A prayer zips through your head--unbidden--and you pray it and forget about it. Then, sometime later, it happens and you remember, with complete awe, that your unsolicited prayer was answered.
My friend's husband is a severe diabetic and (now) former smoker. In early June some years ago, a prayer zipped through my mind:
Lord, please help Brian (not his real name) stop smoking in six weeks.What? Right, like that's going to happen. That was my exact response to this prayer that came out of nowhere.
In late July, I found myself with Brian and my friend, encouraging them to bravely face a path that I felt would strengthen her health in a powerful way. I wasn't making much headway. I joked about that smoking prayer, even adding my response, when Brian said quietly:
I did stop smoking...two weeks ago.His wife--my friend--was open-mouthed in astonishment. She had no idea. The math worked out to be six weeks exactly.
I could only conclude that the prayer sequence was to give me credibility in that moment that might encourage them to hear my words. More importantly for me, it gave me strength and courage to hear God's voice when He decides it is time to whisper a prayer or a dream or a path.
God says to Joshua in 1:1-9:
Strength! Courage! You are going to lead this people to inherit the land that I promised to give their ancestors. Give it everything you have, heart and soul.We, too, have a directive from God:
Strength! Courage! You are going to lead yourself (and others) to the place I have planted in your dream, accomplishing that which is uniquely yours to accomplish. Give it everything you have, heart and soul.Whether it's today's unbidden prayer or tomorrow's next step in the journey toward the dream you are gifted to accomplish, remember:
Strength! Courage!Give it all you've got.
