Encouragement

This morning I was praying about the healing seminar we're hosting at church and thinking about my own journey with praying for healing. I've been praying for my friend Liz's dad Jerry since he went into surgery for a brain tumor before Thanksgiving. He's had bad days and good days but is still in the hospital. I've laid hands on people and prayed for healing numerous times but have not seen miracles like I want to. I was getting discouraged that maybe I'm not praying right or that maybe my prayers won't get answered the way I want them to. The Lord gave me 1 Thessalonians 3:1-6 which talks about being encouraged in the faith and then he said to turn to pg. 147 in Bill Johnson's Strengthen Yourself in the Lord.

"God has already pursued us with a love so totally overwhelming that it will take all of eternity to plumb its depths. But He protects the opportunities that we have to use our will to pursue Him. That's how faith works. If He says He will catch us, we jump because only when we jump, can He do what he promised. Only as we step out to do the supernatural things He has asked of us can we appropriate the supernatural power He's already given us to achieve these impossible tasks. "

I went to work this morning rejoicing in the Lord who gives me strength. I also prayed again for Jerry and prayed for my friend Kristen's mom who underwent surgery for cancer. I had previously prayed to guide the doctors hands and was praying that she would have a speedy recovery.

I talked to Kristen this morning regarding her mom's cancer surgery and she said. "This is God! My mom's surgeon said it was only stage 2 cancer, he was able to get it all and that it hadn't penetrated the muscle so the chances of it's recurrence was less likely. She also said that her mom had to have nail polished removed from a recent pedicure and manicure she had done because she couldn't have nail polish on while in surgery. During the removal she struck up a conversation with another woman who ended up being the nurse of a breast cancer surgeon/oncologist, only 2 in the nation, and she is now going to have her breast cancer taken care of by this surgeon. Kristen's mom called her today to tell her about it because she thought it was Saturday, not a workday, or she wouldn't have called until tomorrow.

God is so faithful. That even in the midst of my discouragement he encouraged me that he does answer my prayers and to keep on praying. I hope this encourages you and that you will pursue God with all your heart.