I don’t know if my mind is shaping my Universe or if my Universe is shaping my mind. This has always been a source of debate amongst philosopher’s and theologians alike.
Case in point: The Power of Prayer.
I had a very challenging event one week last year.
After watching a movie Sunday night, a Family member was wracked by severe pains. (9 out of 10 on the pain chart) This was so bad that any communication aside from tears was unlikely.
I insisted on an ER visit and for once she listened. We were on our way within a few minutes.
After many years of being away from this person I was (and still am) convinced that we have a long road yet to travel together. I admittedly felt betrayed by fate/God, when the event began. I had doubt, and thought that the path that was chosen was playing with me or I was being tested or schooled for something I had done or some lesson I had failed to learn.
In that moment I had to decide to let those thoughts go and focused on healing, happiness and love for this person.
I admit it. I was worried, unsure and very sympathetic to the pain. With pain this bad I was sure that there had to be something major wrong. The possibility of surgery or worse ran though my mind. I “knew” I had no power here. My wishes were not enough. I did what most any concerned family member and christian would do. I prayed.
At first I prayed simply, for the doctors to not find any problem and for the pain to subside. I prayed silently and when alone I prayed aloud. But somehow I “knew” that I would be heard.
As usual My Universe always rings true as God is always listening. I received EXACTLY what I asked for. After many tests and hours at the ER, the doctor and staff could find no cause for the pain. They brought out the big guns for pain management (morphine – can we say “loopy”) and suggested a follow-up as soon as we could get our regular doctor on the phone.
With the immediate fear of imminent danger to life lifted for the moment I began working on the follow-up. After sending my new patient to bed, I continued my regiment of prayer and good wishes as I attempted to get the doctor on the phone.
Within a half hour I had spoken to a nurse who had the doctor on the line and made the appointment. The nurse was working on a specialist appointment as well. Within an hour we had the appointment with the specialist and were on our way in to see them.
By this time my prayer had changed a bit. I wanted the pain to go away and the tests to be over, but I desperately desired to know what was causing this problem and how to prevent it from becoming a bigger issue.
Again my God was listening and the Universe obeyed. The specialist was able to identify the problem with few additional tests. The problem, although painful to experience, was a functioning “housekeeping” process, ie. the body was repairing itself. The body was removing a foreign object from the system and would handle the cleanup. Within a few days, the doctor told us, the pain would subside as the body continued to repair itself. The specialist doctor recommended simple bed rest Motrin and a follow-up in a week or two.
Later, with a few references from a friend and a call to a doctor friend of mine, I found that had this not happened, this object could have continued to grow and become a much larger problem that would have required surgery and so on.
All that being said and done, when we got back to the car, I fell apart. I was just so grateful that the whole thing had turned out exactly as I had asked.
In the end I was sincerely grateful and thanked God for the ending to this scenario, and ending it well.
So here is the discussion point I was trying to get to in the first place. (but it takes me two days to tell a story)….
Are these daily “miracles” a product of our prayers and wishes. Does God (or the PTB) watch out for us?
Are we actually shaping our world and reality in this way?
OR
Are we merely attributing the good coincidental results in our lives to these affirmations and prayers so that we can feel like we have some modicum of control and feel that something is watching over us?
Me? I used to have a large issue with giving control over to God and finding myself subject to the authority of another being. Now, I will take grace, power and faith over chance any day of the week.
What do you think???
Thank you for reading and for comments…
– Be Yourself, Be Well, and Be Loved,
May Jesus have His way with your day
He is Founder and consultant for Tek Management,
Founder of the Men’s Leadership site: CalebStrong.org,
Co-Founder of the online Bible study app: BibleCounts
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