Prayer
I am writing this in part because I was inspired by Dr. Michael Brown's article on prayer found here and partly because I wanted also to talk about the importance of prayer myself.
I don't know how many of my readers know this, but I have a severe and fairly rare mental illness called Schizoaffective Disorder. It is basically a combination between Bipolar and Schizophrenia without enough to be a dual diagnosis. That means it is a psychotic mental illness that has a mood element.
What I wanted to say about this is that, although I have been a Christian for most of my life, I have not always taken my faith very seriously. In fact, there was a period of my life when I called myself an atheist. I was also a pantheist for a time until my faith was confirmed (which is a topic for another time) and I have been on fire for Christ ever since then. My faith was confirmed on August 24, 2018. But it wasn't until probably the riots and such in 2020 that my prayer life was ignited. With all the turmoil during that time (which continues today and has perhaps even gotten worse in some sense), it drove me to my knees in prayer quite literally. I started getting on my hands and knees in full prostrate position and praying out loud. This was very very significant because before then I had never really prayed out loud when I was by myself. I was just too self-conscious even when by myself like that someone would hear me or something. But I noticed some things in my mental health as I continued to pray out loud. For example, my psychotic symptoms have all but vanished. That is significant since I have been on the same meds for quite some time. Sure, my meds have been tweaked, but I'm still on all the same medications.
It is really remarkable what prayer can do! Without even focusing on praying for my mental health symptoms, my mental health symptoms have improved tremendously.
But more on prayer in general.
In 2020, I started praying for revival in the country. It was a desperation I had. And then I read Dr. Michael Brown's book, "Revival Or We Die" which is an exceptional book on the power of prayer in revival among other things. I highly encourage you to get that book and read it for yourself. And now, even in the midst of companies like Nike, Budweiser, and so many more that we could list that have been pushing this woke and trans agenda down our throats, it's time to not fight fire with fire but to get down on our knees and beg God for mercy. We don't deserve mercy though. That's why if Dr. Michael Brown is right about revival stirring among young people today, which he wrote about here then it is all grace. We have fallen so far off the bandwagon that it's not even funny. I am part of the millennial generation. And it is truly a sad thing that I say this, but I don't think I can name a single person who I went to youth group with who is still strong in their faith from the Vineyard church we attended as a family. As the Bible says, "We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way." It is with a burden I say this. I know people who are very close to me who have gone completely woke and I don't even know if they are Christian anymore let alone have a strong faith that can endure.
Not only was my prayer for revival and all manner of other things along with improved mental health answered, but I find quiet time with the Lord just sitting there in prostrate position silent and intermingling that with prayer are some of the sweetest times I have ever had with Jesus. When you do this kind of deeply spiritual kind of prayer it really does draw you closer to Christ. Just last night I prayed for what felt like a minute when it was probably more like a half hour. I would have kept praying but I had to go to bed. The Bible says, "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." It seems to be a spiritual law. Those who seek, find, what you sow, that shall you reap. That sort of thing.
The truth is that God has given us an abundance of wealth and prosperity in the US. But, if my dreams the last two days have anything to say about it, that may end in a hurry. The night of Sunday, the ninth of April, I dreamed that the US dollar was worth three times less than it is worth now as Biden was president. Then the next night, I dreamed that Conservative churches were in danger of shutting down for hate speech and the like along with some food items that are staples now were considered delicacies then. I rarely ever remember my dreams, so when I do remember them I usually think there is something significant about them. So remember how much God has given us in this plentiful season since post-WWII because it may not last. All the more reason to depend on God and the Lord Jesus Christ who is the sustainer of all things and the perfector of our faith. I wrote in this article on September 16, 2021, "At some point, you have to come to grips with the fact that everyone seems to be dealing with something these days. And in my estimation, it's not going to get any better... At one point I would have said that things always get better with time. Now I think that is painting things looking through rose tinted glasses... I can't promise for a happy ending for you in this life, but I can promise that if you are In Christ, all this pain is nothing but a momentary light affliction compared to the weight of eternal glory we will experience in the new heavens and new earth when Christ returns for his bride."
We don't know what the future holds. Even though I have had visions of such horrifying things as a massive dust cloud rising from the earth due to nuclear detonation or an asteroid, this could just be my own mind playing tricks on me. God could have mercy on us. But we must pray for it. We do not want to stand idly by while things crash down all around us. Let us be a praying people. Let us give it all to God and cry out for mercy. Yes, we don't deserve it, but God can freely forgive us of our wrongs if we come to Him in prayer and repentance.
God bless you! Until next time!