The Power of Prayer

Philippians 4:6-7 (ESV)

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I found this story the other day that shows the power of prayer even when we are sleeping. Here is the story.

While I was sleeping, God was at work. It was unusual for me to sleep until 8:00 on a Thursday morning. Usually I’d be up at 6:00 getting ready to take my kids to school. But that day our girls didn’t have school. I didn’t find out what happened until later. I should preface my story with this. I pray about everything. I try to put Philippians 4:6-7 into practice in my life. One of the things I pray for, in addition to my own family, is our dog, Joy. I regularly pray for her and pet her and ask God to bless and protect her. I pray specifically that she’ll live a long, healthy life.

That morning as our girls and I slept late, my husband was reading the newspaper on the front porch. He told me later that he hadn’t noticed Joy wasn’t wearing her electric collar. As it turned out, our invisible fence had been broken, but we were unaware of it. Our kids go to a Christian school, but the local public schools were in session that day. As a school bus drove down our street, Joy ran to the edge of our yard to bark at it as usual. This time, however, she ran through her invisible fence, out of the yard, and into the path of the oncoming school bus. On her own at only fourteen pounds, she didn’t stand a chance.

As my husband watched in horror, the school bus ran over Joy. He was expecting the worst. But, God! The bus ran straight over Joy without one wheel touching her! She shot straight back into the yard, up onto the front porch, and to the front door. She was shaking but otherwise totally unharmed. Not one hair on her furry little head was touched. That was nothing short of a miracle!

When my husband told me the story later that morning, he was astonished. Immediately Psalm 34:7 sprang into my mind, “The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them.” I knew in my heart that God had answered my prayers and sent an angel to protect our little dog.

This has served as such a great reminder that God hears and answers prayers of all kinds. We can pray about everything in our lives, the small and the big. God has chosen to work through prayer, and when we truly pray about everything, we can rest and trust that God has heard and will answer.

Dear Lord, help us to remember that You care about every detail of our life and that we can truly pray about everything. There is nothing that is too small for Your attention. We pray that we would know Your loving kindness even more deeply today and remember to bring all our concerns to You. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.