Prayer works.

Acts 12:7 (ESV)

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood next to him, and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him, saying, “Get up quickly.” And the chains fell off his hands.

Too often we don't take the power of prayer seriously. If we only realized how attentively our Heavenly Father listens to our concerns, our demeanor would be radically changed.

There was no way Peter could escape. He was watched at all times, and just for security, The night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance.

Amazingly, Peter was sleeping amidst all his adversity. "He may have been tired," you might say. However, imagine facing certain death. Would we be sleeping in such circumstances? And prisons in those days didn't exactly have comfortable beds . . . But the self-reliant Peter had changed quite a bit, especially when he realized that Jesus, the one he had betrayed, had completely forgiven him. He could now sleep like a baby, for he fully trusted in God. Whatever would happen, he had nothing to fear.

Too often our reality is completely out of line. If we would focus on the reality of our Heavenly Father, our perception about our dire circumstances would change dramatically. Nothing would be impossible!

When Pastor Shepherd was sixteen, a baseball hit him directly on his forehead. Soon a goose egg appeared. It didn't help that a few days later a soccer ball hit him in this very same spot. The consequences were frightening. His cranium began to swell, so much that he was brought directly to ER, and he was diagnosed as having hydrocephalus (water building up on the brain). This deformed his cranium, big time, making him look very much like the artists' renditions of space aliens! The doctors were perplexed. As there did not appear to be any medical solution to this dilemma, they just waited it out, expecting him to die at any moment. His parents didn't like the odds, so they approached heaven in tears with a simple request: "Please Father, save our son!" A few days later, the swelling abated without any consequences. He was healed. The doctors were completely confused.

Later, Pastor's Shepherd's brother was diagnosed with leukemia. Again, the doctors expected him to die, as leukemia is quite deadly for young adults. Again, the family came together and brought their plight to heaven with the same request: "Please Father, save our son!" Amazingly, he, too, was completely healed. Again the doctors were confused. No wonder both of these boys became pastors!

Years later, when Pastor Shepherd was married, they rejoiced over the birth of their second son. Unfortunately he was born with a huge defect in his heart. He had only two heart chambers instead of four. Another dilemma for the doctors. This time it was Pastor Shepherd and his wife who approached heaven with the same plight: "Please Father, save our son!" This time, their son's heart didn't expand to four chambers, but against the grim odds of the medical profession, their precious child survived. Eleven years later, he is still alive and is as active as any 11 year old should be, with nothing stopping him from playing sports.

Prayer does work, my friends. Faith in our Father is an indispensable ingredient in our lives. Why not approach your Heavenly Father and experience the impossible through Him? W

Dear Lord, we thank You that we can come to You anytime in prayer. You are always there listening to our praises, concerns and needs. Help us be faithful with our time and spend it with You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.