This past weekend, my children and I traveled to the Bahamas to celebrate my niece’s wedding. Prior to the trip, there were forewarnings of Hurricane Debby heading straight for the island. They say having rain on your wedding day is “good luck,” but we could do without!
I heard one meteorologist say that if the storm hit Cuba, it would slow down and weaken. I decided to agree with him.
I prayed fervently for this location change.
The result? The storm skipped over the Bahamas, and we enjoyed beautiful weather for the entire weekend. Oh sure, there was a shower or two, even one right before the ceremony, but it was short-lived. Praise God!
As we left the island, murmurs of Debby reinventing herself in our flight path filled my newsfeeds. As I entered the plane, I asked the flight attendant what we could expect. She looked at me and said, “The first hour should be smooth. After that…” Her voice trailed off.
I could tell by the look on her face, it would be far from smooth. The multiple and repeated communications from the pilot confirmed her diagnosis.
I prayed fervently for a smooth flight.
As I prayed for God to grant us a smooth flight and for Him to give the pilots wisdom, He gave me a vision as clear as day. I saw the Red Sea parting but instead of seeing the Israelites walking through, I saw our plane flying through safely to the other side. Praise God!
The result? We hit a couple of bumps, but it was nothing as predicted. The pilot kept saying turbulence was coming, but it never did. He kept turning on the seat belt sign and telling the flight attendants to take their seats, yet it was for no reason.
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mark 11:24 NKJV)
You see, we can ask God for anything we want as it says in Mark 11:24 but if we do not believe we will receive what we ask for, well…we won’t.
Here’s what I’m learning:
We have to get our minds and our mouths and our hearts in alignment. We need some chiropractic work done so that these three vessels are in agreement.
Many people wonder why their prayers are not answered. I would say this to them, as I have said to myself. It may be time for a visit to the chiropractor.
For example, we can think one way, but then we let our mouths contradict our thoughts. We know God can heal us, but we walk around saying how sick and tired we are. Hmmm…
We can also intellectually understand God’s promises, but we don’t truly believe them in our hearts. We become double-minded and unstable in all our ways as it says in James 1:8.
- The Bible tells us that God hears us and answers our prayers. We either believe that or we don’t. (1 John 5:14-15 NKJV)
- The Bible tells us that God has amazing plans for our lives. We either believe that or we don’t. (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV)
- The Bible tells us that God will provide for every single need we have. We either believe that or we don’t. (Philippians 4:19 NKJV)
It really boils down to this: We either believe God. Or we don’t.
When we believe, we can face whatever storm comes our way with the confident assurance that He will get us through.