The Power of Prayer

Source: https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/prayer/the-strength-and-power-of-prayer.html

What are you praying for? Who are you praying for? Have you received some answers to your prayers? Are you willing to continue praying even how long the response is?

As Christians, prayer is our way of communicating with God and submitting our requests to him. Most prayers are about our family, health, financial, spiritual, physical, wealth, love, and so on. When we pray, we expect answers from God.  But are we patient enough to wait for His response? 

I have made a lot of prayer requests in my life and God granted them in His perfect time. I was consistent in praying and I was willing to wait for answers. They say thoughts and prayers are not enough because action speaks louder than words. But prayers are an action in itself. It's our foundation for building our confidence in accomplishing whatever goals we want to complete. 

In summary, these are the specific prayer requests that I prayed to God for 17 years:

In 2006, I prayed for a man who would love me, take care of me, and show me, genuine love. I married that man in 2008 and we started to build a family. Today, we are happily married with three daughters. 

In 2009, I prayed for a job that would give me a salary that was twice what I received at that time.  I prayed for a bigger salary because I wanted to have my own house for my family and me.  On March 15, 2010, I got a contractual job with a salary, which is 200% higher than what I have.  Even if it's not a permanent job, I trusted God that after two years I will have a permanent job. Two months after that, I paid for the reservation and equity for our new home. On January 18, 2012,  we lived in our new dream house with my family.

In 2011, I asked God for a permanent job in the government and hopefully teach at a state university.  On August 1, 2012, I was hired and got a plantilla position at a state university. This was my dream job and I am still teaching at the university for 10 years now. From Instructor 1, I was promoted to Associate Professor 2 in 2022. 

In 2017, I prayed to God that I really wanted to study abroad. Studying abroad was my lifelong dream and I also want to strengthen the faculty profile of our college through this international exposure. This is one of the things that will boost our faculty force for SUC leveling and accreditation. I applied for several applications but got rejected seven times. But I consistently prayed for this from 2017-2022. For 5 years, I was faithful and this was always part of my prayer request during church's prayer and fasting week. Every time I faced rejection, I recovered quickly and prepared again for the next scholarship application. On June 17, 2022, I received a notice that I was granted a full scholarship to study Doctor of Philosophy in Economics at Kangwon National University (KNU) in South Korea under the  Higher Education for ASEAN Talent (HEAT) Program. 

In 2020, I prayed for a car for my family. It was a pandemic and it's hard for families to travel because of the health restrictions and is risky to travel on public transport because you will be infected by COVID. Checking on my current finances, it was quite impossible for me to pay for the downpayment and even pay for the monthly amortization. But I was faithful and God gave me other sources of income to support my goal. On March 3, 2021, we were able to ride in our new car with my family.

Looking back on all those prayer requests that I made, all of those prayers were answered. It took time and patience to wait for God's answers but He really answered all of them. In my life, I had a great testament to how powerful prayers are. Praying and having a big faith that can move mountains coupled with unwavering action is the formula for success. Take note we should also be ready for failures and rejections along the way. When we face struggles and rejections, God is sending us a message that He is preparing us for the next battle and He prepared something great for us, more than what we ask for. 

The power of prayer is within reach. So, read your bible and pray every day. Share the gospel and pray for others. Spread love through prayers!

**Poem inspired by these stories: "Faithful, Hopeful"