This Might Change the World – Part 2

So yesterday I was talking to you about prayer. It’s so much more important than I ever thought. I might have come to the conclusion that as a Christian, prayer is the most important thing we can do. God is waiting for His saints to cry out in believing prayer to release the inheritance He has promised. And our job in this process is to ask. Walk with me through this process and let’s dream how we might change the world through our prayers… 

Okay, so first off, do I understand exactly how this all works together? No I really don’t. But the Bible is very clear that 1) God works through the prayers of men and 2) The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective (James 5:16). I struggled in Cambodia for a few days, not really believing this as truth. I had prayed for a few things and didn’t seem to see a response from God. My prayers quickly became empty, full of unbelief. That was until God sharply reminded me of this little ditty in James 1.

“5 If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6 But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

Hmmm…that one hurt a little bit. I reflected on my prayer life as a whole, and sadly I realized my prayers were filled with some doubt that God probably wouldn’t do what I was asking. This is all beginning to make sense now…

So, with my new found faith in prayer, I set out excited to see what God might do. Quickly, God brought to my mind a few people to intercede for, including one of my best friends, Ryan. I started out pretty basic, just asking God to meet with Ryan blah blah blah. Then, for some reason I began praying that God would be with him through this trial. That Ryan would glory in this trial because trials develop perseverance, trials refine our faith, trials make us complete lacking in nothing (James 1:2-3). I prayed that God would use this trial to make Ryan so much more like Christ. Stripping away everything that is not of God and replacing it with the fullness of Christ. I felt kinda weird for praying this. Why would I be praying for strength in a trial when I have no idea what is going on in his life. But for some reason every time I thought about him, those were the words that came out.

This lasted about three days, but on the fourth day my prayers began to change. I prayed that God would comfort Ryan.  That God would surround Him with His loving arms and that Ryan would know how much God loves him. That God would unveil any clouds that were preventing Ryan from seeing His glories. Then after another two days, again my prayers changed. Now they were God give Ryan joy and happiness through this trial. Cover Ryan in the “peace that passes all understanding.” Let Ryan’s joy of the Lord be seen by everyone around him. And that when people look at Ryan they see Christ. 

Now let me remind you that I was in the village of Umpil (well actually the Khemer language doesn’t use English letters so no one really knows how it is spelled). We had no electricity and definitely no internet. I had no contact with the outside world. I had no idea what was going on in Ryan’s life. I thought it was kinda weird that I was praying for something specifically, but that’s what kept coming out. Who am I to ignore the Holy Spirits’ urges to pray? 

 

Well I returned to Phnom Penh and internet access the other day. My team, eager to catch up on emails and facebook messages, quickly set out for the mall. I couldn’t wait to send a message to Ryan and ask what God had been doing in his life, because I just knew that God was hearing and responding to my prayers. I hopped on facebook and it turned out that Ryan beat me to the punch. I had received a message sent two days before from Ryan with the subject reading: “prayer request.” Here was the message he sent…

Hey Dan it’s your bro Ryan! I haven’t talked with you in awhile but I’ve been keeping up with your incredible blog friend! It’s so wonderful to see the living heart inside of you change and transform each day! 🙂 But anyways I wanted to ask you to pray for me, I had something happen to me last night here in Great Bend, my apartment burnt down to the ground and I lost about everything I own and I don’t have renters insurance so I think you get the picture. Whatever it is God puts on your heart to pray about on this tribulation I’m experiencing please take action on it! I really need your prayer and believing because it is powerful and effective thing God created. Satan stole all my riches and possessions from my very own home and I’m left with little. But I will still give thanks and be content with what I do have because He has told his followers “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Thank you Danny Love and Miss you a bunch!

Yeah…That just happened. God had me praying through every aspect of this catastrophe BEFORE it happened. Through my prayers God was preparing Ryan to receive this trial and be made more like Him. Do I think God caused the fire? Absolutely not. But I do believe God knew that this experience would cleanse Ryan of materialism. That Ryan would have to put his hope in God, the only thing that does not change, the only one that will not let us down. I responded to Ryan’s message with compassion and told Him everything that I had been praying for. That I knew my prayers had been answerd. Ryan sent back to me this message:

Dan! Thank you so much for sharing your heart with me during this incredibly hard time! I’m so thankful for your faithfulness to God our Savior because if you hadn’t interceded like you did my heart may have not responded rightly! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule and ministry, to pour encouragement into the depths of my soul. I’m so thankful for the dedication and courage you consistently bring to the Body! James 1:2-4 has been ringing daily in my heart and I’ve felt it’s warmth comfort throughout! Gosh Our God is so Good Danny! I never thought losing so many soul clinging possessions would feel so magnificent. I feel freer from this world than I have in my entire life. I’ve been asking Christ to open up a door for me to live with much less and well this is my chance. I don’t have to be overseas to experience it! 🙂 Love you so much brother I’ll be praying for you and your journey!