“YES!!!”
I cried as I lay defeated on a bridge between two Himalaya Mountains in Nepal about 15 months ago.
“YES!!! All I want is you! I can’t do this anymore in my own strength! Please, do what you must do in me so that you may do what you desire to do through me!”
If I only knew the power of that prayer, if I only knew where that would take me, if only I knew the level of intimacy I was about to enter into, if I only knew the hardships I would go through…..if only.
“Let me see miracles! Let me see people healed! Let me see your power!”
I prayed this over and over and over that day on the bridge until God spoke.
“What more would it take to make you believe? More fire from the sky? Another part in the sea? The honest truth is you don’t have the power to see, but let me take you on this journey. It all started with Me. My grace is sufficient, my power is made perfect in weakness, so come as you are.”
So I came, just as I was. Month after month I praised God in so many countries. One of those countries being Cambodia. Oh Cambodia. Easily one of the most challenging ministries I have ever been a part of.
While there I came across a village that was destroyed by the government. The government came to a group of people saying, “We are going to build a mall on your land. We need you to move right now, but don’t worry we will give you a new and better piece of land. Yes, we will give you houses, land, electricity, etc.”
They lied. They moved this village, put them on a new empty plot of land and said, “Figure it out.”
Then I showed up. I saw so many families living under blue tarps, the land completely flooded, families starving, and worse…pregnant women who were starving.
“What could we do?” I kept thinking to myself.
“Pray!” is all I could hear God say.
“No! What can I do physically!? God, please! I must see the fruit of my labor!” I cried out.
“People must remove the rocks and the weeds for the ground to become fertile enough for fruit. That’s why you are here. So pray for provision, pray for freedom, pray for redemption, and pray for fertile land.”
So I prayed. A group of us prayed over pregnant women. We prayed over newborns. We prayed over the land. We declared that it was God’s. We did this all month, we prayed as we went to new countries, and we declared truths over that village even after we left the Race.
Well, I’m back. I’m back in Cambodia and I am blessed to be back at this ministry, and guess what? I went back to that village yesterday and you know what…God showed up.
As I pulled up to this village in the car all I could see was provision. Where there used to be blue tarps now stood houses! Where there was once flooding now was dry land with children running around laughing! Roads, smiles, food, laughter, joy, hope, JESUS! The houses even had solar panels providing electricity for the families! Next to the village was a beautifully constructed building.
I stepped foot in this building and before I knew it several people from the village gathered around us to hear about the gospel. So I spoke. I spoke about his provision, the beauty of perseverance in the face of persecution, the power of prayer, the power of a loving Father who desires so badly to have an intimate personal relationship with each and every single one of them.
Then I saw them. I saw the pregnant women who were starving. The women we prayed over. And what were they holding? They were holding beautiful healthy babies!
Not only did he provide physically, but now this village is coming to know Jesus as a savior! People who once rejected Jesus where gathering together singing hymns!
My God! How great is your name!
God has ascended amid shouts of joy,
The Lord amid the sounding of trumpets
Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.
For God is the King of all the earth;
Sing to him a psalm of praise.
Psalm 47:5-7
Are you okay with never seeing the fruit of your ministry? Are you okay if your life is called to remove the rocks and the weeds so that the generation that comes after you may reap the harvest? Do you trust Him to carry it to completion?
Every great movement of love in the Kingdom of heaven has godly men and women persevering in prayer in the background. Men and women who will go unnoticed in this world, but they know God will get all the glory for He deserves it all (Isaiah 48:11). Are you okay with playing the background?
A portion of the village. This use to be flooded grounds with people living under blue tarps.
