A Time and A Season

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted…  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 KJV

Feeling oddly contemplative this Shabbat…happens sometimes. Especially when I am caught a bit off guard.
A few years ago I was asked to partner one day a week as a War Room Prayer warrior with another sister in faith on a radio broadcast. I was very nervous about doing it and honestly, didn’t feel “qualified.” I felt as though Yahweh wanted me to do it, but I had never done anything like that before. Jim was right there, too, encouraging me to do it. I gave in and said yes – to both Yahweh and the producer.

It was one of the moments in life I will always treasure. I have truly enjoyed working in a prayer ministry all these years, and pray more to come. It has been a great blessing in SO many ways. I cannot even begin to make a list of them all. Yet it has also brought me challenges.

Challenges are good, though, because they help us to grow. Sometimes, they help us to also make peace with or figure out things from the past. Prayer warrior has been all this to me.

I believe that the toughest challenge has been when a request is submitted, and the Holy Spirit testifies to my heart that what is asked is not what is going to happen. This most often comes about when someone is praying for miracle healing for a critically ill loved one.

Are there miracle healings taking place? YES! And in fact, I have witnessed SEVERAL of them in the few years I have been serving Yahweh. A sister who had stage four cancer and was told she would only have a short time to get her affairs in order. We prayed for her on War Room for healing, always as Yahweh has led us to pray. Suddenly her next tests came back almost completely clear of cancer. A few months later, she was declared cancer free! Someone else had submitted they were going in for surgery to remove tumors – over 14 of them from breast tissue. Surgery was in one week from when we were praying. Then, a praise report came in that, prior to surgery, doctors redid tests to ensure there weren’t more tumors, and discovered there were NO TUMORS AND NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER ANYWHERE! I literally jumped up and down squealing after that show ended! Miracles happen, and I have witnessed so many. Praise Yahweh!!!

Yet it isn’t always how we are led to pray. I recall one time the prayer request was for someone’s sibling. It involved a heart attack & the sibling was on life support. All they wanted was a miracle – she was not terribly old. I tried over and over to speak the words they wanted to hear. But Abba would not allow it. The Holy Spirit stopped me every time I opened my mouth.

When I finally followed what I was led to pray, a burden lifted from my heart and I felt an odd relief. While at the same time I felt sorrow. I found out the next day, she had passed away. Every word I had prayed was for peace and comfort in the family for whatever was to come. I felt even more relief that day for listening to the promptings and following His lead.

Oddly, I find myself in a similar situation now, today, only this time for my own family.

I have an aunt who is seriously ill – just a short time ago she was diagnosed with cancer. From what I have gathered it is impossible to treat. Then she developed another illness on top of that. Family, in reaching out to me, know of the experiences I have had through the War Room. I have spoken of them before. I have been asked to pray for MIRACLES because she is in need of great miracles.

I am uncomfortable and feeling awkward today – because, although I would love to speak a prayer out loud for a miracle and perfect healing, I am not at all lead that way. In fact, before I had any details on my aunt’s illnesses, I KNEW deep inside, she is going home.

I would love nothing more than to lift the burden of sorrow from my family members with a prayer speaking miracle healing. Yet not only is it not where I feel led, but I feel their needs as a family are deeply different than they have asked. As are the needs of my aunt – she is behaving as if there is something she needs to say to her loved ones, as if she is staying alive just long enough to accomplish one last thing. I saw similar in my own father near the end.

Because of our current medical environment, her family is not permitted to go see her, at all. THIS is my prayer for family right now. We have been less than human, less than kind, and so uncaring beyond measure as a nation toward our elderly and infirm. May God have mercy on us for what our authorities are doing – when we ought to be honoring and loving these people, it is forbidden.

My prayers for my aunt as I fell asleep last night were that her body does not do the things expected by doctors: that she NOT have a stroke or heart attack. How horribly painful that would be to her physical being in these last hours! Instead, I just asked Him, "please Abba, your will & purpose be done in her life. May she be able to speak the things she needs to family, and please take her home softly in her sleep."

As sorrow and sadness, mourning and grief attempt to overwhelm everyone, may Abba be with each one at this time. May He bring comfort, peace, and strength to go on.

Blessings and shalom.
 
You have decided the length of our lives. You know how many months we will live, and we are not given a minute longer.   Job 14:5 NLT

"Father...yet not my will, but thine be done." Luke 22:42 Douay-Rheims Bible

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Matthew 5:4 KJV