On my blog Prayer page, I received the following comment and request from Judy. She says “Please pray for my daughter Sheila McLean. She just found out this past Friday that she has a mass, the size of a quarter, in her lung and a spot on the kidney, and they both are malignant”.
Oh. My heart just nearly stopped. I remember as if it were yesterday when my sous-chef dishwashing mom received the phone call that changed our life. Her mammogram biopsy was malignant and she needed treatment to start right away. Heart stopping — that is what happens when you hear CANCER.
As the fear starts rising up it takes everything a person has inside to say “No, I will not fear.” That is the time to turn to scripture, turn to God and let His strength replace our weakness. It is easier to say than to do. However, I have to believe He knows that and that is why we read 365 times “fear not” in His Word. He knows we fear!
When prayer replaces fear I have seen God move in ways that can be only described as supernatural. I found a series on Focus On The Family about prayer. I am reprinting the titles and linking to their website because I am living proof that prayer changes everything.
“Hear my prayer, O LORD, listen to my cry for help.” –Psalm 39:12 (NIV)
Prayer and The Difference It Makes
“Prayer is an open door which none can shut,” wrote Charles Spurgeon in “Morning and Evening.” “Devils may surround you on all sides,” he continued, “but the way upward is always open, and as long as that road is unobstructed, you will not fall into the enemy’s hand.”
2 Chronicles 30:27 (MSG)
The priests and Levites had the last word: they stood and blessed the people. And God listened, listened as the ascending sound of their prayers entered his holy heaven.
Prayer Has Its Reasons
Pray with Simplicity Matthew 6:5
“And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
Learning From The Prayer Life of Jesus
Ask for What You Need
One day he was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said, “Master, teach us to pray just as John taught his disciples.” Luke 11:1
It is a privilege to pray for Judy and Sheila. I know prayer makes a difference in our world. But it is up to us to offer our prayers humbly and regularly with praise and thanksgiving to the one who created us, hears us, and loves us.
Blessings, Catherine
What a blessing this post is this morning. My daughter fell from a ladder late yesterday, knocking her unconscious for several minutes. She was rushed by EMS to a trauma center and after many tests was discharged. I prayed ongoingly as we rushed there . Please pray that God will not allow any residual affects to her brain or body.
Nancy, as I am praying for your daughter I am also praying for you because I know how Satan loves to attack us in our weakness, which is worry. How is she doing now? Blessings, Catherine
Thank you! Sometimes we forget about how powerful prayers are when terrible things walk into our lives. This is a wonderful reminder.
Terri, I can’t imagine life without prayer because I see God working through prayer constantly! Thank you for your sweet comment.