Contributed by Columnist Sarah Hudson Pierce
Alfred Lord Tennyson said “more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of.”
A friend recalled that her alcoholic father overheard his wife praying out loud, not realizing that he had just walked into the door late at night. She pleaded “you have got to help me or I am going to have to leave my husband because all of our grocery money is being spent on alcohol.”
The husband was so overwhelmed by his wife’s prayer that he immediately stopped drinking and never touched another drop.
Shortly thereafter, his wife placed a plaque in their living room that read: “prayer changes things.”
From the backwoods of Arkansas, before going into an orphanage, to today, God has had His hand on my life whether I deserved it or not, pulling me out of tight places that would have destroyed me had He not rescued me.
I have so many stories that just keep coming to me that I’ve never written about. I must get right on it!
We are told in Matthew 6:6 “But thou, when thou pray enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which sees in secret shall reward thee openly.”
Prayer works!
He has never left me stranded.
Some of my experiences are too personal to write about.
As though waiting in the wings — answers came out of the blue!
We all feel vulnerable and hesitate to share our secrets and our deepest fears – yet it’s in being open, we reach out and give others hope.
People have to know we care, that we are not just reaching out because we are on some paid staff. Caring comes across in so many ways, whether we know it or not.
We can’t fake caring.
Having witnessed floods on every hand across the nation, and around the world, I can’t help but wonder how many prayers have been uttered behind closed doors, or did we just run for our pumps and sandbags to protect our homes while we listened to the weather channel. Do we put our trust in Him or in our ability to make it on our own?
The truth is we can’t make it without His help.
I believe that God demands us to acknowledge Him for who He is – our creator – our protector, – the God of our lives – and not in some pious – holier than thou art way.
He made us for Himself and He will get us to the right place at the right time.
Contact Sarah at [email protected]