In the Unseen

        In the Unseen

God hears our every prayer.

“Do not lack diligence in zeal; be fervent in the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer.” Romans 12:11

We have been recently doing a series about bold prayers. I am seeing this common denominator around all the churches. That prayer is what we do as a church. That prayer is how God moves within lives. Prayer is still one of those things that we can say to people that don’t have a relationship with Jesus yet that won’t cause them to shut us down. “Can I pray for you?” or “How can I pray for you?” I even asked a little one yesterday as he was having discomfort from a bandage all down his arm because he kept scratching. He came to me in tears and I knew it just wasn’t the bandage but the rough morning and asked him, “Can I pray for you?” To which he nodded yes so I did. 

All throughout the Bible we have examples of people praying. Some were examples of people that knew God but others were those mustard seed size prayers of faith. Those people that knew a little about God and prayer but were wanting more. Even those people that knew God had started out with those mustard seed sized prayers. Like my friend Kimmy. 

As a newly diagnosed person with MS I noticed something right away when it came to support. There wasn’t any. There was a little but the majority was fear based. Fear of the unknown. Fear of what the disease could do? So I would pray for other people that were newly diagnosed to come into my life because I knew if I was feeling the fear so many others would be. It was one of those simple prayers, “Lead me to others that have this disease” but it came in a way that would change my life as well as my friend's. 

It was on an app for MS that I met her. We lived in different states but shared the new diagnosis together.  I had a relationship with Jesus but she didn’t know much about him. Four years ago God was taking both of us on a completely different journey. After spending time on the phone with Kimmy I knew she needed a community. She was starting to seek God with all her heart. She had been to churches before but this was different. She was looking for somewhere different, not just the same as she had grown up with.  She didn’t know of any churches around her area that led me to do a google search. She had mentioned she was watching “Chosen” at the time and God was starting to show her things through the show that led her to reading her Bible. So as I searched I came across a church that was doing a sermon series on, “Chosen” and told her about it. She went. She is now doing a bible study in that same church. When I saw that last night on Facebook I almost started crying. How God could allow me to see Him work within Kimmy’s life would start something within me. Seeing how hungry Kimmy was to know the heart of God made me hungrier. Watching her faith grow still causes me to remember when I don’t see those results from prayers prayed. I have got to meet Kimmy face to face and spend time with her and still text her writings each time I share a new writing. We are connected in a way that is beyond our understanding. 

Sometimes God allows us to see how He works and sometimes He doesn’t. That is always going to be the fight within my heart and mind. It is a battle ground but God is the One who fights for me. Again, the choice is mine. And sometimes I remember this but a large amount of time I don’t. Then I see things like with my friend Kimmy that will cause me to tear up and remember. “Father forgive me when I forget and help me to remember.” 

We are free to pray. When we pray God moves. It isn’t just in us but in so many things unseen. God has been teaching me that lately. Keep praying. He is listening. Keep praying because things will move. 

Kimmy is just one example. Kimmy who works in a casino is being used in a way that only God could use her. We have all been placed in our unique situations as partners with Jesus to reveal the heart of God. In the little one with the bandaged elbow having a hard day, to the neighbor that has just shared some really bad news, to the person that has just been given a diagnosis, to the resident who sits in prison waiting to go home. 

So what if we prayed for opportunities for God to move? What would happen then?