A one woman army

 

I opened my eyes again and to my surprise, I was still underneath the roaring waves. As I struggled peacefully, my life flashed before my eyes. I watched all of my favorite memories reel before me like a silent movie.
 

"But, this isn't how I go? 

Surely, I wasn't going to drown? Not this young? What about college? My career? I have a whole life to live!!"
 

Death and bad decisions wait for no man. 

But I didn't drown.

I was DRAWN.
I was drawn right out of that lonely, dark hole.

There was a Power, a God, drawing me from death back into life.
There was a force that cannot be naturally explained and it pulled me out of that  deep hole underneathe the roar of the river. 

There is only One who has overcome death 

and the power of that victory was being made manifest in my life at that moment.

And on that day, it reached into the depths of that river and pried the fingers of death from my ankle and I surfaced for the 3rd time only to see a man and a boat reaching for me. 

 "Grab the boat. Don't let go!" He shouted.
Of course I couldn't hear, the rapids were overpowering any sound
but I could see...I could see him, his boat and his lips moving.
 

I clung to that lifeline and didn't look back. 

Third time's the charm, right?

No, not quite. 

I was drowning in that swollen river. Two surfaces before there wasn't a person in sight. Everyone had rushed downriver after my boat. No one knew where I was. At least no one in the natural.
But in the supernatural, you are NEVER alone.
 

I had given up. I had surrendered my will to live.
I guess I deserved it...

My lack of experience and fearlessness had landed me upside down in a larger than life rapid and instantly I was vacuumed into a "rather" peaceful black hole. 

 

It's true what you've heard, drowning is peaceful. And before death, your life does flash before your eyes. 

But just when I thought it was over, just when I accepted what I deserved, my Savior granted me a gift. 

MERCY.

 

I have come to understand, Mercy can be defined as 

NOT getting 

what you do deserve. 

 

And that day, I didn't get what I deserved. I made a poor and careless decision and it ALMOST cost me my life. 

But, Thank God for Mercy! 

And that wasn't my last close call with death or my last poor or careless decision. 

Come on, I'm human! 

I make mistakes!

Some of us just don't learn. 

 

Or do we?

 

I needed to know and only later would I understand, what kept me alive? 

What I have found is this: 

There is POWER through PRAYER!

"If you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you." John 15:7

I wasn't abiding in Him, not then.
But another was.
Another was praying for ME.

 

I traced the power through prayer that day, back to my mother. At the exact instant, during those minutes where I watched my life reel before my eyes in what felt like hours, my mom was PRAYING. 

Praying until death released its grip!

 

So where did she learn to pray like that? 

 

My grandmother. 

And where did my grandmother learn to pray like that?

The Holy Spirit:
"And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for, but the Holy Spirit prays FOR us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words." Romans 8:26

Prayer isn't just for US.

It is for the WHOLE world.
It is for anyone who needs it.
It is the Mercy for others to draw from.
It isn't always for us to know.
We just have to make ourselves available.
 

My grandmother was always available. She was a one woman and army and that was enough.
God only needs one.

One woman. 

One man. 

One child. 

Praying. 
Prayer isn't selfish. It's selfless.
Prayer allows the Almighty God, the creator of heaven and earth to flow through His earthen vessels so that His will may be fulfilled on the earth.
Praying manifests His mercies that are NEW every morning.
Praying manifests His love which is unconditional and knows no bounds.

A praying life is a surrendered life. 
It is:

A life that chooses to be in close communion with the Almighty God. 

A life that practices listening to His still small voice - The Holy Spirit. 

A life that learns to fall on its knees, knowing that prayer crosses the span of the earth, reaches the deepest of waters and climbs the highest mountains. 

It embraces a heart when there's not another in sight. 

It lifts up a spirit cast into despair. 

It brings healing to the sick, wealth to the poor and freedom to the captive. 

And in it, is Victory over death! 

But during these fast paced times, 

Who's Praying?

If there ever was a time that we NEED prayer, it is NOW.

But who's praying?

Living in these miraculous end days, we must understand prayer is going to be the
ONLY way,
the only weapon, the only answer, the only blessing.
It is our holy communion with our God.

We need to be careful not to put so many things before it. 

 

In the early 1900's Robert McCheyne said it this way, "I ought to spend the best hours in communion with God. It is my noblest and most fruitful employment, and it is not to be thrust into a corner!"

Praying is more important than our employment. 

During this time that we live in, nothing is guaranteed.

Nothing. 

But PRAYER. 

Start now. 

All God needs is...

One woman. 

One man. 

One child. 

To make a difference. 

To bring heaven to earth. 

His will be done on this earth as it is in heaven.