Tag: Answered prayer

And Without Faith…

On By CarmenIn Christian Living, Faith & TrustLeave a comment

As I continue from my last post, The LORD Will Provide, I would like to address the question many of us have asked—What if God doesn’t answer my prayer?

I will attempt to explain by what God says from His Word, the Holy Bible.

Also, I will use examples from my life so that you know a little about at least one person’s faith journey with Almighty God.

First, let me write about what God thinks of faith in Him and then I’ll end with a reminder of God’s sovereignty.

Faith Pleases God

In Hebrews 11, we are told simply that God is pleased with our faith in Him and He is displeased if we don’t have faith in Him.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him.

Hebrews 11:6

I have personally experienced God answer prayers that came from much seeking and trust in Him alone.

I can even testify to a miracle that I witnessed in my family (see my first post, God Still Performs Miracles) when I was willing to accept God’s will, and lay mine at His feet. I still prayed and asked, but I was resigned to accept whatever He chose as best.

We are told that we only need faith in God the size of a mustard seed. (Matthew 17:20)

This means that if we haven’t yet walked with God in faith, it’s okay to start with even an ounce of faith in Him.

Trusting God without knowing the outcome is blind faith. And we will have to walk with God not knowing but trusting.

Sometimes, our faith walk will be hard and we will have to go through difficult circumstances that we have no control over.

It is when we lay it all at the feet of Jesus, and trust Him blindly, that we position ourselves to see God’s blessings.

Then, as we see Him move and change our lives for the better, our faith increases.

By the way, God will continue to grow us up in faith with more challenges until we know that we know God is real and He loves us.   

God Gives Us His Best

Sometimes we don’t get the answer we are looking and praying for in our lives, but this does not mean that God has not heard our prayers or has abandoned us.

This may be a sign of Him wanting us to wait until we are ready to receive His blessing.

For His good reason, He has us wait until He has worked on us, somebody else, or even the situation so that there is no struggle or harm when He says yes.

When His answer is no, it is because He loves us and what we’re asking for will not be good for us.

I have seen God shut doors firmly to what I was praying and asking for.

One of them was a relationship that I wanted to turn into marriage and the other was a business that I had started and wanted it to grow to where I could provide for myself financially.

I held onto both of them and worked at them both for a while even though I didn’t see good results and was distraught over the idea of losing them.

Eventually, I couldn’t hold onto them any longer, and although painful, I knew I had to give them up and wait for God’s best.

I still believed that God loved me dearly, so I let go of what I wanted and trusted God for my future.

I didn’t know how or when God would provide, but I knew He was faithful to His word.

God’s goal was to first work a great transformation in my life. He started changing my thinking, my desires, as well as my behavior—to become more like Jesus.

I finally came to a point that I didn’t want anything in my life that was not a part of God’s will.

As I continued to seek after Him, read His word, and rely fully upon Him, I began to see that God had a better plan for me and resigned myself to wait for it.

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
    They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
    They will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

This scripture verse tells us that waiting upon the LORD for His best in our lives will bring us new strength, courage, and joy.

Today, I am happily married to a man who seeks after God, loves me dearly, and is absolutely my greatest love and best friend, besides God.

As for my vocation, I work from home (as I have wanted for many years) and I am free to serve God in various capacities, one of which is writing this blog.

I find great satisfaction in my life and I have not had to work so hard for it as I did in the past.

God has given me better than what I asked of Him, a lot of what I didn’t know I needed, and a life filled with deep joy, peace, and gratefulness to Him.

Thank You, my LORD Jesus.

God is Sovereign

God has always been and will always be LORD of all. He created all things for His own purposes.

He lovingly created mankind in His image and gave us dominion over all the earth.

This dominion does not mean that we are in charge or that we are capable of running things on our own.

Scripture tells us this very thing.

Many are the plans in a person’s heart,
    but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Proverbs 19:21

Therefore, it is wise for us to humble ourselves and submit our lives to our Creator.

If we cannot bring ourselves into existence, how can we be so bold to think that we have all the answers and ability to achieve our own desires and goals?   

How often have we…

made plans and changed our minds?

started something and could not finish it?

planned and executed precisely an idea only to see it fail?

I have done all of the above and I’m certain many would say the same.

We do not know what the future holds, only God does.

God has a purpose for everyone and everything He has created.

So, it is best to ask His will for our lives, follow Him completely, and be willing to make adjustments in our plans while we wait to see Him unfold His purpose for us.

It only requires our love for Him, our submission to Him, and faith in Him.

Let’s be thankful when He tells us yes, patient when He makes us wait, and submissive when He tells us no.

God makes all things (good and difficult, emphasis mine) work together for those who love Him and are called for His purposes. (Romans 8:28)

If we can’t look back and see God’s purpose and we still wonder why God allowed certain hardships in our lives, I am certain we will know one day when we follow Him and make it to Heaven.

I hope this message encourages you to keep faith in God and allow Him to work in your life no matter how difficult the circumstances.

Please join me for my next post, The Heroes of Faith.

May God bless you.

I’ve included a beautiful song by one of my favorite Christian groups.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.

Prayer That’s Powerful

On By CarmenIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

I have been wanting to write about prayer for some time, because I have personally seen God work miracles in my life and the life of others when we pray to Him and trust Him with the answer He gives us.

It’s important to know that God hears the prayers of His children.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 1 John 5:14

Prayer is a direct line to God and is welcomed by God. He wants you to communicate with Him and go to Him for your needs.

Prayer is a way for us to spend precious time with God and to draw near to Him. It is during times of quiet prayer that we often hear from God through the Holy Spirit what we should do when we are searching for answers.

And God is perfectly fine with you just spending time with Him in thankfulness and adoration.

Jesus tells us we must put God first in our lives.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you. Matthew 6:33

All these things refer to our basic needs—food, shelter, clothing, etc. In the sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus tells his followers to not worry about their needs in life, that God will provide because He already knows what they need.

Of course, we should not be lazy and wait for God to place our basic needs neatly in our laps. We should always work to achieve what we can and leave the rest to God. He knows our hearts and intentions and enables us to provide for ourselves. It is when we are not able that He intervenes by answering prayer in His loving, powerful way.

We should indeed ask God for what we need—according to His will.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

God is a good Father and He enjoys blessing His children just as you enjoy blessing yours.

This does not mean that if we pray for whatever we desire, God will give it to us. We must ask according to His will something that will be good for us now and in the future.

I’ve learned in seeking God that sometimes He says yes to my prayers, sometimes He says no, and sometimes His answer is delayed for the proper time to receive it.

For example, years ago when I was single, I was praying to God for a husband.

After some time seeking and asking God, I finally understood that He had to prepare me to be a good wife to the husband He would give me. He was not yet done molding me to be the wife I needed to be for the husband He was going to give me.

When I decided I would surrender it to Him—no matter how long it took—and wait for His best for me, God answered my prayer. He gave me a better husband than I asked for.  

Looking back, I am so happy that God did not give me who I wanted to be my husband at that time. Instead, He had someone in mind for me who would come along side me to be a loving husband and a great partner to achieve dreams that He has given me.

I believe that when we give our concerns to God and trust Him with His choices for our lives, we are blessed beyond what we could imagine.

God will give only His best to His children, not what will harm or destroy us.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. James 1:17-18

Firstfruits means the first and best of God’s creation. He placed man above all His creation on earth to be good stewards. He even made us in His image and gave us intelligence and abilities far above the rest of His creation.

God is good to us.  

He will not answer a prayer that will lead you into you sin or keep you in sin.

He will not answer a prayer that will do you harm.

He may choose to have you wait so that you can grow in your faith toward Him if you will seek Him and abide in Him. This is a good way to know God and to understand Him.

When we look back and understand that God did us a favor in saying no or making us wait for the right time, we appreciate His goodness toward us, and we trust Him even more.

I have come to realize that I am walking with God today because my dear grandmother prayed for me. She was the best grandmother anyone could have, and the greatest gift she gave me was her prayer over my life.

When we pray to God for something that we are concerned about and He says yes, we become captivated by His love for us.

In my first post, God Still Performs Miracles, I shared how my oldest brother was brain dead and I traveled home to say goodbye and to help my parents with the burial process. When I visited him in the ICU, all I could do was beg God for his salvation primarily and then for him to be given another chance to live. My family gathered around him and prayed that God would heal him completely.

AND HE DID!

I will never forget God’s goodness to my brother and my family during that week that I witnessed this miracle happen! It seemed impossible from our perspective, but NOT FOR GOD!

Jesus tells us when we pray together in His name, we are heard by our Father in heaven.

“Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” Matthew 18:19-20

Will you pray along with me?

A few of my current prayers are for a friend who was just diagnosed with brain cancer, a baby girl and a church member’s husband who both need heart transplants urgently, freedom from addiction for certain family members, Israel and Ukraine to overcome their enemies, and salvation for those who have not yet surrendered to our LORD Jesus Christ.

If you have any prayer requests that you would like to share, I’ll be happy to pray along with you.

I would like to close with a beautiful song by one of my favorite Christian artists.

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my previous posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.

God Still Performs Miracles

On By CarmenIn Faith & Trust, God's Character2 Comments

Welcome!

My name is Carmen and my goal for this blog is to share stories in my life and the lives of others to praise our Lord and Savior and to encourage others who may be going through a difficult time that He is indeed almighty God and He is in control of all our situations.


Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name;
make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wondrous works!

Psalm 105:1-2


Over the last couple of years, I have been seeking God’s will for my life, praying for and asking Him what’s next for this season of my life. It has recently become evident to me that I should start writing about the goodness of God after I witnessed a personal family miracle a little over a year ago.

I was called by my parents to inform me that my older brother was in the hospital in ICU and was severely brain impaired. My father told me that several doctors and nurses told him if my brother were to come out of the heavily sedated coma he was in, he would have less than 5% use of his brain. He would basically be a vegetable—he would not know who he was, who we were; he would not be able to speak or understand us; and he would not have control over bodily functions. He was basically brain dead. I immediately started clearing my schedule and trying to decide when I should leave to make the twelve-hour drive home. I called my nephew who is my brother’s only child and spoke with him about when I should go and what the doctors were saying about how much time he had to live. He told me that his dad was on life-support and he was going to sign a DNR for the medical team. He also told me that if I needed time to travel, he would hold off on disconnecting him from life support until I had a chance to see him.

I immediately began praying and contacted my prayer warrior friends all over the US to ask for prayer and God’s will (even though I understood it might not be what I personally wanted). Meanwhile, friends and family were praying here in the US and abroad.

I made the 12-hour trip in one day and went to see my brother the following morning with my father. He was intubated and hooked up to several monitors for his brain, heart, kidneys, and other vital functions. His eyes were closed and as I approached him in the ICU all I could do was pray. I prayed for his salvation mostly, but I also prayed that God would allow him to live as normal a life as possible. I knew that God could keep him from dying, but was not sure that He would. After all, my brother did this to himself.

While there, I spoke with the head nurse of the ICU and asked a lot of the same questions that my family had already asked. They wanted to give us hope, but their experience could only speak the hard facts that he would most likely not live or have a normal life. My nephew had signed the DNR and all we could do was pray and continue to visit him during visiting hours daily.

My mother came with us to see him that evening and I had already prepared to read him a scripture verse from the Bible. I asked God to show me which verse to read and I felt that Psalm 23 was the chosen one for that evening. I had predetermined that I didn’t care what my family thought of this as they are more private with their prayer and outward profession of faith. So, I read Psalm 23 at his bedside and we said goodnight telling him that we would be back in the morning. The next day we noticed that he was beginning to move his body some and trying to open his eyes. The nurses monitored him closely, and again we asked if there was any chance that he could come out of this. The nurse said yes, but most people in his condition don’t make it. My father told me that he spoke with a female nurse prior to me traveling there, and she said that she had seen a few people come back and get up and walk and talk again as if nothing had happened. She was telling him to not give up hope. Meanwhile, our family and friends kept praying and asking us how he was doing. We asked them to please keep praying.

     

“If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you,
you will ask what you desire, and it shall be
done for you.”

John 15:7

The third day, early in the morning around 6:00, the head nurse of the ICU called us and told us that my brother was staring at him intently as he was checking on him overnight. He went through a list of procedures of which I can’t recall now, but I do remember being filled with hope and praying to hear good news. I asked the nurse what he was trying to tell me and he replied that he wanted to give my brother more time. “It just so happened” that my nephew was ready to have the medical staff take him off life support this very day. We visited my brother as soon as visiting hours began and he was continuing to move and was opening his eyes a little. Later that evening, it seemed that he was trying to communicate with us, so I asked him to squeeze my hand if he understood me. I felt a slight motion and I told him that he needed to squeeze my hand harder—and he did! Not only was he starting to use his hands, he understood my requests! Thank you, Lord! Before we left, I led my family in prayer around him, holding his hands and asked God to heal him from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet.

I wrote “just so happened” because anyone who has experienced a miracle from God knows that it “didn’t just happen.”

It is God who brings the miracle and we should rightly give Him praise for it!



You are the God who works wonders; you have made
known your might among the peoples.

Psalm 77:14

We left the hospital that evening with renewed hope in our hearts and minds. The next morning, my father and I returned to the hospital ICU at the start of visiting hours and while we were walking in, the head nurse said to my father, “You are going to be very happy!” At the same time, I had glanced through the glass door into my brother’s room and he was reclining in his bed with most of the monitors taken off him. His eyes were open and he recognized me and started speaking faintly. He was his old cantankerous self! I am not much of a crier, but I can tell you that I shed some tears that morning. My father walked in with such a look of surprise on his face that was priceless. My nephew came in about five minutes later and his jaw had dropped in utter amazement. I texted my sister, “Your brother is back!” and she called immediately asking what I meant. I told her that he was alive and well. She was screaming and praising God so loudly that they had to close the door to his room. Soon after, a nephrologist came in to check on him and started asking him questions about who he was, and who my nephew, my dad, and I were. He answered all correctly! He even added that his other sister was on the phone with me. AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! To God be the glory!

The rest of the story:

My brother was moved to a regular room and stayed there for a couple of weeks before he was released. The hospital staff on that floor was glad to see him go. Did I mention that he was difficult? True to his personality, he refused all therapy and rehabilitation offered to him and was adamant about going home. After he was seen by the neurologist, he was finally released and was taken home. My concern was that he would not be able to take care of himself because he wasn’t walking when I left to go back home. A month or so went by and he showed up at my parents’ house to pick up his mail. He was walking without any aid!

I have experienced the Lord’s faithfulness in my life over the years and I can truly say that I have tasted and seen that the Lord is good!

God gave my brother another chance to live his life. Please pray with me that he will allow God to work in his life to let go of what put him near death. My prayer is that he would be fired up about overcoming his struggles and use his story as a testimony for the Lord.

I would like to end this post by linking a beautiful song that praises God for his goodness and faithfulness. May you be blessed.

“Goodness of God” – Bethel Music

If you want to have a relationship with God and are not sure how or where to start, see my posts Relationship with God and Relationship with God – Part 2.