Praying For Spiritual Growth

Almost everyday I pray for spiritual growth and leave it up to the Lord on the "how."  One day I was in my Tai Chi class when a distraught man interrupted us to exercise.

I felt angry but my teacher welcomed him.  He shared a very sad story and then the class ended, so we left.

As I walked away, I thought how strange this all was and realized I didn't even offer him any help.  So, I went back into the room but he had miraculously disappeared.

This was even stranger, so I prayed that evening for a dream to explain it.  I dreamed God came to me as in a fiery cloud with a booming voice and told me to follow Him.

He took me to these people from a book I had been reading.  They kept asking me what I liked about their book and since I did not know, I finished reading it when I woke up.

Under the signs of selfishness, I learned being inflexible and hating interruptions fit me just perfect.  With this information, I prayed for forgiveness and help to stop this selfish behavior. 

Thank you, Lord!

My Awakening

As a new Christian, I had God's guidance but did not always follow it.  I had relied on myself so much that I could not seem to understand or accept this new way of living.

After my many "no's" to God and then suffering the consequences from His discipline, I finally realized my foolishness.  Every time I finished what He told me to do, I always grew spiritually and learned that no matter how difficult the task appeared God would help make it happen.

The unpredictable support from humans was my frame of reference, but this did not apply in a relationship with God.  Supernatural support always involves miracles and amazing experiences to get the job done.

Thank you, Lord, for my discipline!  Pray to live a spiritual adventure!

God Disciplines His Own

After going to many networking shows and meetings to promote Tranquil Hearts, I was stopped in my tracks by a nose bleed.  I never had a nose bleed before and these ones kept getting worse.

One day as my nose was bleeding so bad that I was having trouble breathing, I realized I could die.  I had prayed for help, but God seemed to be unavailable.

Suddenly, I realized that my refusal to follow God's directions could have something to do with my nose bleeds and His silence.  So I repented and my nose stopped bleeding. 

Then I corrected my transgressions by reading the Bible, writing books, reducing the networking, etc.  

I'm grateful God stopped my rebellion and brought me to my senses for spiritual growth.

Pray For Protection

While out walking my dog in the woods, I saw the neighbor's dog running loose barking and growling at us.  Months earlier, we almost had a fight with this same dog but his owner had grabbed him in time.

Now this big dog was only about 30 ft away heading for us with no owner chasing him.  As the dog ran behind some bushes to catch up, we turned and went down a different path.

I did not want a dog fight, so I started to pray while I walked.  As my dog and I ambled on through the woods and back home, we never saw the mean dog again.

Thank you, Lord!  Protection is only a prayer away. 

Prayer Makes A Difference

As I struggled in my life to figure out how to bring together worldly beliefs and spiritual knowledge, my father had a massive stroke.  The doctors told us the damage was so extensive that he could not live.

Because he's an atheist, I went daily to his hospital room and prayed for his salvation.  

While my father did not become a Christian, he did miraculously survive and return home.  God gave him another chance for salvation, and I still continue to pray for him.

Prayer makes a difference!

God Fluxes Time

One of the many great advantages of being in a personal relationship with the Creator is having Him teach me.  I loved science and was intrigued with the concept of time.

God told me that time is a created illusion to help us learn easier.  When I asked Him to show me this, time fluxed for weeks.

I would leave early and get places late or leave on time and get places impossibly early.  My life became chaotic, so I prayed for help.

The Lord quickly responded, as my faith and understanding of His creation grew.  While the things of this world have value, I learned that the much surer path is prayer.

God Sends Help

After meeting God and receiving the motivation I needed, I decided to begin my new advising career.  My next step was to get a website, but I tried and failed.

Then I went back to the Lord for help and got directed to place an ad on the internet.  Over 80 web designers responded but only one name jumped out, Anna Marie.

Anna Marie was my Great-grandmother's name, which is the reason my middle name is Marie.  I contacted Web Designer Anna Marie to discover that she was exactly the person I had prayed for, effective communicator, professional, skillful, team player, easy going, creative, intelligent and oh, so nice.  I love nice!

Thank you, Lord, for bringing Anna into my life to help me.  Remember everyone, help is only a prayer away!