Divine Prayer
When Dave and I were first married, we desired to have a large family. Year after year went by, but no children. Each month was a disappointment. We prayed individually and together, earnestly and fervently that God would bless us with children.
After celebrating our 5th anniversary, we found out we were pregnant with our oldest daughter, Kylie. It was a difficult pregnancy and an even more complicated birth. God had blessed us with a baby girl. My heart was jubilant and rejoicing in God’s goodness to us!
The years that followed were filled with sorrow and disappointment as we struggled to have another child. Seven years later, I went through testing to discover if I could have another baby. Medical science said “No.” Content with the child God had blessed us with, we trusted God’s sovereignty in our lives and moved forward in raising our daughter. Two months later, we were delightfully surprised when we found out we were pregnant with our youngest daughter!
This portion of scripture from James 5:17 has been a great source of comfort to me over the years as I’ve prayed for not only myself but for others who desired a baby, wanted healing from a disease, needed a job, or carried a heavy burden. James reminds of how Elijah prayed for no rain for three years and then again as he prayed for rain (I Kings 17). God honored his request and answered it.
Prayer is an effective and powerful tool that we have been given, through Christ, to have access to the God of all grace and mercy. When our prayers are asked according to His will (I John 5:14-15), He will hear us. Our lives then are contingent upon a continuous striving to live a life of righteousness, aligning our hearts with God’s. Desiring what God desires. Interceeding on behalf of others. Bringing our requests directly to Him.
It’s humbling, really, when we realize that our human prayer produces divine results…that God allows us the privilege to participate in His Plan, through prayer, in our lives and in the lives of others.
