Last week I shared about how I’ve really begun to see the power of prayer at work in my life. It’s like a switch flipped, and suddenly some of my prayers are actually getting things done, in Jesus’ name! 🙌
Believe me, I’m as shocked as anyone. 😂
One of the coolest things happened a few months ago.
It was Preach Week at school, and it was my day to preach. I dreaded it with everything in me, and I picked up a large coffee to get me through the day. I inhaled the delicious smell wafting out of the drive-thru window like I always do. Ahhh.
I got home and sat down with my coffee, ready to savor every drop. I took a sip, expecting the flavor I love.
I couldn’t taste anything.
Oh NO! Today, of all days?! On the day I had dreaded for 57 days already?!
I tried not to panic. I had just smelled the coffee smell at the coffee shop, right? So my sense of smell wasn’t gone. Can you just lose taste and not smell if it’s COVID?
I sniffed my drink. I could still smell it. I took another sip. I could not taste the flavor.
My drink looked normal. I stirred it up a bit and sipped. I tried slurping from the bottom of the cup, where all the best flavor tends to sink. Nope, still pretty bland.
Casually, I asked my mom, who was sitting next to me with her own coffee, “Is there a little less flavor in yours today? Does it taste different than normal?”
“No…” she replied, giving me a curious look.
“Uh-oh.”
I immediately rebuked COVID and any of its symptoms. I prayed with authority. I took another sip. Still nothing.
“I can’t taste it,” I told my mom. “I’m going to go blow my nose and see if that makes any difference.” Allergies, maybe? I went to grab a Kleenex, cleared my sinuses, and returned to my coffee. Nope. Still no different.
My mom now prayed for me with authority. I took a sip. The same.
Great. Just great. COVID?! Seriously? After all these months I’ve spent rebuking it, refusing it, decreeing Psalm 91 over myself and remaining perfectly healthy?
And to waste a perfectly good coffee! The NERVE of the enemy! (It was a Ba-Nay-Nay Freeze from Dutch Bros. My absolute favorite.)
Well, I needed the caffeine, anyway. I felt perfectly fine; I just couldn’t taste my chocolaty banana treat.
I sat there and just kept sipping.
Gradually, as I sat there and sipped, I could taste more and more. I didn’t keep praying; I had already said what I could. I just kind of sat there pondering this bizarre situation. And lo and behold, my taste gradually improved. By the time I got to the last drop, it tasted like normal!
It was the weirdest thing. It was a miracle…but a progressive one. It was crazy. It was random.
It was God.
I tasted everything just fine for the rest of that day, and in the days to follow. I made it through both my coffee and my sermon. No more symptoms.
Sometimes healing happens in a moment. I have a pretty incredible testimony of that happening, too!
But sometimes it’s not like that. Sometimes it’s gradual. Sometimes it’s weird. (That would be most of the time, for me.)
What I’m learning – REALLY learning? Our prayers are powerful!! MY prayers are powerful! YOUR prayers are powerful!
Don’t discount your prayers. Don’t think that because you don’t feel anything or don’t see an instantaneous answer that you haven’t received what you’re asking for. Pray with authority. And then watch and wait for what God will do. WON’T he do it!
And don’t let your faith be shaken when you don’t see the answers. About a month ago, I did end up getting COVID, and this time it didn’t go away when I prayed. Although that was frustrating, it doesn’t diminish the testimony of when it was healed the first time! (Interestingly, I never lost my taste at all the second round, so that was something.) I choose to still believe God can heal, even when I don’t see it happen. He’s done it before and he’ll do it again!
The Holy Spirit lives in YOU. You carry his power, and it’s real! Your prayers are more powerful than you realize. Pray on, saints! When you have the Holy Spirit, you have everything you need. 🔥