A Prayer of Faith

I had an interesting childhood, to say the least. One of these days I will write a blog series about it, and then you will all say, "Ah! Now I get it!" I won't go into a lot of details now, but I will tell you this. I grew up in a very charismatic household. When my dad got a hold of the Holy Ghost when I was nine, there was no stopping him. It was all so exciting, but it definitely led us down some paths that we would have been better off not taking. One of the things it did for me was really mess with my beliefs on prayer. We went from a somewhat boring Methodist church to the brimstone and hell fire Assemblies of God. That was fine until we decided to jump on the Word of Faith bandwagon. Name it, Claim it. We had pictures on our refrigerator of things my dad wanted. Not needed, but wanted. It was our right as the sons of God to live like the princes we are. Even now, I get a little squeamish thinking about it. Once I moved to Tallahassee, I was so happy to find a church that believed in the gifts of the Spirit without turning it into a "it's all about me" party. But I had a very hard time, and still do, with how to pray and what to pray. So I decided it was better to be safe than sorry. "Lord, your will be done." There. Safe. Covers all the bases. Because sometimes we don't agree with what God's will actually is. Sometimes bad things happen. And it's hard to believe that it might be God's will that it did happen. I do believe in the sovereignty of God. I do believe that everything happens for a reason. I do believe that God does what He will all for His Glory. It just doesn't seem to make sense sometimes. So, it's easier to be safe. But when I got a call this week that a precious friend of mine's daughter was literally fighting for her life, I found myself praying a new prayer. I prayed that she would live and not die. I prayed that His life and power would flow down to the very fingertips and toes of her body. I prayed that she and her family would not only have peace and comfort as they went through this, but also joy and laughter. I couldn't be safe any longer. My prayers had to mean more. And I don't know why this is happening. I don't know why a faithful and loving husband goes out for a run one evening and has a massive heart attack that ends his life. I don't know why a wonderful, giving family received a phone call that their house and everything in it burned to the ground. I don't know why a vivacious, beautiful 19 year old girl is lying in a hospital bed going thru the biggest battle of her life. I. just. don't. know. But I will tell you what I do know. I know that without these trials and hardships, the Body of Christ would have nothing to do. I know that we are to be His hands, His feet, His voice, working together to get through these times. Together. Functioning as One Body. And in that, I know He is glorified.