Evening: Don't Forget God's Faithfulness

For all those fasting, we have just about made it through the day. As I approach the end of a day of fasting, I find myself increasingly aware of, and dependent upon God. With my last post of the day, we reach the fourth and final instruction from Pastor Meeks about what we should (or should not) be doing while waiting.

4. Don't Forget God's Faithfulness

Psalm 103:1-3

Praise the Lord, O my soul;
    all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
    and heals all your diseases

Meeks tells us that, "Waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God wants us to be."

His statement kind of reminds me of the old Army recruiting ad that contained a jingle that went something like "Be all that you can be...in the army."

Remember that we are not waiting on God to heal Adam. He is waiting on us. He is waiting for us to be all that we can be in His army. In the meantime, God is building our faith. The title of the song, While I'm waiting, by John Waller is a bit misleading. It implies that we are waiting on God. Yet, as you listen to the words, Waller describes all the activities that God is waiting for us to perform before He helps get over the hurdle. It seems the title of the song should be While God's Waiting.



Pray:

• For Adam's FULL RECOVERY!
• That Adam's healing would lead others to Christ
• That Adam and Amy would eventually speak to many people about Adam's accident, his healing, and their faith

Remember that a 'delayed' full recovery is not a 'denied' full recovery. A "Not yet" is not "No."

Thank you for praying with us, today. Keep on praying for Adam's recovery until Amy tells us to move on to praying for their ministry.

2 Thessalonians 3:3

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

Amen.

Dinner: Don't Quit The Race.

If you are fasting with us, your stomach may be crying out for food. As many times as I have fasted, I am apprehensive about getting through a day without food. My advice is don't quit the fast! Likewise, Pastor Meeks has advice for anybody facing the hurdle of delay, which includes Adam's delayed healing:

3. Don't Quit the Race

Galatians 6:9

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

There is always a delay between the time when we sow, and when we harvest. With regard to praying for Adam's healing, we began sowing two years ago. Since we are praying for his full recovery, we have not yet reached the harvest. Yet, we are "watching the crop grow."

Adam has made such amazing progress. He was told he would never walk, yet he walks (his sign reads, "I was told I would never walk...WRONG!). Praise God! It is not yet a full recovery, but Adam has traveled a long way from the days immediately following his accident.

Do not give up. Continue to pray for Adam's full recovery.

Pray that:

• Adam would move beyond the phase of expressing anger at Amy

• Adam's cognition would improve

• The day will come when Amy will no longer have to care for Adam as a patient—only as a wife for a husband

1 Corinthians 9:24

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Don't quit praying for Adam. Continue on until he reaches full recovery.

I will post one more time, this evening.

Lunch: Don't Complain and Worry

In the breakfast devotional, we read that we should not surrender to fear. If we can get past the fear, there are other ways that the evil one tries to separate us from God. The second of four instructions from Pastor Meeks is one that we are all guilty of not following.

2. Don't Complain and Worry

Numbers 21:4-5

4 They traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea, to go around Edom. But the people grew impatient on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!”

Oh, those Israelites were so good at complaining, weren't they? And that would make them different from us, how?

It is easy for us to complain that Adam's recovery is taking so long. It is also easy for us to worry about how much longer it might take. There is an easy answer to that. We have no idea how long it will take. Yet, we have instruction on what to do about it.

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord

    and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

    when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Be still, and wait patiently. Easy to say, difficult to do. From my vantage point, nobody has been a better model of this instruction than Amy. She could look around, and ask why others, including "the wicked," are better off. She could complain to God that she got a bad deal. She could spend a lot of time worrying about what the future looks like. Rather, she has chosen to be still, and wait patiently.

As we wait patiently, we will find strength.

Pray for:

• Thankful hearts that would not complain or worry.

• Continued improvement in Adam's memory.

• Continued strength and perseverance for Amy.

• Safe travel as Amy drives Adam across the country to spend the summer with Amy's mother.

During a lunch hour without food, spend some time reading your Bible and meditating on God's work in Adam's recovery. Speaking of his recovery, look at him working in the yard!

Praise God!

We will meet back up at dinner time. If your stomach starts giving you pangs of hunger, take some time to pray.

Breakfast: Do Not Surrender to Fear

Good morning! Thanks for joining us in prayer, today. As I was preparing for today, I tried my best to put myself in the shoes of those closest to Adam. This past May 15th marked the two-year anniversary of his motocross accident. At times, it hardly seems possible that much time has passed. Yet for Amy, Mackenzie, Jack, Cookie, Ben, Brad, Tristan, and Adam's close friends, it is has probably felt more like a lifetime.

Last night, I wrote about God's purposes for making us wait (Delay by Design?). The problem for many of us, is that waiting causes fear. Fear that things may not turn out the way we want. Fear that God does not answer our prayers. Fear that He does not hear them at all! Fear that God simply is not with us.

On Sunday afternoon, I was listening to an online sermon by Mike Meeks, Lead Pastor at Eastlake Church in Chula Vista, California. He delivered a message titled, "What To Do While Waiting" (click here to listen and watch video of Hurdles Week 5) There were four key instructions about "what not to do" while waiting — in this case, for Adam's healing. I will be sharing them with you, today.

1. Don't Surrender to Fear

Fear is real. It can, and does, attack all of us. Pastor Meeks pointed out that the antidote to fear is to re-focus on God's presence in our lives.

Isaiah 41:10

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

It was interesting to learn that there are 365 "Fear nots" in the Bible.

As I listened to the message, the key take-away for me is that God is with me when I feel His presence, and God is with me when I feel nothing at all. My feelings do not change the reality of God's presence in my life. Today, as we join together in prayer for Adam, don't be concerned about God hearing us. He will hear our prayers!

Prayer

As we set aside to pray for Adam, today, we should not be asking God to be with us. Rather, we should be asking for God to help us be aware of his presence. That is one of the reasons I fast. It helps me to be aware that I am in the presence of God, and that He is with me.

As we begin the day, consider the following for your morning prayer:

• Praise God for being with us.

• Ask God to make us aware of His presence.

• Praise God for His endless grace.

• Thank God for allowing us to be witnesses to a miraculous healing process over the past two years.*

• Pray for the healing of Adam's aphasia.

*For comparison, read Amy's post from June 28, 2010, then view the photo of Adam, below!

Praise God!

As you go through your morning of work, school, meetings, chores, or other activities, be aware of God's presence, and don't be bashful about offering short prayers for Adam and his family. We will meet, again, at lunch time.

Fervent Cries and Submission

I was pretty sure that I should be in bed, right now. Then, I read this:

During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.

 ~Hebrews 5:7

Oh, it is my hope that many offer up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the One who can save us!

Eve of Fasting: Delay by Design?

Deuteronomy 8:2

    "Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands."

40 years! God chose to lead the Israelites down the long path that took 40 years to arrive at their destination. That is a long delay.

How are you doing with delay? How do you deal with difficulty? How do you respond to disappointment? How do you react to suffering?

I cannot say that I always respond with patience. Yet, I do believe that delay is a test of our faith — just as it was for the Israelites. Adam just began year three of his recovery. If we have ever felt that his healing has been agonizingly slow, we are using the standards of our modern-day culture. God uses His own standards, and does everything in His own timing. Just think about wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years!

Has God been testing us? I believe so. Is He testing anybody in particular? There may be one or more specific people, or it may be a large group of us. The question each of us should be asking ourselves is, "Are you waiting on me, Lord?"

If God is singling me out; If the Lord is testing my heart, I want to pass the test. Yes, I want to see Adam achieve a full recovery. Most importantly, however, I want God to humble me, test me, and see that I have a  heart that desires to obey Him.

Viktor E. Frankl, neurologist, psychiatrist, author, and Holocaust survivor, wrote:

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”

With regard to Adam, the only way I know how to respond is through obedience to God. For me, that means prayer and fasting, but not by myself. I invite and encourage you to join me, tomorrow (Wednesday) by setting aside time to pray with me. If you can commit to fasting, so much the better.

    Now how could I after knowing One so great
    Respond to You in any way
    That's less than all I have to give
    But by Your grace I want to love You
    not with what I say
    But everyday
    In a way that my life is lived
    ~Every Time I Breathe, Big Daddy Weave



I want to respond with all I have to give. After a year of praying alone, I look forward to praying with you, tomorrow.

Year Three of Healing

Wednesday, May 16^th, Adam Root begins his third year of recovery from the motocross accident that occurred on May 15th, 2010.

It has been both a difficult and amazing journey. Difficult, because the healing process has been long and frustratingly slow for both him and his family. Amazing, because Adam has defied the prognosis from the doctors, and surpassed the expectations of many who know him.

As Adam ventures into his third year of healing, I encourage all family and friends to join me in a day of prayer and fasting on Wednesday, May 23rd. It will be a day where we will thank God for the remarkable healing that has taken place, and ask for continued improvement in Adam’s health.

Adam would not be where he is today without the miraculous healing power of God. Let’s join together to celebrate what God has done and petition Him for Adam’s continued recovery.

I look forward to praying with you.  Remember that...

   He made the lame walk, and the dumb talk

   And He opened blinded eyes to see

   That the sun rises on His time,

   yet He know our deepest desperate need.

   And the world waits, while His heart aches,

   To realize the dream.

   I wonder what life would be like if we let Jesus live through you and me.

   ~What Life Would Be Like, Big Daddy Weave

Let's let Jesus live through us on May 23rd.