My Miracle is Not for Me!
Hello My Faithphilled Friends,
I woke up so grateful this morning. Not really for me but for the people around me. I felt a sense of encouragement because I know success is waiting for those that are wise enough to surrender to God, hopeful enough to trust him and focused enough to back up belief with consistent action. This is the season of breakthroughs, miracles, and victories. So, when I got out of bed at 5am (well really my first alarm goes off at 4:45), I was excited for others to experience the power of prayer and the victory in prayer that I've been experiencing these last few months.
As I told y'all a few weeks ago, I felt God telling me to do something new because he wanted to do something new with me. I didn't know what and I didn't know why, but I felt a push to surrender to His will. I didn't know where to start but I did ask Him. He directed me to start reading “Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge”, a devotional written by Mark Batterson. I put it out on IG to see if anyone else wanted to join and to my surprise a few people did. I bought them the book, created a group chat, got my notebook and pen, and set a date for us to begin. We started reading but not long after we began, I realized I was doing the challenge alone. Without my accountability partners, I truly struggled with waking up. I'd wake up and fall back to sleep. I'd wake up and only pray or only have time to read. The baby would wake up for a feeding and distract me and by Day #9 I was behind 3 days. I told myself that even though I wanted to quit, I had to see it through because God told me to. So, I made God a proposal "if you help me wake up, I can do the rest". Not long after praying that prayer I confessed to my women’s group at church that I was struggling and BOOM...I got an accountability partner. Next thing I knew I was back going strong. But it didn’t take long before I started slipping again. I'd wake up and go downstairs…but could easily be distracted. I heard the Holy Spirit say ‘Go on a fast’. “A fast?!?!” I thought. “During the holidays?!?”. So much to my dismay I fasted because I needed my body to come into submission with what my mind and heart wanted. I starved my flesh, but I fed my faith; from 6am to 4pm. Knowing that I couldn't eat until 4pm forced me to get up and eat before 6am. And yes…you best believe this breastfeeding mama got up and ate! But after a week I had to change it from 6am-12pm because I couldn’t hold out. By the end of my 40 days, I had transformed. I wasn’t perfect but I was motivated, my prayer life was different, and I felt a different level of connection with God. As I was nearing the end, I saw that a prayer group that I am in decided to read the book and do the challenge. I decided I did good my first time, but I wanted to do great this second time around. After speaking to the leader, I learned she got the idea from me when I originally posted it on IG. So I did the second challenge but instead of needing an accountability partner to wake me up I became someone’s partner and was waking them up. Instead of waking up just to fall back to sleep or get distracted I was able to consistently write prayers and share them with other women online. Instead of feeling like I was falling short when I missed a day or 3, I was able to help champion some of the other women when they were having similar feelings. Instead of breaking fast at 12pm, I was able to push myself until 6pm. By the end of that 40 days I had seen and felt a noticeable transformation. So when the opportunity to do it a third time came around I knew I had to do it again. The leader of the group said she felt moved to bring it back so that more people could join and complete it this time.
In that moment, God reminded me of a part of the prophecy that I received earlier that year. I was told my desire to obtain a new prayer language would not only come to fruition, but it would inspire others to do the same. In other words, my Miracle was not just for me.
Why do I say this was a miracle? Because I have been struggling with feelings of prayer related inadequacy for most of my adult Christian life. I felt the devil shut my mouth and I fell victim to the lies he told me about my mediocre prayer skills. For God to help me to grow in this area is truly a miracle for me, even though that miracle was a catalyst for change for people connected to me. That transformation is for everyone else that saw me do it and that hears me talk about it. That miracle is for the people who pretend not to see me. People that don’t like to see me and are hoping that I fail. That breakthrough was not just to expose God’s glory and His goodness in my life but to encourage others. It was to show them that it is possible for them too. That if they desire a new language in which to talk to our Father, then through diligence, determination, devotion and dedication they too will receive it. So, when I woke up this morning I was filled with joy because the prayers that were once just desires buried in my heart, did not just manifest but it allowed others to begin their own journey.
So Sis, if my miracle is not just for me then your miracle is certainly not just for you. Whatever it is that God is telling you to do in this season it’s time to get activated and get it done. People are depending on your breakthrough. He never promised you that it would be easy, in fact it is probably going to be very trying at times. It is going to pull you and stretch you and it may even feel like its breaking you. But it’s also going to elevate you. You and every person around you watching. So don’t be afraid to share your victory. Don’t be scared to shout about your deliverance. Stop waiting for a sign to get that thing started because THIS IS IT! This is the time and you are the vessel. Let’s go!
Until Next Time My Faithphilled Friends,
Amanda Christine
