Prayer Focus: Personal Awakening - Day 1 of 7 Days of Prayer & Fasting - Awakening 2012 @ HPC
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect."
The first word that grabs my thoughts and attention in this reading, is "plead" or rather pleading, urging. The apostle Paul in verse 1 is pleading with his brothers and sisters for everything that is about to follow in the rest of his letter.
I'm reminded of my very own pleading, urging and begging God for His Healing Hands to touch my body again. For the past few years, I have literally stormed heaven with prayers for healing.
I've already experienced the miracle healing power of God in my life, several times!!
Paul goes on to "remind" his brothers and sisters of God's Mercy, "...because of all He has done for you."
I was born with a rare bleeding disorder, a genetic malfunction in the way my blood is suppose to clot. But of course a proper diagnosis didn't come until many years later, after I had already experienced bleeding episodes that literally put my life on the line.
In my early 30's, I was finally diagnosed with Factor VIII deficiency and doctors would now know how best to treat me and save my life in the event of another bleeding episode. Not to mention, I was a NON-blood transfusion recipient aka Jehovah's Witness, during most of those ordeals.
In 2009, I was about to undergo another routine procedure that required prior clearance from my hematologist. The night before the lab workup, I did what I always did before any test, I asked God to heal me. I didn't go into this long drawn out prayer and tell God why, what, where, when and how. I simply quoted verses of His Own Word over me, in particular, those found in the gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, where the woman with the issue of blood was healed.
I would read and repeat these verses everyday, all throughout the day up until the day I had to go in for my results prior to my procedure.
The hematologist seemed puzzled as she flipped through the pages of my test results. She announced to me that she could not find any traces at all of a bleeding disorder, that all my numbers were within normal range and she couldn't understand what happened. I just wanted to jump up and down and scream, but instead I held my composure and simply told her, "I can tell you what happened, I asked God to heal me and He Did!"
Still puzzled and trying to find an explanation to reason within herself, she said, "But these types of disorders are genetic, they are passed down through the mothers blood supply to the child during conception. It's all in the DNA makeup. I don't understand how one day you can have it and the next you don't, that's impossible."
So I told her, "Well my DNA has obviously been replaced with the DNA of my Creator and Savior and Healer.
I've been praying for healing since I was 6 years old, after my very first bleeding episode. I've had pastors, evangelist, elders and traitors (Native American Treaters) lay hands on me and anoint me with oil, holy water, herbal balms & leaves, etc, all in hopes of a miracle, so I suppose all those prayers finally reached heaven and Gods undivided attention.
He healed me, plain and simple!"
I asked for a copy of the results and left so ecstatic that I could barely contain myself as I walked out of the clinic and to my car where I was finally able to scream and cry and let it all out. I thanked my Healer over and over and over, all thoughout the day, for days, weeks and months, and even today, for answering all those years of prayers and for touching my body with His Very Hand.
Paul then tells us it is only right that we offer our bodies, our selves to Him for all He has done. But not just any body, "a living and holy" body, a sacrifice
When was the last time we sacrificed ourselves for something or someone? If you're a parent, then no doubt you've sacrificed yourself in some capacity for the sake of your child. If you are married, the same would apply for a spouse.
But when was the last time we truly gave our all to our Creator and Maker? After-all He is the reason we are here in the first place.
The word "living" sacrifice is very significant to me, in that my health had truly gotten the best of me again over the past few years. I couldn't even tell you how many doctors I've seen, how many ER visits, tests, procedures and surgeries I've had in the 44 years I've been on this earth. And that's not even counting the number of prescriptions and pills I've swallowed in hopes of finding a diagnosis, a cure, some sort of relief. NOT for the bleeding issues anymore, but for all the other nasty ailments I had been diagnosed with over the years.
My thoughts lately had been, if things don't change soon then I won't see myself as a "living, breathing" sacrifice for very much longer. With so many of my family and friends all around me battling illnesses, sicknesses, terminal diseases, I had begun to wonder when my number was coming up. I had allowed to enemy to whisper lies and plant seeds of doubt of me receiving healing from my creator.
My current health issues and condition this time around are not linked to genetic, but is a direct result of my own negligence.
For the past few years, I have neglected to properly take care of myself. Eating and drinking whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, with no regard to the nutritional value or lack of. The only and last time I ever gave serious thought to what and how much I ate was before my gallbladder surgery. For 2 years I visited the emergency rooms with pains out of this world, that doctors couldn't diagnosis or explain. More prescriptions and OTC medicines to relieve the pain was about all they could offer, as the routine tests couldn't find a reason why I was hurting so much. Finally after 2 years, more extensive tests were performed, which showed that my gallbladder was only functioning at 6%, so there went another surgery.
Had I paid more attention to my food choices and had I decided to take better care of myself for more than a week at a time, I probably wouldn't have suffered as much and for as long as I did. I always wanted to and tried to change my eating habits, but they never lasted for more than a week or so at a time. It was easy to do when I was hurting and had no choice but to eat right, but when the choice was up to me, I almost always went for the junk food. I would fill myself up with garbage over and over again, until another episode of course.
God spoke to me this morning and straight up asked me why I kept begging him for the same thing over and over, when He already preformed a healing in my body. Then he asked me why I was neglecting to offer myself up to Him, a living and holy sacrifice, especially after all he has done for me?
Why was I allowing food of all things, to take precedence in my life, precedence over Him.
I had been begging for so long that I never stopped to see that He already answered my prayer. But because I had copied the behaviors and customs of the world, I had become a glutton, thus the root of my present health issues.
Prayer & Fasting couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, not only in my life but in my home. Due to income versus expense issues, I haven't been able to get groceries as I normally would do every month. The pantry and refrigerated shelves have gone nearly completely bare. The moans and complaints from my children on the other-hand have escalated. Two weeks ago after finishing the monthly budget, I was finally left with enough funds to get a few groceries, But I was prompted NOT to. At first I didn't understand why, but I knew an answer was coming soon so I went along with it and endured the growlings of both my family and my stomach over the issue of food. No, I didn't starve them, I did feed my family, just on a day-to-day basis rather than the usual pick-and-choose from a filled pantry or fridge or restaurant of the week menu.
While preparing and planning for the upcoming month of Awakening, and trying to determine just exactly how I was going to participate in the "fasting" part, all the pieces of the puzzle FINALLY came together.
Because the shelves were now empty, no one should complain when they would finally see food on them. But not just any kind of food, but rather healthy, nutritionally valued food. Foods that would not be so unhealthy or damaging to our organs. Foods that would not leave us feeling sick or fatigued or in need of doctors and prescriptions, at least not to the degree that we have all needed them in the past.
In preparation for my fast, I finally did what I always wanted to do, I did a little research on what foods to buy and which ones to stay away from, and actually followed that grocery shopping plan once I was in the store.
We left the store with 3 grocery carts full of nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains and nuts. The shelves are full again!! Not every family member is excited and appreciative of the changes, but eventually they will learn that this is all done by and for the Lord, so that we would be better able "...to give our bodies to God because of all he has done... So that we could be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. Because ...this is truly the way to worship him. In order that we would not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform us into a new person by changing the way we think in all areas of life, including food. So that we would learn to know God's will for us, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
So this is my take away, my personal awakening today from just the first two verses of Romans chapter 12...
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