Tag Archives: prayer

Now Faith Is

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen…

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of  the king’s commandment. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter;

Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a time; Esteeming the reproach of the Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he looked for the recompense of the reward.

By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king:

for he endured, as seeing Him who is invisible.

Through faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest He that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

By faith they passed through the Red sea as on dry land: which the Egyptians attempting to do were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.”

Hebrews 11:1, 23-30

The Microwave Treatment

Sometimes it’s hard to wait when you’re praying for something special to happen, and I know what that feels like…

Once, while I was waiting for my miracle, I had a dream. It had been about 6 months since I had surgery and I was growing more and more impatient about having a baby. I thought I’d get pregnant right away. But that’s not what happened.

One night, I had a very interesting dream

There were two parts to this dream. First, I dreamt that  my husband and I were visiting some friends for dinner and as the men talked in the living room, I sat in the kitchen while the food was being prepared. I was shocked to see that my friend was spooning raw, runny, red, hamburger meat, into taco shells and placing them in the microwave to be cooked. “YUCK!” I thought to myself, and when she had finished cooking, she topped them with all the trimmings, but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat any, because I saw the way that they were prepared with raw meat, and this really grossed me out!

In the second part of my dream, I was in a meat shop, and I was trying to buy a beef roast which was turning slowly on a spit. I was in a hurry, and I told the man cooking the meat that I had been waiting a long time, and was ready to go. He looked at me and said “I’m sorry ma’am but it’s not ready yet. I said  “Are you sure? It looks like it’s done.” then he pulled out a long sharp-pointed thing, and pierced through the meat, and all of this red, runny, gook came pouring out. He was right. The meat was not ready… It was as if both parts of the dream had the same meaning.

When I woke up, I thought that maybe this dream had something to do with my healing from surgery, and  how  I was not yet healed up enough on the inside.

A few days later, I was sitting in the park, watching  my son and daughter at soccer practice, when I saw a friend from church. She asked me how I was recovering from the surgery.  I told her that I was doing fine, but that I was really ready to have another baby, “After all”, I said “I’m 35 years old!”…She was nearly 50, and told me that I was still young enough to have another baby.  “God’s timing is perfect… Just be patient!..I had my last baby when I was 40 years old. ” she said. I smiled, shrugged my shoulders, and said, “But I’ve been waiting so long already.”  Then she said, ” Faith, you just had surgery… You need time to heal.”  She laughed and said jokingly, .. ”What you want is the Microwave Treatment!!“

When she said this, I knew that it was a confirmation of the dream that I’d had a few days earlier… “The Microwave Treatment”… It was true! I didn’t want to wait any longer.. I wanted my miracle,and I wanted it now! This instant… In fact, I wanted it yesterday!!

I was reminded by this incident, that God is in control, and I accepted that He knows best. I would just have to be patient and wait…

Three years later, I realized my miracle, and was expecting our little girl.

“Wait on the LORD: be of good courage…”

Psalm 27:14

The Hat Rack

Years ago, when I was in my late twenties, my husband and I were visiting a new church for the first time, and an elderly lady came up to us and invited us to her house for dinner, following the service. We gladly accepted her invitation, and followed her home.  As we sat in her living room, we shared in a very pleasant conversation, getting to know a little more about each other.. She was a long-standing member at her church and was well-loved by her church family.  Although it was very apparent that she was elderly, her speech and expressions were vibrant, and she was very happy to talk about how much she loved the Lord, and how much He had done for her, as she enthusiastically shared some of her many testimonies. My husband and I each talked a little about our faith experience, and  I mentioned how our two children, a baby and a toddler at the time, were miracle babies, and that I was believing God for another one.

She looked at me, with a smile in her eyes, and said, “You see that hat rack over there on the wall?” I answered, “Yes.” she said, “Whenever the Lord does something for me, I imagine that I’m hanging a hat on a hat rack…and everytime He answers I just keep adding a new hat.  And the next time I find myself frustrated about something that I’m praying for, I  just take a look at that hat rack, and I see all those hats hanging there, and I’m reminded of all the prayers that God has answered, some that I may have even forgotten, and I am encouraged that He did it before and He’ll do it again.” I really appreciated this example and made an effort to apply it in my own life. In fact, God did answer my prayer, and miraculously blessed us with another sweet baby girl!

Now, when I think back on this example, it reminds me of what young David said to King Saul, when he volunteered to fight Goliath…

“David said… The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine…” I Samuel 17:37

The lion and the bear were hanging on David’s hat rack!!! He just took a look back, and was fully persuaded, that God would do it again. :)

Has it been a while since you’ve taken a look at your own hat rack?

Surely God has blessed you and answered your prayers in the past… Just take a look back, and like David be fully persuaded that God will do it again.