The power of prayer is something, if I’m being completely honest, I didn’t believe in. I thought it was a cop out people used if they couldn’t explain why and needed an answer. What I didn’t realize is that’s exactly what prayer is. When we cannot understand God, praying in our weakness or doubt is the best way to display that asking Him is the answer.
Romans 8:26-28
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Over the past month, learning about prayer and relying on the Lord has been very difficult for me to grasp. Like a lot of things, if I can’t see it it becomes very difficult to comprehend. But what’s more concerning is that if that is indeed what I believe, then what is the point of faith?
1 Peter 1:6-9
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
In Bishkek, we worked with college students; it’s amazing to see how the simple act of showing the love of Christ goes so much farther than shoving the gospel in people’s face to check your “I spread the gospel today” check box. Approaching the end of the month, we knew we were going to enter into a lot of unknowns. Where would we go? How would we get there? Would we travel as a squad or in teams?
The squad had a lot of ideas about where we felt called. Some to Jordan, some to Europe, and my pull was to serve in Greece. For starters, my dad always said that was the one place he wished he could go. Secondly, have you seen pictures of Greece? It’s unreal how beautiful it is there! All selfish reasons, so I started covering the decision in prayer. I asked the Lord to take away any selfish desires for why I might want to go there, and replace it with His vision for these next few months. I started asking for signs, dreams, and pictures (all foreign concepts to me). Anytime I would see pictures of Greece or color schemes resembling their flag, I would ask myself, “Is that Gods way of communicating to me?”
I began reaching out to other world race teams who had gone to Greece. Any research or contact I could find I was pursuing, boldly moving forward with the assurance that God would close the doors if He didn’t want it. I continued to pray for clarity about what to do, and though messages and emails were being returned, there was never a definite yes.
We reached Estana, Kazakhstan and as teams, we took some time on the shores of the Caspian Sea to pray about what the Lord had in store. Going into this prayer time I was very nervous; hearing the voice of God for me is like a child transitioning from milk to solid foods. I closed my eyes and once again asked for pictures, words, or anything that would clarify what our team should do concerning the first leg of travel: Azerbaijan or Georgia.
If you know me, you know that sports are not one of my passions. I can appreciate those who enjoy it, but it’s definitely not something my mind naturally reverts to; news flash, God can speak to us in anyway He so pleases. As I was praying, I got a picture of a black and red jersey with the number 11 on the back. One of my teammates, Tandi, is knowledgable concerning numbers and their biblical meanings; 11 means chaos.
“Ok God. So chaos, but what about red and…”
I suddenly realized that the colors for the University of Georgia are red and black. Was God trying to tell me if we went to Georgia that it would be utter chaos? Timidly I shared with the team what the Lord showed me. We all got various words and pictures, but Tandi felt a strong pull to Azerbaijan. Like I said above, sometimes you cannot explain God and the way He works. Tandi’s strong feeling wasn’t just a coincidence; it was from the Holy Spirit.
Still, the other half of the team was getting words and pictures that were in favor of Georgia. We were split 50-50. What to do? God what do you want for us? Being the team leader, my people-pleasing fleshly nature began to kick in.
“God what if I make the wrong call and the team blames me? I do not want to hurt people’s feelings? What if the jersey was just a random thought in my head?” And with that uncertainty, we boarded the ferry across Caspian Sea.
On the second day, we were having dinner on the ship and the team got together to make the final call. As we began talking and reviewing the pictures and words we got, the strongest pull was Tandi’s feeling for Azerbaijan.
“The Lord HAS given us an answer,” proclaimed Nathan, and he was right.
The Lord had been clear with us. We were just too scared to actually step into what He called us to, especially me. We reached Azerbaijan at 1 am, and after another hour finally found taxi’s. It took us another hour to get to Baku, only to find out that there were no hostels available. We slept on the street in the middle of a small area in town. It was nice and protected by night guards, but after not showering and little sleep, it was a bit discouraging. All of us on the street, falling asleep, praying for God to show up.
John 10:14-15
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.
At around 6 (so four hours after sleeping in the street), Casey and Nathan were approached by a random guy who probably just wanted us out of the street.
He asked Casey, “Hostel?”
“Yes,” she responded hopefully.
He drove both Nathan and Casey to a hostel that was in budget and ready to take us all in at 7 in the morning! We get there to find beds, a shower, and clean towels. The man that helped us find the hostel did it for free, which kept us in our daily transport budget! Could we have asked for more favor? (Apparently we can) On top of that, I checked my emails and I was contacted by one of the people I had reached out to concerning Greece! Turns out they would be thrilled to have a team and she gave me all the details of our trip and even recommended hostels!
We got up to the room and said a quick prayer, praising God for the ways He provided for His children! I encourage you, if you think prayer is a phony, think again. Ask God for something you think is impossible, and in His perfect timing He will answer it in a way that you can’t even imagine!
