From the day I first started experiencing pain until the day I was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with having a stroke, 13 days had elapsed. To put this into perspective, strokes can kill an individual within a matter of hours. I managed to drag out a stroke for 13 long and painful days. Now, I share this not for pity, but rather because I want us to understand the importance of having scriptures tucked away in our innermost parts so that when times like this come, and it is inevitable, they will come, that we can pull them out and begin to rehearse those scriptures.This is how we can begin to fight the good fight of faith. There were two such scriptures that I battled so very hard with in those 13 days.
“ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”Jeremiah 29:11
“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8
I can’t even begin to count the number of times I recited these scriptures, or parts of these scriptures during that time. I’m quite sure I sounded like a broken record. However, I just knew that whatever was going on with me, the chaos that I found myself in, that God held in me the palm of his hands and that he was going to take care of things. In the midst of my storm all I could do was recite the promises that the Lord had given me in order to get me through.
The other lesson that I learned in those 13 days was one I was not expecting. I had always heard our pastors share when they traveled, that they coveted our prayers and I never fully understood what that meant until those days. I coveted the prayers of the saints so deeply because I knew it was those prayers that were going to pull me loose from the grip that death had on my life. I coveted those prayers so much that my spirit actually hurt. I know that may sound crazy, but I was in no physical condition to be able to intercede for myself, so I truly was relying on the prayers of others to swing the pendulum of death in the opposite direction.
In the natural, my stroke should have taken my life, or at the very least left me severely and permanently disabled, but it did not. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt because of fighting with the word, and the power of prayer I am now a normal functioning member of society. My stroke has left no physical evidence of it’s existence. However, it has left a supernatural mark on my spirit that I can never possibly forget. I am so grateful for the lessons learned during this time. They are lessons that I cherish so deeply.
God truly does hear our cries! He hears both the intercessions we make on the behalf of others and the scriptures we repeatedly recite in the face of adversity! These things do not fall on the ears of a deaf God. He is faithful to hear our cries poured out in humility. So I encourage you to write scripture on your innermost parts so that in your times of need you have something to focus your attention on and rehearse. These scriptures will be your saving grace in the most difficult of times!
Lord, I thank you for your word! I thank you for your promises that you reveal to us in your word! Help us to tuck these promises away in our hearts so that when times of adversity come we can pull them out and begin to battle with them. Lord, we know that there is power in your word. Help us to use that power to fight our battles. Help us not to get lazy in memorizing scripture because we never know when we are going to need it! Thank you also for the prayers of the saints. I pray that you help us to remember to lift up our brothers and sisters in the faith. We know that not only is there power in your word, but there is power in prayer. Thank you Lord that you have given us these two tools to encourage us in our faith in the most difficult of times. Thank you Lord that you never leave us nor forsake us. Thank you Lord that you hear our cries. Thank you that you hear when we repeatedly rehearse your word to get us through our challenges. You are so faithful!
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