Day 28: God never fails

“And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,

And establish the work of our hands for us;

Yes, establish the work of our hands.”

Psalm 90:17

I received a call that my husband, Caleb, had collapsed during staff meeting while praying for our missionaries in Pakistan. At the hospital, the neurologist diagnosed him with haemorrhage due to brain arteriovenous malformation. Providentially, his bleeding had stopped, and as the haemorrhage did not affect his physical condition, he was discharged after two weeks.

To our horror, we found him in a coma less than a week later. A shunt had to be inserted into his head to treat hydrocephalus, a side effect of his brain injury. It was a long road to recovery and I was 8 months pregnant with our second child.

During this time, we were reminded of a prophetic word given to us months before the injury. Our friend saw Caleb and me coming out of the wilderness, leaning on our Beloved, with Joshua our son and our baby girl in my arm. Our friend also shared that our girl would bring hope to those around her.

We were assured that God had gone before us and prepared the way ahead. We also decided to give Naomi (which means beauty/favour as found in our family verse) a middle name, Hope, as a reminder of how He came through for us. It has been nine years since the incident and we stand amazed at Him who never fails us. - By HG

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Pray Father, I put my trust in You and I know that You will bring me out of my wilderness. I thank You for the victory which I am about to receive, and I give glory to Your name.

Day 27: Trust & obey

“Lord, my heart is not haughty, Nor my eyes lofty.

Neither do I concern myself with great matters,

Nor with things too profound for me.

Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul,

Like a weaned child with his mother;

Like a weaned child is my soul within me”

Psalm 131:1-2

When I had just arrived in Eswatini, Africa on deployment as a UNICEF public health consultant, a missionary told me, “Don’t think you can change anything in this dysfunctional place.”

My heart froze. But God sent me a timely quote through a friend:

"It helps now and then to step back and take a long view. The Kingdom is beyond our efforts. It is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work. We plant the seeds that one day will grow. We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs." - Rogelio Prieto

Truly, how different the world’s measures are - it demands productivity, when God requires only obedience. It demands impact, when God requires only trust. At once, under a tree in the unforgiving noonday sun, speaking to African villagers, I became who I was meant to be, not a consultant, not a change agent, but just a tool in His hand, a child who trusts her Father’s plans. - By WJ

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Pray Father, grant me the peace to let go, to trust and to obey. Help me to fulfill the purpose and plans that You have for me.

Day 26: The power of praying in the Spirit

“For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays…”

1 Corinthians 14:14

As mothers, wives and daughters, there are many instances we find ourselves unable to care directly for our loved ones. We have no control and feel helpless! Praying in the spirit is the strongest safety net we can spread beneath them!

I once felt a burden while my elder son was out on a field mission while serving in the army for his National Service. A few days later, he called home and I asked him if anything had happened on that certain Saturday, for I remembered praying in tongues at length after feeling a nagging anxiousness in the mid-morning.

He replied, “O mom, I had sat down by a tree and unknowingly put my hand over a hole in the ground. My sergeant noticed it and asked me to move away. It was a snake’s nest! The snake was inside but didn’t come up and all is well!”

When our loved ones are out of our reach, they are still within our Father’s touch, His loving arms stretch wider and His heart embraces deeper than we can. Pray in the spirit! - By TC

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Pray Father, I can entrust my loved ones completely to You. I ask for the blood of Jesus to cover them and protect them from all harm and danger.