“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does” James 1:6-8.
The year was 2001 and our daughter was in prison. The rest of the family had a scheduled vacation, compliments of Mother and Daddy. Grandmother approached me and Bruce on vacation, asking if we could have a family prayer for Kristen. Of course Bruce and I were both encouraged and welcoming of this prayer stand. I opened my grandmother’s journal this morning to relive her impressions of that day. I am honored to share her precious ink with you this morning to encourage everyone to pray with confidence when approaching our God for anything.
“July 23, 2001: ‘Blessed be God! I could never put on paper what happened in the family prayer for Kristen this morning. I left the time when we would pray up to Brenda. She decided on 9:00 o’clock. Donald and Benita and all four of the girls and Bruce were there around the table. Prayers for Kristen: (1) That the works of the devil shall be destroyed in her life; (2) That Kristen shall feel old-time conviction for sin; (3) That Kristen shall be born again; (4) That Kristen’s life shall be redeemed; (5) That Kristen will be protected from the influence of the inmates ‘under the shadow of the Almighty, covered with His feathers and under His wings.’ The Holy Spirit so settled down that each person prayed in a broken spirit. It was in every sense a defining moment for our family.”
“July 27, 2001: ‘Thank you, Holy Spirit, for answered prayers for Kristen exactly as we prayed. Heavenly Father, I look up to you in faith for Kristen because this was the Spirit’s defining moment.’”
Grandmother followed up with a letter to Kristen outlining the prayer stance we took informing her that God had answered every one of them. Prayer item by prayer item was answered in God’s timing. I’m unsure when any of these prayer items were answered but I sit here this morning with a daughter who was redeemed and rescued from Satan by the power of God. I am a mother whose daughter returned to her position in Christ. I am the granddaughter of a woman who wouldn’t take no for an answer when claiming her prayer stand against evil. I am a woman striving for this same faith of not just asking God for something but expecting Him to answer through His will and in His timing. I don’t want to live my life double-minded…double-hearted…tossing between doubt and confidence. I want to claim God’s best for me and my family, and leave all of the circumstances to Him regardless of what the horizon seems to display.
It would be another 4 years before I saw the completion of answered prayers from that day around the table with 8 broken spirits. But faithfully at that table was a woman of James 1:6 who sat down with prayer requests and arose with the confidence in God’s deliverance. Praise be to God that we all can approach Him with this same spirit of expectancy!
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