The Prayer for The Unborn Continues…

The story continues…

[If you did not read my previous blog post, please read before you read this post. This is part II]

The same week that God gave me peace about this previous prayer loss, God brought another prayer burden to me. How ironic, and yet, it seems this is the way God often works. When one mountain peak has been successfully reached, He brings greater mountains to climb.

This time another friend called, and she was calling on behalf of her father who was facing a life threatening health emergency, and the salvation of other non-believers in the family hung in the balance. I had been notified of the situation the week before, and I had been praying, but I hadn't fully taken on the "prayer burden." Many people were already praying and through a very serious surgery, God had already been working and sustaining. But now she notified me that things were getting worse. The situation was urgent. They needed God to intervene.

After hanging up the phone with Julia, I was convicted that God was calling me to pray through the night for her father and her family and to continue to intercede until God delivered. As I thought about all that I needed to get done, at first my heart balked against the thought of taking on an additional prayer burden. But then God spoke to me, “What if this was your father standing outside the kingdom? What if this was your son? Would you fight for his salvation?” “Yes! Of course!” my heart replied. “Well, you may not know him, but he’s my son!” God whispered. “And I need you to fight for him!”

Humbled by my apathy and lack of love for the lost, I began to pray.

However, that first night of prayer didn’t go as I hoped. Although I was sincere in my prayers and prayed earnestly, I felt something holding me back. It was a small “sin of compromise” that I’d allowed into my life. It wasn't anything big, in fact, if I shared it here, most people would laugh and say, "What's wrong with that?" Truthfully, I don’t think there is anything wrong with "that." But the point is, God had told me “no” at least for this time, and I had disobeyed. As He brought this to my mind, I kept arguing with Him. "This is ridiculous God, this can't be a big deal to you right now!" But His finger stayed upon this specific issue in my heart. Finally, unwilling to surrender completely, I actually stopped praying and went to sleep.

It was another full day before I heard from Julia again. This time it was just a short text-message: "The doctors said that the prognosis for my dad is not good. He is probably going to die soon. Please pray for God's will and the salvation of all involved."

As I read the text-message, my heart pricked me as God spoke again, "What is the value of a single soul worth to you Melody? Are you going to allow your love of pleasure, are you going to allow this little area of compromise to keep you from fighting for the salvation of this soul and the family? Don't you realize that in eternity you are going to find that there's NOTHING sooooo valuable and precious as the life of a single soul?"

Finally with tears of repentance, I submitted my "sin of compromise" to God, and asked for His forgiveness. Peace flooded my heart, and then the prayers flowed freely again. And all that day and through that night, and for several days after, I joined Julia in fasting and prayer for the salvation of her father.

To make a long story short, God granted our request. He did not work the miracle we prayed for in saving his physical life, but He gave us the assurance of his salvation before he died. He also showed us that while He did not spare this man’s life, He was fully capable of saving his unbelieving family without the miraculous healing we’d prayed for.

Just a few days later, one of his children (for whom we had been praying) decided that they wanted to give their heart to God, and we know it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the family will follow suit.

Part of the key to effective intercession is identification with the one for whom we pray. This is clearly seen in the life and intercession of Christ on our behalf. He literally poured out His life unto death. He bore our sins so that He could more effectively intercede for our transgressions. He tasted death for every man. Christ, our intercessor, could plead effectively because He gave His life for those He pleaded for. His self-interest were submerged in the needs of our humanity.[i]

The Bible tells us: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." (Jn. 15:13)

I’ve often asked myself, “What does this actually mean? Does it mean jumping in front of the firing squad to take the bullet so my friend can go free?” If this is the case, how do we expect to have the strength and fortitude to do this, if we can't lay down our lives now…today? If we can't give up some sleep for a friend in need, if we can't give up some food or some luxury to see a soul saved, can we really give up our lives when the greater tests come in the future?

What if I'd allowed that "sin issue" in my heart to stay unresolved? (My heart breaks at the thought!) What if I'd allowed my own agenda and schedule to dominant and I'd told my friend, "I really don't have time for this. I care yes, and I want to see your family brought into the kingdom, but I really don't have time to go to battle with you in prayer.”

Of course, we would NEVER say such a thing to a friend! What we would do is say, "I'm praying for you!" Then we’d offer a 30 second prayer and go back to living life as normal, unless they brought the subject up again. That's what we usually do! And I’m not pointing any fingers, for I've done this far too many times myself. But is that really praying? Is that laying down our lives for our brethren? And if this is our habit in intercession, should we be surprised that God isn't answering our prayers when we pray and fight so superficially?

I'm ashamed that as much as I love God and as much as I believe in the power of prayer, I still find that I care first and foremost about me, mine and my own. I have my own long list of people I’m praying for, and I have a lot to do. I have deadlines to meet, a book to finish writing, prayer conferences to organize, people to call, letters to write. I really don’t have time to pray for everyone else’s problems. And yet God, in the midst of all this, was challenging me this past week that it's not just my own prayer burdens I am to carry. It's His! And only He can show me what these are.

God cares for the unborn, He cares for strangers we’ve never met, He cares for the least of these, and He’s asking us to care too. Will we keep our eyes on Him? Will we be open to His prayer agenda, even if it means giving up our own? How much is the price of a single soul worth to us anyway?

Inspiration soberly reminds us, “Only in eternity can we rightly estimate the loss of a single soul.”[ii]

Praying for miracles is not easy… in fact, the devil attacked me multiple times, trying to get me to give up in despair! One morning, he taunted me, "Who do you think you are Melody, to pray for such miracles, to pray for salvation of people that have never believed? Who in the world do you think you are???? You aren't any Reese Howells! You aren't George Mueller, or Hudson Taylor!! You aren't a Pavel Goia, or any other of the modern day missionaries! Who do you think you are to make such bold requests?"

Crying out to God, I sought to rebuke the power of the enemy. "It doesn't matter who I am! I am no one! What matters is who Christ He!!! He is everything, and I believe through His power we can gain the victory on behalf of these unborn who do not have strength to pray for themselves."

Ultimately God has a prayer agenda and He must show us what that is! I didn't ask to pray for that unborn child three months ago! I didn't ask to pray for a stranger that I've never met this past week! And yet, these are the kinds of things that are so important to God. It's not that He doesn't care about my needs to. It's not that He doesn't care about the unborn loved ones in my own family, or my friends that I'm pleading will come back to Him. He cares, yes. But He has many unborn that I may have never known, and He's asking me and you to care too - unselfishly, even when these prayers will not benefit or bring us any glory!

Of course, that doesn't mean we can pray for every unborn child….nor can we pray every night. Only He alone came to save the world, and only He alone can intercede for everyone! (Heb. 7:25)

But will we keep our eyes on Him? Will we be open to His agenda, even if it means giving up our own? Even if it means losing sleep or food, or some little pleasure that we want to indulge?? How much is the price of a single soul worth anyway? Will we ask to carry the burdens He wants us to bear?? If so, He will show us the specific ones we are to battle for! And wherever we are called to battle, He intends to answer. It doesn't mean it will be immediate…sometimes we can accept the victory only by faith, for "faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." But if He asks us to prayer, He will answer, and eventually His glory will be made known. "The honor of His throne is stacked for the fulfillment of His Word."

Although I'm still a child of prayer, I've seen God work in powerful ways. I've seen many answers, and daily He continues to show me that He's working and answering prayer. And by the way, praying through the night is not scary anymore… God's given me strength to pray multiple nights now… I've already lost count. And each time He responds by some amazing blessing or answered prayer!

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[i] Rees Howells: Intercessor, p. 82

[ii] The Great Controversy, p. 640

Praying for the Unborn… Will you JOIN ME????

"In as much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." Matt. 25:40

Several months ago, a friend called me in distress asking for prayer. His wife was 5 months pregnant and it seemed that she was about to miscarry. He asked if I would pray for a miracle. I prayed with he and his wife on the phone that day, and gave them promises of encouragement. It could have stopped right there, and I could have just continued on with my work, but I just really felt compelled to "carry the prayer burden" and keep praying until we saw God bring the victory. So I set my alarm and every hour through the day, I would stop and pray for them.

At this point, I had never prayed through the entire night alone. I've done it more times than I can count with friends, at our Bible prayer conferences, at different ministry events, church groups etc, but NEVER alone. At yet I had just recently been studying about Christ and how He often prayed all night on behalf of lost humanity.

Inspiration tells us:

"We must look to Christ; we must resist as He resisted; we must pray as He prayed; we must agonize as He agonized, if we would conquer as He conquered." That I May Know Him, p. 34

As I thought of these things, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart. "Are you willing Melody, to sacrifice a night of sleep on behalf of this unborn child? Are you willing to pray thru the night for the least of these?"

 Normally I would not have even considered this, and especially not alone, but suddenly I knew what God was asking me to do. When He speaks to my heart, it doesn't take long to be so convicted that I can do nothing else except obey.

That night as I prayed, God took me deeper into His heart of love for the "least of these" and He also showed me that I wasn't just praying for the life of this unborn child, I was praying for the many "unborn children, adults, and people" around the world who had never been "born again" and come to know Christ spiritually. As I thought of this, and realized the significance of the need for the many spiritually unborn, I wept and wept.

I am weak!! I would never have thought I could pray thru the night alone, just God and I, but it was a beautiful night of prayer, and God brought me through much stronger than I imagined possible! (The next day, after only resting for a couple hours, I began working again, continuing to stop every hour or so to pray. The amazing thing is that I wasn't hardly tired the entire day despite getting no sleep thru the night! God is so good! Surely "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength!")

The battle was not won the next day though, nor the next, nor the next. While I only prayed thru that first night, I continued to fast and pray throughout the day for the next 5 days…even thru a ministry speaking engagement that I had, which meant I could not enjoy a very scrumptious meal that many others enjoyed, and probably as a result to many, I seemed very odd. (What is "love of food" and a little humiliation though, when you consider the price of a soul…one whom Christ has died to save? Am I willing to fast for them, for those that have not yet tasted the bread of life?)

As I continued praying for this unborn child (and the many that she represented spiritually), I was pretty convicted that, as I know God does NOT come to steal, kill or destroy (see John 10:10), that it was NOT His will to allow the life of the child to be taken. In my heart I just knew God would deliver. And throughout the entire week, mom and baby stayed stable. Things did not get worse. (And yet, God is God, so I can't claim to know all. I just was seeking to pray according to His character as revealed in His Word. For Biblical clarity on this topic, read the short handout "God's pain VERSUS the Enemy's torture.")

However, on the afternoon of the 5th day, my dear friend Kim joined me in prayer. She prayed that if the child might have deformities or complications, that God would do what was best for the child and parents as she knew they would be able to raise that child in heaven. She also prayed that God would give the parent's peace. While I was praying for a miracle, we both agreed that we wanted God's will.

That night the child died in the womb, labor was induced, and the child was still born.

God did give the parent's peace and strength as they walked through this heart break, and I was so thankful for that. In fact, the baby's father wrote me not long after:

"We cannot begin to thank you enough for standing with us in prayer and fasting for our daughter’s well being. Your prayers have been a tremendous source of inspiration and comfort to us during this trying ordeal. We do have God’s peace and have felt His presence throughout this testing hour. Following is a quote that has brought us a lot of comfort regarding the outcome.

"Above the distractions of the earth He sits enthroned; all things are open to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He orders that which His providence sees best." Ministry of Healing, p. 417

I was so thankful they had peace, but I cried and cried in my own heart. With what looked like apparent loss and failure in prayer, I struggled with why God had impressed and allowed me to take this prayer burden if He wasn't intending to bring victory. I had seen the victory in my heart by faith…I saw that baby being born alive and healthy, I saw our prayers answered. So why did this victory NOT come to place in the physical natural realm? What was God doing in this situation for His glory??

In reply, although I still didn't understand what God was doing, I sensed His reply: "Do you know how much I weep when my unborn do not come to life? Do you understand the pain I bear? Even if you do not understand, will you weep with me?"

As a believer in the power of prayer, and in the power of the God of the Bible who has not changed, I began to pray that God would show me the deeper lessons I needed to learn thru this experience. I also prayed that the apparent loss of life this side of heaven would not be in vain.

The following weeks and months were not easy for me. I trusted God, I was willing to weep with Him, but I didn't understand. Of course, it wasn't my child I was crying for, but it was His and I knew He cared. So if He cared and if it's not in His nature to rob the cradle of new life, why hadn't He answered, counteracted the power of the enemy, and worked a miracle on our behalf…especially after all the agonizing prayers of the parents, and after my earnest prayers?

It wasn't until this last week (almost 3 months later) that I began to have more clarity on this "unanswered prayer."

As I was re-reading the life testimony of Reese Howells in the book Intercessor, I felt God telling me thru his story that sometimes initially although the victory is gained in Heaven, He allows the "prayed for miracle" to go to the altar so that there will be no self glory. Otherwise, we may think we are responsible for the miracle and we may rob God of what only can belong to Him. (We are not capable personally of carrying God's glory!)

Also throughout the Bible you see that the first fruits MUST go to the altar, and until God can trust us with the answers to our prayers, He may be slow in giving them. Our lives and our prayers must be for His glory, not our own. They must be for His purposes, not just our own!

 Furthermore, while God is more powerful than the enemy who comes to kill, steal and destroy, we must remember that we live in a world of sin, we are still in the midst of the great controversy, and even when we pray, we cannot always escape the effects of this sinful world. That's why this world is not our home. Heaven is our home. While the battle may look like it is lost here, ultimately, Christ has gained the victory in Heaven, and we must trust Him even when we don't understand, and someday we will see the answer to our prayers. In the meantime, we must not get discouraged. We must keep praying!!

Finally… after three months, God gave me the peace I was seeking. While that child was not allowed (for whatever providence of God) to be born to live in this world, I finally have peace about her loss. And her loss has not been in vain! In fact, I now feel stronger spiritually for having prayed for her…even though I won't get to meet her on this earth. When I finally get to meet her and hold her in heaven, with tears of joy in my eyes, I'm going to say, "thank you" to that little girl, for it's because of HER that I was convicted to really pray through the night, to weep even more on behalf of the least of these, and even to sacrifice sleep in order to pray on behalf of the spiritually unborn children of God.

"Thank you Lord, and to think that this is only the beginning of my journey…"