Warning: I may get uber spiritual right now. Just bear with me.

I don’t like when people get super mystical about prayer. I never have. I can vividly remember a lady from church acting like she was telling ghost stories when she would recount prayers being answered, complete with hushed tones and wide eyes. As a child I would look at her and wonder, Do you have to be crazy to have God answer your prayers? If so, my prayers are never going to get answered.

Years later, I can appreciate her zeal. She was in awe of a God who really does answer the prayers of His children; albeit, it was a bit spooky.

Spooky Prayer Lady would lay hands on people and pray that the God of All would sovereignly answer in mighty ways. Her bangles would clink as they waved on her wrist, her hand planted firmly on the head of whoever she was praying for. Though she slightly scared me, I was intrigued by her faith. When she prayed, she would talk to God like it was urgent. Like she was a confident child asking her father, not if but when for things that seemed impossible. Like she was praying to someone who really heard.

Years later, I yearn for her faith. Her zeal. Her belief.

I don’t want to tell ghost stories, but I’m speaking in hushed tones and wide eyes. Why? Because the God of All sovereignly answers the prayers of children who believe not if, but when.

Prayer is most impactful when we celebrate how He answers us. I realized last week that I have no problem asking my online friends to pray for me, but never followup with how God answered our prayers. I ashamedly withhold the work of God by not letting you know how great our God truly is.

A couple weeks ago I spoke at my church and was scared stupid. I told you all that I was the Cholula lady of preaching and in true form, the heat was brought! I spoke about 100 miles per hour (the nerves got the best of me), but the truth was shared unabashedly! At the end of our time together, I felt prompted to pray over people in the room. Not as an individual, but as a corporate body of believers. We prayed for those who were sick, those who were in relational poverty, those who needed miracles, and those who needed much more. We laid hands on those in need and believed in faith that God would answer. And he did.

The next day I received an email from a guy who said he didn’t want to stand up for prayer. He had been unemployed for over seven months and applied for over 100 jobs. His friends urged him to stand and he begrudgingly did. He confessed that in his bitterness, he felt forgotten by God. The next day he was called for an interview and was hired for a job that paid him more than he asked for. Prayers: ANSWERED.

While in Greece a couple weeks ago for work, I asked my cyber friends to pray for a court case regarding two of the girls in our A21 shelter who were testifying in court against their traffickers. What happened next shocked us all! We found out that not one, not two, not three but FIVE traffickers were convicted in a landmark conviction, serving the maximum penalty and individually fined over 12,000 euros each. Prayers: ANSWERED.

I left Greece and flew to Florida to speak at FUSION in Orlando. The auditorium was filled with over 3,000 youth, rockin’ out and worshipping God. It’s been a while since I was surrounded by so many teens [and the smell of pubescence], but I knew God was going to show up. I snuck behind the stage and got on my knees. I sensed that God was going to do something massive and I wanted to make sure this was covered in prayer.

FUSION 2012

On my face I prayed like the Spooky Prayer Lady. Like was it was urgent. Like a confident child asking her father, not if but when for things that seemed impossible. Like I was praying to someone who really heard.

As the band approached the stage for altar call and commitment to change, students flooded the front of the auditorium. Hundreds came forward, broken, humbled, in need. We prayed for the impossible and God showed up miraculously. We were flooded with students who wanted prayer, life change, and salvation.

I shared about freedom and how God was using The A21 Campaign to free those in bondage, but paralleled that to how many are in bondage to sin. I knew freedom was what the room needed, but didn’t know how it was going to pan out. But God did.

Later that night over dinner the organizer for the event leaned over the table and read the following text to us from a youth pastor traveling home:

Just had one of our 19 year-old girls share how she is in a prostitution escort service and God told her she is beautiful and weeping she shared how she is not going back.  She wants to be free. Wow!!!! The entire bus is weeping and God is wrecking us.

Friends, God answers prayers. God answers YOUR prayers. For those who have prayed for me, I’m indebted to you. In a season of thankfulness, I’m thankful for the community of people who are a journey with me… together… to build God’s kingdom. Prayers: ANSWERED.

To practice what we preach, I’m opening up the blog for prayer requests. Let’s pray for one another and just watch as God answers our prayers! But don’t worry, I won’t be like the Spooky Prayer Lady. Ok, maybe just a little bit 😉