The Power of Prayer

My beloved friends:

I bring greetings in the name of Jesus! I must tell you, I am feeling refreshed and rejuvenated because I constantly remind myself how grateful I am to be alive. My friends, I have been in many dangerous situations and places, sometimes I was able to walk away, sometimes again, things happened before I could walk away. The physical scar I have on my arm is a perfect example. Friends, for many, many, years I replayed that incident which occurred on a Sunday afternoon in my mind. I replayed the entire scene from the talk which turned into an the argument, argument turned into a physical fight, fight turned to getting the matches, from matches to screaming. It has taken me many, many, many years to heal from that incident, but thanks be to God, I am healed. I am forgiven, I have forgiven, and I thank God for grace. My friends, God has delivered me and you best believe I am not turning back to the ways of this world. The ways of this world are so cruel, mean, and evil; the ways of this world will drive a weak person to the point of a mental breakdown or even suicide if you are not strong enough to handle life's challenges.

Friends, you would be pleased to know that I am following the disciple, James' teaching. In James 1:2, he tells us that when you have many kinds of trouble, you should be full of joy. Yes, you read that correctly, when you have many kinds of trouble, you should be full of joy!! Why is that? I am glad you asked. James informs us that these troubles test our faith, and if we need wisdom we must ask. My friends, that is what I finally did, I asked God to grant me wisdom to make life decisions that are pleasing in God's eyes and pleasing to God's ears. James counsels us that when we ask, we must believe and not doubt. That's hard, right, to not doubt. What I have learned over the years is that we must believe, we must truly, truly believe. How can we say we love God and we don't believe Him enough to put our trust in Him?

Minister Lucado, in his Life Lessons, observed that God allows tough situations in our lives in order to refine us and bring us closer to him. That statement is definitely on point, because had it not been for the many tough and rough situations I have been in and been through, I may not have been a disciple of Christ today. For that, I am so grateful.

My friends, I am not ashamed to let you know that it is because of my many tough situations and my faith in Christ that today I can write that I am healed, that I am forgiven, that I am loved. Friends, I believe, I have absolutely no doubt that the Lord will take what I brought and make use of these things in our church. God is allowing me to use my life's experiences to bring the good news to people all over. The same applies to you. God will take your tough situation and turn them into joy, all you have to do is believe; accept that the Lord; and know that God will work it out for you.

We must continue to rejoice and praise His precious name. Friends, let us continue in our walk for Christ.

Ta ta,
Therese from Belize