The power of prayer

     I think for most of my life I have realized that prayer was an important thing in your walk with the Lord but it didn't really sink in till later on. The first time I really remember praying for something and immediately seeing the effects of it was when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. I was riding home with my mom after school and I had a bad headache. When I told her about it she said she didn't have any medicine with her but I could pray and see if it went away. Having faith like a child back then I truly believed He would take away the pain. Instantly after I prayed the pain was gone. That was the Lord showing me at that time that if I came to Him with the small things He would also bless me with the big things. Throughout my life He has revealed Himself more and more to me by His faithfulness. It has never failed that the times that I have gotten on my knees and humbled myself before Him that He has showed me His truths.
      With each of my pregnancies as soon as I find out I have prayed for their protection and growth. When I prayed for my first child I  asked the Lord if the baby was healthy and if I would go to full term. I guess in my mind if I knew that something would go wrong I wanted time to prepare. I clearly heard from the Lord that "Yes" the baby was healthy and I would go to full term. And full term it was. I was actually 3 days past my due date when I had her and even though the labor was very hard she was a healthy beautiful girl. So naturally when I found out I was pregnant for the second time I prayed the exact same prayer but this time I got a different answer. I heard that HE was healthy and that I can't wait for you to see My handy work.  I prayed this when I was only 5 weeks along, well before any doctor could tell me what the gender would be. The Lord never said that he would be a full term baby like my previous one was. I delivered my son a month early and he spent the first month of his life in the NICU. That was the hardest time that my husband and I as well as our families had ever been through. But through it all I saw God's "handy work" in the progress my son would go through and the fact that people all over the world were praying just for him. I was in our room one night trying to fight my emotions partially cause I was worried and partially cause I was just tired of hospitals and I prayed that the Lord would heal him soon. The next day I went to see him and he was off of all the machines and was improving drastically. I have so many other times that the Lord has provided when I called out but these are the ones on my heart today. We serve a God who listens and is faithful to complete the work in us that He has begun. If we aren't asking in selfishness He will answer in His timing.