The early disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray and He taught them the correct motive, purpose and procedure for prayer and personally demonstrated the act of prayer. Jesus’ prayers were so powerful that every prayer he uttered was or will be fulfilled. Each prayer He spoke required a miracle and its path was unstoppable. This flawless record of answered prayer continues in the heavens today because Jesus and God the Father, are all-powerful.
Our prayers would be flawless if we were absolutely one with Jesus. One day we will come into perfect unity with Him, for Jesus prayed for that to happen – see John 17. For now, we who are called disciples, travel the road of learning.
The more in-tune we are with Jesus, the more we will pray and the more our prayers will line up with God. Then they hit the target with absolute authority and we see miracles. Miracles have come in abundance during special seasons of history and they are beginning to come again. We have seen more powerful miracles in recent months that we have for years.
God led prayer, is faith prayer, and that produces miracles. Faith becomes a word of power that we receive from hearing God. We speak it out and act upon it in obedience. It establishes our prayers so we may put full confidence in them. If we fail to hear God accurately, we miss His will and we miss the path of faith. Persistent prayer, however, tunes us into God and brings us to faith. Then prayer becomes a heat-seeking missile and a miracle is bound to follow.
To teach this persistent prayer Jesus told this strange and unusual story to His disciples.
A widow kept coming to a certain ungodly judge with the plea, “Grant me justice against my adversary.” For some time he refused but finally said to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God or care about men yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice so that she won’t eventually wear me out with her coming.” The Lord said, “And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones who cry out to Him day and night? Will He keep putting them off? I tell you He will see that they get justice, and quickly.” Luke 18:1-8
My good friends, Ronnie and Clarice Holden exercised persistent prayer and God released an unimaginable miracle in their lives. On May 7, 2000 Ronnie was driving his SUV when a drunk driver in a truck ran a stop sign and smashed into him. The truck t-boned the driver’s door at 80 miles per hour. Ronnie was ejected from his seat and thrown through the passenger window onto the ground. The SUV rolled 2 1/2 times landing on its side just a few feet from Ronnie’s broken and busted body. Ronnie suffered a broken neck in 2 places, 15 fractures in his leg, a shattered knee, a broken pelvis and his liver, spleen, kidneys and intestines were torn. He was so twisted and covered with blood that the young man who found him did not recognize him, even though he knew him.
In the hospital, Ronnie’s situation worsened. The doctor’s first dealt with his broken neck and by the time they opened his abdomen to repair his sliced intestines, peritonitis had set in. His organs were so infected and so swollen that they would not fit back into his body. They remained outside of his body for 12 days covered only by a damp net. Following the operation, Ronnie’s temperature rose to 107 and he fell into a coma. It was now impossible for Ronnie to survive and the doctors said, “He is more dead that alive.
He will not make it through the night. He will be gone within 3 hours.”
Clarice, her church family and some loyal friends pounded the gates of heaven and took hold of God with desperate, persistent prayer and they made it through the night and Ronnie was still alive in the morning.
Equal to the demonic level of chaos, came a supernatural strategy of spiritual wisdom for the battle. Clarice said, “Doctor, I need you to be in agreement with me, for Ronnie’s life and well being.”
He responded, “I cannot, it is impossible, I am sorry but your husband is going to die.”
Clarice insisted and finally the doctor acquiesced. She asked to be informed of all changes in his condition and permission to attend all meetings that involved her husband so the prayer team would know how to pray. She said she would not get in the way but asked for access, 24—7 to Ronnie, and somehow the doctors agreed.
Furthermore, Clarice screened every visitor and any who were not in faith and spiritual agreement for Ronnie’s recovery were not permitted to see him. She covered him aggressively like a mother eagle watches over her chicks.
On a daily basis, Ronnie faced new battles and death came knocking, sometimes even more than once a day. Clarice was repeatedly told of new dilemmas that were sure to take Ronnie’s life but she interceded and cried out to God and saw miracle after miracle. For more than 40 days she prayed and did not leave the hospital.
The hand of God was outstretched over this hospital because of a woman’s unbridled, persistent prayer. There are accounts of angelic visitations and even visions of the death angel himself being turned away.
The unthinkable became tangible and the impossible became possible as Clarice prayed.
On one occasion she walked into Intensive Care and saw half a dozen doctors frantically fighting for Ronnie’s life. She knew it was a desperate moment and dropped to her knees in front of the nurses station. With a loud voice, she cried out to God for mercy. No-one stopped her and God intervened and sent another miracle.
Her pastors, Bobby and Jane Causey had taught her well. She knew the story of the widow who persistently nagged the ungodly judge and she in like manner went after the judge of heaven.
After 53 days Ronnie left the hospital and now 5 years later I stand before them and know them as my friends. I see firsthand, the undeniable testimony of the kind of prayer that produces miracles. Persistent, faith-filled prayer, produces miracles.
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