About a month ago, I called my friend Bonnie to pray with me. I was having a medical issue and was waiting on results of some testing that left me feeling overwhelmed and terrified. Since I was young, I have always been afraid of sickness and the threat of a serious illness. I am not sure exactly why I struggled deeply with this fear, but as a child of the Living God I knew I should not have this anxiety. God has blessed me with good health and a strong body, and I was always thanking Him for that. But we know in life that our bodies are not always healthy, we all “groan under the weight of sin” together, and illness does happen at times in our lives. The day I called Bonnie, I was in deep despair. Fear about what could happen to my body and a pending diagnosis left me paralyzed with fear, to the point that I felt myself shutting down. In my prayer with Bonnie, she directed me back to Jesus, His Word, His promises. We began speaking those promises out loud together. She prayed for me in the name of Jesus that the spirits of fear, discouragement, destruction, confusion, and a host of others would be released in HIS NAME. As a child of God, they did not belong in my life, in any corner of my mind, heart, spirit. I needed to get rid of those lies and voices that were not from God, and begin listening to HIS voice. For so long, I had allowed a number of fears to consume my thoughts, and felt powerless to take control of them. Bonnie reminded me that we have ALL POWER AND AUTHORITY AS HEIRS OF CHRIST to come against our fears, and be released. We can say no, because God says so! This is not a one time prayer and seeking; as believers we know that we are in a spiritual battle daily! But this experience in prayer with Bonnie gave me new confidence to take God at His Word, CLAIM WHAT IS MINE, and speak verses out loud. God used my sweet sister and her ministry to remind me of who I am in Christ, a new creation, loved and adored, protected, and safe. Since that day I have confessed, out loud, many of those promises from Scripture that she and I prayed together. God brought alive Scripture to me in a new way, stories of great faith, David and Goliath, Daniel and the Lions’ Den, and other true stories about His warriors who defeated giants, armies, shipwrecks, prison. They were delivered as they put their faith and trust in Him. Their battles were already won when they allowed God to lead them. We serve that same God. He can do above and beyond what we ask or think, just like He did for those men and women in Scripture.
My name is Lori, and I am a child of the Living God. I move forward into my life with new hope, passion, and confidence.
