14
July 2017 - Prayer Marathon – Special Devotion by Dorothy Callies
Last
Tuesday, his Orthro Doctor said that Tony should be able to go home soon as he
is able to get out of the wheelchair. Although he has improved by standing up
and use walker to 70 feet or more, yet therapists said that it is a slow
process and the doctor said that it would be up to therapists to release Tony.
It would take a miracle for Tony who wants to be home by July 31st.
Yesterday
afternoon on July 13th, at four p.m., I visited Tony and I saw him
sitting on his wheelchair alone at the dining table and the food doesn’t serve
until around 5:30 p.m. My heart break for
him and I went up to greet him, hug and kissed him. He was so glad to see
me. I asked him to join with me at the
lobby room and we chatted. We prayed earnestly and claimed Isaiah 40:29, “He giveth
power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increases strength,” and that
God would give Tony the strength to heal completely in Jesus’ name.
I asked him if he would like Dairy Queen for
hamburger, French fries and chocolate shake and that we both would share a
meal. He was delighted and after I went to pick up the food, we went to the “Sun
Room” which is beside the dining room that allows visitors. Tony said to me, “I
really appreciate your taking time to see me.”
Oh, that really touched my heart. At evening, the nurse put him to bed, and I
stayed with him until it was almost 8 p.m. We prayed again for same earnest
prayer for Tony.
This
early morning of 3:25 a.m., I asked the Lord to speak to me from devotion since
Tony and I need a message of encouragement. I read the Daily Bread written by
Poh Fang Chia, on “Prayer Marathon” 1 Thessalonians 5:17 “Pray continually”
(NKJV). I thought to share with you what Poh Fang Chia wrote.
“Do
you struggle to maintain (keep) a
consistent prayer life? Many of us do.
We know that prayer is important, but it can also be downright
difficult. We have moments of deep
communion with God and then we have times when it feels like we’re just going
through the motions. Why do we struggle
so in our prayers?
The
life of faith is a marathon. The ups,
the downs, and the plateaus (a stable
level, period or condition. In ASL, “same thing”) in our prayer life are a
reflection of this race. And just as in a marathon we need to keep running, so
we keep praying. The point is: Don’t’ give up!
That
is God’s encouragement too. The apostle
Paul said, “pray continually” (!Thess. 5:17), “keep on praying” (Rom. 12:12
NLT), and “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2). All of these statements carry the idea of
remaining steadfast and continuing in the work of prayer.
And
because God, our heavenly Father, is a personal being, we can develop a time of
close communion with Him, just as we do with our close human
relationships. A. W. Tozer writes that
as we learn to pray, our prayer life can grow “from the initial most casual
brush to the fullest, most intimate communion of which the human soul is
capable.” And that’s what we really want—deep communication with God. It happens when we keep praying.” Dear
Father, we often struggle to spend time with You. Help us to make the time, and help us sense
Your goodness and presence. There is never a day when we don’t need to pray.
End of Poh Fang Chia, Our Daily Bread.
Dorothy: The quote of A. W. Tozer is
difficult to grasp so I interpret to mean this. If I learn to pray, my prayer
life can grow from the (initial) beginning
to (casual) happen unexpectedly or by
chance; (brush) to move quickly past
without stopping; (fullest) by having
the rich quality or fully mature; (intimate)
having a very close contact with and by a warm friendship developing through a long
fellowship; (communion) friendly
communication. Human soul is capable means having the qualities (as
physical or mental power) to do or accomplish something. [Dictionary:
Merriam-Webster]
Through
this, it means that God must have the goals for Tony and me to grow together
spiritually and allowing God to “brush” as if He is “painting our lives” to
become more like GOLD. Job said, “. . .
when He has tried (tests) me, I shall come forth as gold.” Peter said, “… trial
of your faith, being much more precious than of gold …”
The
other day, God spoke to me about the “GOLD.” Then reading the “Prayer Marathon”
seems to fit what He was trying to tell me this morning. God wants my deep
fellowship with Him so prayer is keeping on my communication with God. So I am
asking you to join with me in this special time of prayer for Tony and me for
deep healing in relationship and spiritually and that we grow into the fullness
of Christ.
Prayer: Father, I want to thank
You for this revelation to me and to be able to share with those who takes the
time to read this. I want to thank You for the rich truth that comes from Your
heart, gold. You value my faith and Tony’s faith, being much more precious than
gold. I cannot imagine that, Father. Only You know what You are doing. You want
my faith in You. I felt revived by the Holy Spirit. I felt encouraged by You
and I thank You for that devotion, Prayer Marathon. You are saying to me: keep
on praying and don’t give up. Thank You, Father, I love You. I praise You in
Jesus’ name. Amen!
Dorothy: I
would appreciate if there is a chance that I could develop a sheet of Prayer
Marathon with your names on it so every one of us would sense of prayer of
unity. There’s power in prayer unity and I pray for the anointing upon your name.
If you pray for Tony and me FIRST, I believe God will meet your personal needs
automatically.
I
have witness this with a friend who drove a long way just to have prayer from
me. But Holy Spirit instructed me to ask that person to pray for me first
because I had headache at that time. This
person was shocked and said that he didn’t feel worth to pray for me. Yet, I
persuaded him to obey the Holy Spirit to pray for me FIRST. He did prayed by
laying hands on my head. In a few minutes, he felt the power of God shot
through his body, and he went out in the patio, dancing up and down with God’s
power for an hour. The Deaf man was simply delivered. I rejoiced in the work of the Holy Spirit.
“Believe
God, believe also in Me,” Jesus said in John 14:1. So my friend, be blessed in
Jesus’ name. Amen!
Dorothy
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