The Mover and Shaker

Truthfully, I am often among the first to question the power of prayer.  I pray because in praying we align our hearts with God's, but in all honesty sometimes it is easy to explain away the power of prayer.  However, as we continue to do ministry here, Kirsten and I are learning that prayer is of first importance.  Prayer is not asking God for stuff like we would ask a genie in a lamp, but it is communion with our God.  He welcomes His children to come in confidence to the throne of grace (Heb. 4:16), He bids us to ask (John 16:24), because He desires to give good things to His children (Matt 7:9-11).  Most importantly, prayer is coming before God in dependence on His grace and seeking to align our hearts with His because we are the creature while He is the Creator.  As we have grown in our understanding of prayer, God has faithfully shown us the power and joy of coming before Him! 

Prayer may seem like "hocus pocus" or foolishness to some who may read this blog.  But consider recent events...  We posted a couple weeks ago news about our work permits (click here for post).  We noted that we were denied the fee waiver for our permit.  We were to pay the fee by this Thursday in order to receive our working permit/visa officially.  We had said that the we had one last ditch effort, which was to appeal to the local MP and see if he could talk to the minister of Labor about a discretionary waiver.  Jamaica's economy, like much of the world, is struggling.  So they are certainly looking for every available source of income, American visitors seeking visas not excluded.  In short, the exemption was a long shot with a small window of time.  This being the case, we prayed.  We prayed that not our will but God's will would be done.  More specifically, we prayed that if the exemption was granted that it would be for His Glory and would serve as a reminder to us of His call on our lives to minister in Jamaica and His promise to equip those whom He sends. 

As the month-long waiting period was quickly expiring and no word had been received, we were getting ready to wire $2400 (USD) to the Jamaican government.  Monday afternoon, we got the letter that our fees have been waived!!!  The MP was able to get the Minister of Labor to provide a discretionary waiver.  Skeptics may say this is a nice coincidence, but God is a God who gives good gifts to His children.  Kirsten and I have experienced the power of prayer in amazing ways.  We have prayed over the last year that God would go before us and prepare the way; He has done nothing short of that and much more!

Soli Deo Gloria!