Praying For The Win: The Ordinary and Extraordinary
By Kristy Dees
Do miracles still happen? You bet they do! A 27-year-old Journey regular accidentally fell and hit her head in the middle of the night. She was taken to the hospital to check for a possible concussion. In the process, it was discovered that she had a severe stroke caused by an inoperable arterial malformation. At this point, the best case scenario was a three-year recovery along with incurable brain damage. Her friends, community, and many of us at the church rallied to pray, invoking the life and resurrection power of Jesus to change the prognosis from death to life. And then, shocking everyone, she woke up! Not only did she wake up, she recovered movement in both sides of her body, registered normal brain scans, and is now out of the ICU and on her way to full recovery. She is a miracle!
Often, I ask myself: why I am so surprised when real life miracles happen? This reminded me of something I read recently about seeing the power and life of Jesus in our ordinary moments. Seeing resurrection and redemption in my everyday life is difficult when I’m cleaning gross toilets, fixing endless PB+J sandwiches, negotiating ‘the schedule’ with my spouse and always feeling five steps behind on my to-do lists.
There is a spiritual practice that I have found to be helpful. As I make my bed, I remember how Jesus continually brings order from chaos, beautiful plans out of crumpled messes, and how He does this over and over, every single day. I pray out loud ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ while organizing my pillows and straightening crumpled sheets. All along, visualizing the truth that “your kingdom come, your will be done” means now, today.
So, how do we become people who pray and believe for extraordinary miracles? I wonder if the secret lies in what we believe about the ordinary. Maybe our foundation of faith grows a little more each day we choose to declare the ‘BIG Story’ that is resonating all around us. The redemptive life of Jesus means something powerful, even in our smallest, mundane moment. So, try it today. Pray the BIG prayers, believe for the extraordinary, and start noticing Jesus’ redemption story at work in us in each and every moment, “on earth as it is in heaven.”
We invite you to participate with Jesus in seeing “His Kingdom Come” right where you need Him the most in your own life and at Journey. Pray with us as a community starting next week on September 10th, 11th and 12th at 7 pm where we will pray these BIG prayers for ourselves, our families, our ministries and our church. I would love to see you there! Learn more about the For the Win prayer gatherings here: journeycommunitychurch.com/ftw
Kristy Dees was born in Pine City, MinneSoooooota. She is the classic Midwestern turned California girl. Indeed she was a small town girl, living in a lonely world whose trains took her all around the world. She has a huge heart for people who are hurting and has worked in some pretty interesting places, including Angola, Africa for several years! Kristy loves the ocean, dystopian novels, and twirling.
Contact Kristy here: kristy@journeycom.org
