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The Power of Prayer

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  • The Power of Prayer

    Terry (a girl, but name spelled with a y) was a "tough" girl. Her dad died when she was small, and she, for whatever reason, saw herself as "the man of the house". Her mom was very meek and timid, and her younger sister was "such a girl".

    I actually wondered, way back then, if maybe Terry was a lesbian, because she seemed to play out 'that stereotype'.

    She was, nonetheless, part of our youth group - at that time about 18 years of age - and there was just something about her that kept her on my mind. She always seemed to be looking for something - always seemed to be 'pushing the limits'.

    I was the youth minister, and a very good friend of mine was a young deacon in the Church who was very interested in youth ministry. He and I decided we would band together to pray for this youth group and ask God to do something spectacular. (He did, but that's not this story)

    One of the things I suggested to David was that we, once a week, sit down and "pray over" the list of names of the kids in our youth group, one at a time.

    The very first time we did this, we began "praying down the list". We took turns praying for each person - about 30 names when we started this.

    Eventually, Terry's name came up. It was my turn to pray.

    I began to pray for Terry, then just welled up with tears, and my throat stopped up and I couldn't even talk. David reached over and squeezed my arm, and asked, "Do you feel THAT?" I don't know what David felt, but I did, indeed, feel something very powerful in the form of "go see her right now".

    We got up and went to my car, and drove to Terry's house. She was sitting on the front porch smoking a cigarette. We got out of the car, and David sat down next to her on one side, and I sat on the other. For whatever reason, neither of us spoke - we just sat there.

    Terry took a draw on her cigarette, let the smoke out of mouth and nostrils, and said, "I wondered if you would come".

    I asked her, "what's going on, Terry?"

    She said, as she began to sob, "I just can't deal with it anymore". David and I both put our arm around her, and she continued, "I have my daddy's gun on my bed. I told God I was tired of fighting, and I was going to finish this cigarette, then go to my bedroom and end it all".

    I honestly believe she was serious.

    David, normally a very quiet and shy guy, started praying for her. I remember parts of that prayer, and how it seems he knew exactly what she was going through, and was speaking directly to the confusion and frustration in her heart. I just hugged, and listened, David prayed, Terry wept.

    At some point, Terry cried out loud, "God, I'm sorry - PLEASE forgive me, and come into my life and save me!"

    As the three of us sat there, crying, praying, and praising, her Mom pulled into the driveway.

    All she said was "Thank you, Jesus, Thank you Jesus!" And she got on her knees in front of Terry and hugged her and kissed her and told her over and over "I love you, Terry".

    From that day on, Terry was a very vital part of our youth ministry. And, not to ignite the "gay" thing all over again, but the very next time I saw Terry later that week, she was a beautiful young woman, her personality totally transformed.

    Many times I have wondered how different this story could have turned out if David and I hadn't been kneeling in prayer, and felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to "go... now!"
    The first to state his case seems right until another comes and cross-examines him.
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