Power of Prayer

Recently God has revealed to me just how powerful prayer is.

Yes, there have always been those times in life where I'd pray the little "God, can you help me ace this test?" and the next day when I get the test back a big, red A would be stamped on the paper. But I mean... Legitimate, deep things.

Have you ever experienced the thought/feeling that God isn't really listening? That out of all of the people in the world why would He listen to ME? That's kind of how I've felt... There are 6.8 million people out there in the world; what makes me so special that God would take the 2 minutes to listen to my measly prayer?

The answer is simple.

He loves ME.

Yup, He sure does, and that fact just makes me smile.

Back to the beginning though... 

Over the past couple of days I've realized just how much prayer should be a part of my life. Every morning when I wake up that is the first thing that I do. Even if it is simply thanking God for allowing me to wake up for another day... The last thing I do at night is thank Him for His faithfulness throughout the day, as hard or easy it might have been. At random times when I find my insecurities or worries popping up, I'll simply offer up a prayer of surrender and thanks to Him. It's amazing the difference that it makes! I challenge you to try it; just for one day. You'll realize how wonderful of a habit it is though, and keep on doing it... Don't blame me ;)

All of this leads to the main reason for this blog post though... My roommate and I have occasionally prayed together before going to bed. The last time that we did this we prayed about a specific friend who thought he/she was not going to be able to come back to Asbury due to a lack of funds. It is a heartbreaking situation, but we decided to give it to God. Well, last night before bed... Sarah told me that this person had discovered that she is more than likely coming back because the funds were provided! Isn't that just awesome??!??!!?? God is so faithful and just. He tells us to come to Him and He will give us the desires of our heart. 

Now make a note... That' DOESN'T always mean yes. It could be a "no" followed by a "I've got something even better planned for you..." I saw this picture [look above and to the right] on Pintrest the other day and it really got me.

It's so true. I unfortunately cannot control everything... But I am sure thankful that I know someone who CAN and DOES. He controls positively everything about my life. Such a reassuring fact.

Tonight I was really struggling with something... My roommate could just tell I was having a hard time. Needless to say I finally broke down and cried. That's big, because I DON'T cry if I can help it. But as I've quickly learned here at Asbury, it's better to get things out rather than let them boil up inside of me... [My mom will probably be rejoicing over this little statement! She's been telling me that for YEARS! :D] The next thing I knew, Sarah was sitting beside me on our cold, carpeted dorm room floor and just started praying. You can't even imagine the peace that flooded over me. All I simply needed to do was pray. Thank the Lord for Sarah for that reminder and just the sweet act of friendship she displayed by doing that.

I don't know where that situation will go... But it's in God's hands now. I'll let him take care of it. Afterall, who of us can add a day to our lives by worrying?