A PERSONAL STORY OF ANSWERED PRAYER

A Glimpse of Answered Prayer From GOD

(a personal story of answered prayer) by Carolyn Jo Gower

On September 24, 2007, our son, Luke, calls to say “Mom, I feel in my heart that all the prayers you and dad have prayed for my safety are being answered”.  “Especially last Thursday night {September 20, 2007}; I was working in Little Rock at the ER.  A woman came in with a gunshot wound.  She was brought in along with her child and mother.  A shooting took place in public and this woman was hurt but not life threatening.  People that came in her room kept telling her how ‘lucky’ she was and her mother would say “Oh, no – not lucky – it is a God thing – the Lord Jesus protected us”.  Luke said “As I was taking care of them, I saw it was time for me to get off work, 11:00pm, but I thought no these people need me, I’ll stay to finish helping them.”

Luke continues:  “As I was driving home, everything was fine until I reached Cabot; there the interstate was completely blocked on one side.  I got off the interstate on to a service / side road.  As I drove by I saw how bad it was.  It was a head-on wreck; two people were being flown out and two were sent in an ambulance.   I didn’t think too much about it until the next day, when I got to work.  I found out that the person that caused the wreck was on a ramp, one-way but the wrong way getting on the interstate as he was leaving Searcy.  He was going 80 miles an hour and hit the other person going the right way on the ramp trying to exit.  They hit head-on.  That person was going about 70 or 75. 

If I had gotten off work at my scheduled time I very well could have been the car in the head-on collision.  I believe God rescued me for a purpose; it could have been my time to die but because of prayers for safety, God snatched me out of harm’s way.  Mom, don’t stop praying for my safety.”

As a “Mom”, I never stop being amazed at how great our God, Lord Jesus Christ is, and how he shows us the way.  After Luke called and told me what had happened I thought – I’ll write this down for family history and for testimony too.  As I’m writing I look at the calendar to see the date Luke is referring to – it is September 20^th – which is the day Hugh and I were traveling home from a Bible lectureship. That day was an all day drive to make it home and I had a book that I like to use often to pray for my children and their families.  It is “Praying God’s Will for My Son” scripture book and used it most of the day as a prayer guide for Luke and Paul and their families. So as we rode in the car I was praying many of those scriptures and marked each one with that September 20^th date!  To me that is a glimpse from God or a “wink” from God saying keep on praying I’m listening and it does make a difference.

Dear Father in heaven, I pray thanking you for answering my prayers for Luke on that September 20^th specifically!  I prayed many prayers as we journeyed home from Abilene Texas, ACU Lectures that day.  Thank you Lord that you are answering all of them!  Praise you – you alone are worthy to be praised!  Amen

Carolyn Jo Gower

PRAYER IS LIKE GOING TO WAR

PRAYER is COMBAT in the heavenly realms, projecting a scorched-earth policy against evil…

Senator John McCain once told of being imprisoned in North Vietnam with Lt. Commander Mike Christian and 30 to 40 other men in a large room. Eventually they were allowed a few basic amenities such as packages from home.

As packages were opened, Mike Christian would save bits of cloth to make a small American flag out of the scraps with a homemade bamboo needle. He finished up by sewing it inside of his blue pajama top.

Each night before bed, Mike would display the pajama-top flag and the men would all salute it, quietly reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. For McCain and the other men this became one of the day’s few inspiring moments.

One evening during their salute a guard caught them; discovered that the pajama top flag belonged to Mike Christian. The guards took him away to be tortured. When they brought him back and dumped him on the concrete floor, McCain could see that Mike lay motionless in a bloody, swollen lump. They all feared the worst, until the lump began to slowly move again.

Under the dim, naked light bulb, Mike Christian began gathering more scraps for another flag.

True warriors fight on despite torture because they’re committed to an ideal greater than themselves. AND true prayer warriors will endure any hardship so they can win battles in those silent hours of intense intercession.

True prayer is war, an all-out assault against Satan’s corrupting influence in this world. This kind of prayer projects a scorched-earth policy against the devil’s kingdom, and will not rest until God is enthroned in every heart.

This is exactly how Jesus prayed. Sometimes we have trouble grasping the full power of his prayer life, because to him, it was war for the souls and hearts of men.

Several times he prayed all night long (Luke 6:12; 9:28-37; Matthew 14:23-25). He prayed till the sweat flowed as great drops of blood (Luke 22:44). He prayed with “loud crying and tears” (Hebrews 5:7). His prayers weren’t the weak, dispassionate mumblings we call prayer.

And the early church had the same approach. As James wrote his letter to the churches, he took fully one-fourth of the verses to stimulate passionate praying. Paul spoke of striving in prayer for Christians he had never met and he praised Epaphras for wrestling in prayer for the church back home. (Colossians 2:1 & 4:12).

Church; Christians, it’s time for us to stop playing “Prayer-Games” and declare War. The victory against Satan is ours if we pray without ceasing, (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and overcome evil by doing good (Romans 12:21).

DAILY Putting on God’s Armor:

Prepare for battle in prayer daily, by putting on the armor of God, we read about in Ephesians 6:10-18 ...

Heavenly Father, Your Warrior prepares for Battle.

Today I claim victory over Satan by putting on the whole armor of God!

Lord, I give you my will; submit today to your will; I give you my body, mind and soul.  Oh Lord you are in control of me today. 

I give up myself; my selfishness to you oh God in heaven. 

                                          

I pray for protection around my mind; may I take every thought captive for Christ. 

Christ does not give me a spirit of fear but a spirit of peace and a sound mind that I am thinking clearly about my walk with You –

Oh God YOU are my shelter and provider…

YOU are my friend in a dark world - --

YOU shed the light of peace upon me…no matter what I go through today, You and I together can face it because you live in me.

The very Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives in me and because of that I know where my strength comes from, Thank you Jesus!

I put on the breastplate of righteousness!  May it guard my heart from evil so I will remain pure, holy and protected under the blood of Jesus Christ.

Thank You, Christ Jesus for what you did for me on the cross; taking my sins; sufferings and diseases to the cross. 

May I be a welcoming environment for your leading in my life today. Thank you for the victory you’ve provided over Satan.

By Faith I put on the restraint of Truth; may my life today be motivated by truth; my heart love truth.  May I be motivated by what is righteous (right) and refuse that which is evil. 

Thank you for the imputed righteousness of Christ; because Christ was sinless and has given me His righteousness, now I can I stand firm in the truth of your word so I will not become a victim of Satan’s lies.

By Faith I put on the shoes of peace. May I stand firm in the Good News of the Gospel so Your peace will shine through me and be a light to all I encounter.  Today may I be a peace maker not a trouble maker.

By Faith I take up the shield of Faith; may I trust your word today and not add any fuel to Satan’s darts.  Thank you that I can go into this day without fear. Make me ready for Satan’s fiery darts of doubt, denial and deceit so I will not be vulnerable to spiritual defeat.

By Faith I put on the Helmet of Salvation; may I have my mind focused on You so Satan will not have a stronghold on my thoughts; may I remember today that Jesus is coming again; help me to live in the future tense. 

By Faith I take up the Sword of the Spirit!  May the two-edged sword of Your Word be ready in my hands so I can expose the tempting words of Satan.  Protect my mind from discouragement and despair.  Fill my mind with your swords (Rhema –personal word from God through His Holy Bible (His Word), and the Holy Spirit through prayer).

By Faith I have put on the armor of God today; may this be a day of victory!

In Jesus Name, by the power of His Resurrection, and help of the Holy Spirit,

AMEN

Note: The prayer and article are based on Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, 2 Corinthians 10:5, 2 Timothy 1:7, Romans 8:26, Romans 8:11, Luke 6:12; 9:28-37; Matthew 14:23-25, Luke 22:44, Hebrews 5:7, Colossians 2:1 & 4:12, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Romans 12:21

PRAY FIRST

PRAYERS TO INFLUENCE FAMILY PEACE

Carolyn "Jo" Gower

Turn to God’s Word for peace.

                      

When in need of peace, recharging and rest you can call out to God—and meditate on his Word….

1. God, I’m hurt, my family is hurting today, Give us rest today. 

“Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest.” – Matthew 11:28 (GNT)

2. God, Give me patience today.

“May you be made strong with all the strength which comes from his glorious power, so that you may be able to endure everything with patience.  And with joy give thanks to the Father, who has made you fit to have your share of what God has reserved for his people in the kingdom of light.”– Colossians 1:11-12 (GNT)

3. God, I’m disappointed in my family, they’re disappointed in me. Father, fill us with your Holy Spirit that we may forgive each other and bring glory to You Lord. Help us to forgive each  other today. 

“Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.” – Ephesians 4:32 (GNT)

“As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our sins from us.”– Psalm 103:12 (GNT)

5. Holy God, I need to have an honest conversation with my family. I know it won’t be easy, and I’m afraid they won’t respond well. Give me courage today. Today, please use me to help others to become Your child and friend.

“Be strong, be courageous, all you that hope in the Lord”.– Psalm 31:24 (GNT)

        HELPING PEOPLE BECOME GOD’S FRIENDS…

¹⁷ When anyone is in Christ, it is a whole new world. The old things are gone; suddenly, everything is new! ¹⁸ All this is from God. Through Christ, God made peace between himself and us. And God gave us the work of bringing people into peace with him.  ¹⁹ I mean that God was in Christ, making peace between the world and himself.

In Christ, God did not hold people guilty for their sins. And he gave us this message of peace to tell people. ²⁰ So we have been sent to speak for Christ.

It is like God is calling to people through us. We speak for Christ when we beg you to be at peace with God. ²¹ Christ had no sin, but God made him become sin so that in Christ we could be right with God.’ (ERV)

6. God, sometimes it feels difficult as a family to love each other. Help us please.

“Love must be completely sincere. Hate what is evil, hold on to what is good. Love one another warmly as Christians, and be eager to show respect for one another”.– Romans 12:9-10 (GNT)

DON'T GIVE UP...

Always pray and don't give up - Jesus 

(Luke 18:1)

After the Disciples ask Jesus to teach them to pray, he gives them the model prayer; I refer to it as an outline. That may sound to simple, but it's not. This prayer is only the beginning of learning how to talk with our Holy Father. (Luke 11). In the same chapter, Jesus teaches them about praying with boldness.  
             "because of your shameless persistence he will surely get up and give you as much as you need." Luke 11:8

This doesn't mean badgering God, it means pray consistently and the answer will come. 

It's only when we put ourselves in a position that makes us totally dependent on God, that He gets all the glory! (Matt. 19:21-26)  He won't answer if we don't ask. (James 4:2, Luke 11:9-10).

"I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how manywill he find on earth who have faith?" - Jesus, (Luke 18:8) 
Will we be among the faith filled followers of Christ? Or will we be the weak, complaining, grumpy people that have no faith. Let's choose to trust in God to answer our cry out to Him. To know Christ is to know hope, no matter what our circumstances. We make the choice, walk in step with the Spirit or we walk in the flesh. There is no sitting on the sidelines. The Holy Spirit helps us when we don't know what to prayer, (Romans 8:26).

Prayer is your tool, your weapon, to win over the lies of this world and Satan. It's a two way conversation; if you're not in God's word when you pray, be careful, you could be only making a speech. That means you might be missing out on some instructions he has for you from his word. 

As we walk with Christ, we expand our vision into His vision. For example, after many years of living in Louisiana, we moved to Arkansas and we love it, but I went through a time of missing my history with my friends in West Monroe. 

It's taken me, about a year to realize I was talking too much when I'd meet new people. I'd try to tell them my history, I finally realized that I was was trying to prove that I was OK, they could trust me.  Now that was uncalled for, how silly of me. So I learned to rest in Christ, pursue in becoming who God wants me to be. It's a joy to serve other people here, and build new friendships, while enjoying my friends from long distance too   

After realizing that my life has changed for the good. I've been blessed since opening this exciting door of joining into how God is moving and working in our new Forever Family here, as well as neighbors and new friends too. 

We all have history together because we are a "forever family" in Christ. We walk heart to heart no matter how many miles separate us while here on earth.  We are living in exciting times! It's time to give Him everything, he never gets tired of listening but I'm excited that not only does he listen but he wants to answer, he won't ignore us. Have you ever tried to share with your spouse and it doesn't work, no answer, no communication, isn't that aggravating? 

Yet God wants to tell us what He thinks; if you're praying without the word of God open, reading it, praying it and praying period, it's like talking to your friend or loved one that never acknowledges what you said. 

As Christians we each have the Holy Spirit living in us, we can hear from him, IF we are sensitive to  Him and develop a welcoming environment in our lives, that includes God's Word on a consistent basis.    

I've taken this to heart own several occasions, God always answers me, with yes, no, wait awhile, or you've got to be kidding!  Sometimes I pray "Lord please protect me from myself!"; and trust him to do so.

Most of all never give up!!! 

PRAYER-WALK…PRAYER-TALK…

Carolyn Jo Gower

“To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Martin Luther (1483 – 1546)

A preacher told his personal experience while prayer walking. He was in his office studying for his next sermon; discouraged about the lack of evangelism going on, he began to pray, asking God for help. In that time of prayer, he had a strong impression that he should go outside to walk the neighborhood with the purpose of praying for them. He went to a few neighbors, prayed for them, but the next door he knocked, an elderly lady answered the door and said “Oh my, you are an answer to my prayers; I’ve asked God to send someone to teach me what I need to do to be saved”. You can guess the rest of the story, yes she obeyed Jesus! 

The posture of our praying, whether it is prayer walking, or sitting at your desk, isn’t what it’s all about; it’s more about our conversation with God and our willingness to listen to God’s leading and following His lead. 

Prayers of intercession are offered in and with the Holy Spirit. Prayer walking is done in harmony with God’s agenda, rather than ours. 

Jesus taught his disciples to ask the Lord of harvest; Matthew 9:36-37 – ”When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

When we ask, sometimes God’s Holy Spirit changes our plans, as he did with Paul on his second missionary journey. Paul and his companions were headed back to revisit the places they had been on the first missionary journey when “they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.” When they tried to go another way, “the Spirit did not permit them” (Acts 16:6, 7). The Bible says “the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us” (Rom. 8:26). Paul encourages us to be “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit” (Eph. 6:18). Jude adds we should be “praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 20). 

Often I pray Lord protect me from myself because I don’t know what to pray! And I thank Him for that protection!
Jesus spent time praying with others, for others and praying alone. He taught his disciples to never give up, never stop praying because praying is the first step to leading others to him. Luke 18:1— “Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.” ; Luke 21:36—“Watch therefore, and pray always.” ; Acts 1:14—“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication.” ; Eph. 6:18—“praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit.” ; Col. 1:3—“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you.” ; 1 Thess. 5:17—“pray without ceasing.”
Because of your prayers, God is blessing us to expand these outreaches. Things are exciting around here, more mission trips; more mission outreach all to the glory of God. Please continue in your prayers for all of us and for open hearts for the gospel of Christ worldwide. Pray for more people to pray for the world, pray Kingdom prayers; prayers beyond ourselves, just as we read in Ephesians 6:18 – “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people, therefore making a difference here and in eternity.
Jo (Carolyn Jo Gower)


"...it’s more about our conversation with God and our willingness to listen to God’s leading...."

Prayer Guide

     for  Families   "Special" Weapons Required…

 “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ...”  2 Corinthians 10:4-6 (NIV)

  

 Carolyn Jo Gower

Philippians 4:6-7 is a great place to start in praying for your family.  “"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

As the leader of your wife and children, here are a few principles that’ll encourage you and your family: 

 Praying is about Acknowledging God; allowing Him into our lives, both generally and specifically.

There are atheists and Christians alike who believe they can handle life without God. Prayerlessness is a boast against God. A day without prayer is a day of praising yourself rather than God; what you’re saying is I can do this without You. I can do my relationships without you, my finances, my job without you and in essence I can live this life successfully without you, God. 

The Lord is not going to force his way into our lives because a forced relationship is of no value. Remember in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve kicked God out of their lives when they chose Satan’s way; Jesus had to come to take our place, so we can now have the privilege of having God in our lives. Because of what Christ has done for us, when we pray, it says to God “I need you in my life, both generally and specifically; “I need you in my finances, my body, my relationships, I need you in my decision-making. God absolutely loves that and he responds when we acknowledge Him.

Prayer builds priority with God.

If Jesus truly is the most important person in your life, then you have no problem speaking with Him often. After all, you talk to and listen to people that you want to get to know; it’s impossible otherwise. When you long to get to know God, these things are part of the relationship, as well as regularly reading and studying His word.  Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue. I use to think prayer was a religious act that God required of me daily and of my church during our worship services. I thought that you do this because if you don’t God’s not going to be happy with you. I had the wrong concept – the one and only true living God is a loving God who wants us to love him. God wants time with his children, just like a loving parent-child relationship does when it is a mutual loving relationship.  

Praying is exercising your God-given authority.

If you exercise your authority through praying to God, you will defeat the attacks of the enemy. Overcoming the temptations Satan throws at us can only be dealt with if we ask God for His help. God will intervene on our behalf.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5;6-7).

Jesus said, “I know. I saw Satan fall, a bolt of lightning out of the sky. See what I’ve given you? Safe passage  as you walk on snakes and scorpions, and protection from every assault of the Enemy. No one can put a hand on you. All the same, the great triumph is not in your authority over evil, but in God’s authority over you and presence with you. Not what you do for God but what God does for you—that’s  the agenda for rejoicing.”Luke 10:18-20 (MSG)

God has given us incredible authority in this life. All we have to do is take it and use it.  Therefore, Dads, you don’t have time not to pray! For example, suppose you skip a day of prayer, you go out on your own, make a decision without considering God’s will because you didn’t surrender the matter to God. That is a dead work that God won’t bless and you may spend months or years trying to repair the damage that that decision made. Or you could have stopped to pray, put your faith in God, and surrender to Him. He would speak to you and bring years of blessings to your life. 

Therefore, pray with your family to invite God into your lives, building a priority with God in your family and take hold of your God given authority as the man God has made you to be. You will step up the spiritual growth of your family through your personal prayer life withdrawing to a quiet place to pray where you meet your Father in Heaven that will answer your invitation for help. He is with you and will never forsake you. God is waiting, He longs for your call to Him.