find the right words, pray the above prayer, because this is how Jesus teaches us to pray in the Bible. God hears this prayer, and he will answer according to His will and purpose for your life. No fancy words--a simple prayer is enough to connect with him in a powerful and meaningful way. Try it today and see his power in your life.

Leave a reply below and tell me about how He's worked in your life today.

Finishing ...

I've just completed my current work in progress. The last few weeks have felt like I've been swimming in a pool of glue. I was so keen to finalise the last draft, but I got stuck at chapter seven. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't continue on. This resulted in giving myself a swift talking to.

What created my demise? Self doubt. Ecclesiastes 1:3 came to mind -

"What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?"

I began to think, so why do I write here in my office all day long while the sun is shining outside? I hear the children laughing as they play; I hear the wind in the trees; and the cars going places. They all seem to have purpose, but what was I doing? Typing words into a computer. What for? Would there ever be any end to this writing work I'm doing? All these questions and more bombarded me from every corner of my mind. I was stuck on the last draft of my novel with another twenty-nine scenes still to edit. The work stretched before me seemingly endless. Will it ever be finished?

I sat back and took an honest look at where the work was going and the reason why I write novels. On the wall of my office I have my mission to "Inspire women to heal from past hurts and be the women God created them to be." If I didn't finish this draft, this manuscript had no chance of crossing a publisher's desk. That means I would not only fail in my work, but most importantly I would also fail the women I want to encourage. A half-baked manuscript wasn't going to reach anyone.

So I found a quiet spot and shared my frustrations with Jesus. We discussed my doubts, my human failings, my insecurities about my work. After sharing with Jesus my burden didn't seem so overwhelming. Jesus was faithful as always and gave me his mighty power to finish the work. He reminded me it's not about the end, it's about the journey and what we learn on that journey.

That wisdom was timely.