The “supernatural” happened to me on Friday and I just have to share…….
Friday I posted on my personal Facebook wall a request for prayer to help me finish book number 2. You see, I have been trying to finish this book since October. There have been many road blocks…some of my own doing and some…out of my control! Many people prayed on Friday–as an answer to so many prayers–God sent and army!!!!
I had been out of town for Thanksgiving. On top of that, my dad was in the hospital with major health problems so as I arrived home this week I realized…I had agreed to have two parties in our home over the next few days. If you have ever given a party at your house…you know…how stressful that can be!
On top of the parties and preparing, I had offered to keep “devil dog” for our oldest son who is kindly caddying for our middle son in his first professional event. Needless to say….devil dog has been a devil………! (I won’t elaborate…let your imagination run wild…about a year old lab…inside my house!!!!) I also have been renovating our downstairs office. Back 9 Ministries is growing and our office downstairs needed work. Friday was the day for everything to be finished and this meant a “cavalry of people” making it happen!
The Psalms are filled with requests in prayer much like I needed on Friday.
Psalm 4:1, “Answer me when I call to you, my righteous God. Give me relief from my distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 5:2, “Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray.”
After the post Friday morning, our youth pastor, who is a very busy man–with a new baby due any day (since I wrote this post, Hank was born on Monday)–showed up to help me with edits. He is an English major, finishing his PH.D. in theology! I love Frank, Ericka and their son, IV. That family showed up and showed out to help me in a real time of need. By the way, Friday is Frank’s only day off.
Second, my friend and decorator, Shannon, showed up and, out of the kindness of her heart, used her God-given talent to help me with the house and brought another dear friend, Joe to make flower arrangements for both parties, which I didn’t ask her to do. They changed lightbulbs that were difficult to change. Our friend Steve even delivered a printer at the last minute after a last minute text!
Things happened for me Friday that can only be explained as an answer to prayer! The timing was perfect. God had His people to show up and show out! Seriously, I was so overwhelmed that I pulled my car in the garage and forgot to put it in park. I felt like God had put me on a “moving sidewalk”. There was such a flurry of activity going on that my head was spinning. I was so busy that I didn’t even have time to have butterflies about how Thomas was doing in his first professional golf tournament.
I wasn’t clued in until Collins’ boyfriend texted me late Friday afternoon and said, “T is making a move!” I had to text back and say, “Tell me what you mean?” It is the first time that I can remember any of our kids playing in an event where I wasn’t very conscious all day and mindful of them in my thoughts and prayers. Mike texted back and said, “T is 5 under today…going from 55th place to 15th with one day more left to play!”
My head really started spinning then. I had an army of people in my house who love our entire family and they all stopped to celebrate Thomas’ day with me! Usually when I get news like that I am by myself but Friday I was surrounded with people….who seemed to be more excited than me….just an extra hug from God.
Let me explain something here. Last week, while at my dad’s, I started to look ahead and had a choking feeling about all that lay ahead of me–responsibilities….that were mine….and mine alone.
I was confident that I was supposed to be doing all that lay ahead of me. I had taken it before God and He had directed, but I had a lot of unexpected to come my way. Stuff that I just didn’t see coming. But God knew.
I prayed to God, “I know that you wanted me to do all these things….I prayed about it and I know I heard you God….I need your help…..I am very overwhelmed…please God help me!” That was my prayer on Monday and by Friday, which was Go Day, in my quiet time I was led to post and ask for more prayer. I even posted that it was a “minor request in the grand scheme of things”. I was reminded by one of my Facebook friends that nothing is minor to God!
That is the whole point of the post…..NOTHING taken to God in prayer is minor!
I can personally tell you, because I am a firsthand witness, that I have learned to pray about and seek God in the big and small of life….to the best of my ability. To do this, I have had to slow down, get up earlier and, at some points, stop in the middle of what I was doing to seek HIM OUT! If you are not accustomed to doing this, I urge you with everything in me to seek God in EVERYTHING….BIG AND SMALL.
Take everything to Him and let Him guide you. He is God. He is omnipotent and omni-present. HE CAN HANDLE AND GUIDE ALL things in your life. I was encouraged six years ago to do just this very thing. It took some intention on my part to TAKE EVERYTHING, big and small, to Him.
What has happened by doing this? I SEE HIS HAND IN MY LIFE ALL THE TIME. Seriously, by involving God in everything, it has been a “watershed” of seeing Him and feeling His presence daily like I have never experienced before in my life…!
Just think about it–if you Seek a Holy and all-powerful God in the big and small….He will show up. It hasn’t always been fun days like I had on Friday. It has also been on days like April 16, 2014, the day I watched my mother die…the comfort in the horrific!
I encourage you–evoke the self-discipline and humble yourself before God….Seek HIM in ALL of LIFE….You will not be disappointed!
Psalm 17:6, “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.”
Psalm 141:2, “May my prayer be set before you like incense; may the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.”