Luke 18:1 “Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”
Ten years ago, something happened in my life that changed me, my family, and my walk with God forever. I was diagnosed with Stage 3c endometrial cancer. It was horrible, and even to this day, I get a sinking feeling in my stomach when I think back to that time. Before that day, and since that day, I have had major moments in my life where God had to “get my attention” because I was not living my life as a truly committed child of God. That day, though, reshaped me like no other.
It is unnecessary for me to give you details of that specific challenge in my life except to share with you what I learned, and what I wished that I had learned so much earlier in my journey: The Power of Prayer!
I have been a Christian for a long time – I gave my life to Christ when I was 12. Throughout my teenage years, I brought my bible to school with me and proudly claimed status as a Jesus Freak. As a teen, I had great teachers and leaders who guided me in my walk with Christ. Prayer was always a part of that. As a young wife and mother of 4 children, prayer became something that I had less time for – it was hard to find those quiet times to spend alone with God. I still prayed, but I also became one of those people who would say, “I’ll be praying for you!” but never really pray for that person or situation. It was just the right words to say.
I found my pray life becoming haphazard. A quick prayer before bed to ask for forgiveness for the day’s failings, then I would fall asleep exhausted. I was struggling, but then something would happen that would get me back on track for a short time (a job situation, a sick child, a divorce, etc.). Lots of prayer for a short period, then back to bad habits again.
The cancer diagnosis was different. It was life-threatening. It was life-changing. Immediately my prayer life changed. I was in prayer continually. And I was dependent on others to pray for my healing. Many people said that they would pray for me, and I know many did. But I also began to wonder how many people would just say, “I’ll be praying for you,” and not really pray consistently or even at all. I coveted their prayers, and I believed, as I believe now, that God hears the prayers of those who pray specifically and continually!
That’s when things changed in my prayer life. When someone asked me to pray for them (or I offered to pray for someone), I wrote it down so I wouldn’t forget. Every morning during my prayer time, I prayed individually for that need. I put a checkmark beside their name, and the odd thing is, I began to feel a connection with that person. I tried to visualize God meeting their need, and I stayed in contact with that person. My list grew, my time with God grew, and I found myself using any spare time that I had to pray for my “people.” I rejoiced with the answered prayers and felt joy for those whose health improved or situations changed. During this time, I had surgery, went through chemo and radiation, and continued working a full-time job. My prayers for others helped me to continue concentrating on the positive instead of thinking about the negatives of my situation.
God healed me of that cancer and uses that healing as a witness to others that God hears and answers prayers – even when things seem impossible. Through that healing, I believe God called me to a life of intercessory prayer. I guess I think about it as my “thing” that I can do for the kingdom. I have continued my prayer list, which sometimes gets very lengthy. Still, I am so happy that I have the opportunity to pray for others and for others to KNOW that I’m not just saying that I will pray – that I really am praying for them daily until they don’t need that prayer anymore.
In conclusion, I would encourage you to join me in this ministry. Here are some suggestions that might help you:
1. Have a specific time each day that you pray. Make sure that it is a time that can not be interrupted.
2. Make a list of those people or situations you are praying for and be SPECIFIC. Is it colon cancer? A death in the family? Rehabilitation from an injury? And I like to add who asked for the prayer so I can check back with them to see how things are progressing.
3. Pray for each person/situation individually. I don’t like “Dear God, help everybody on my prayer list.” That’s not how I wanted people to pray for me.
4. Thank God for answering your prayers.
5. Go back every so often and look at your previous lists for encouragement and to see how great God is!
Laura Womac
Guest Writer for
Lean into Jesus Ministries
#laurawomacblogs