Later, I hurried out the door so I’d be there by noon to hear my favorite speaker. Except I didn’t make it by noon. An hour and a half into my journey, when I stopped at a post office to buy a stamp, I realized I HAD forgotten my purse, just like I’d said I would. I called my husband, and he agreed to go home for my purse and bring it to his place of employment. That saved me an hour. But I still wasted two hours coming back for my purse. And I missed my favorite speaker.

I’d been listening to a preacher talking about angels and how they obey what we say. So when I said, “I’d better get my purse right now or I’ll forget it”, and then I didn’t get it, did they think I meant to leave it?

And is that the same as when I tell my cat not to get in my path when I walk through the house in the dark or I’ll step on her? And I do? Or when the assistant pastor says no one shows up for church when the regular pastor is gone? And they don’t? Or when a mother tells her child not to go into the street or they’ll be run over by a car? And they are?

God used words to create. We are created in his image. Are our words creating our world, both good and bad? Are we limiting what God or His angels can do for us by the words we say? I wonder.

In the Bible, it mentions that God’s word does not return void but accomplishes what he purposes. Do our words also accomplish something? Are our words tearing down the people around us? Are our words destroying our health? Are our words shaping destinies without our realization? Saying is praying and praying is saying. I think I’ll pay more attention to what I’m saying.

While we waited in the doctor’s office (back then they did drug tests in doctors’ offices), I noticed a man sitting by himself. You could tell by looking at him that he was VERY sick. He sniffed, coughed, and generally looked miserable. God spoke to me very plainly, he said, “Pray for him”. Now that was not something I was comfortable doing. First of all, there were the men who worked for me, they would witness it all. And second, I’d have to take off my helmet. Have you ever had a bad case of helmet hair? If so, then you know what I’m talking about. I had a lot of reasons not to pray for that guy.

But God wouldn’t leave me alone. It got so bad I walked out of the doctor’s office and went to my truck. I put my hand on the door handle and then heard the Holy Spirit say very sternly, “I said pray for him!” Somehow I knew I’d better obey, so I turned around, went inside, took my hardhat off, knelt down, and with helmet hair exposed asked, “Sir, may I pray for you?”

What happened next took me by surprise. The guy lit up. He said, “I’ve been asking God over and over to send someone to pray for me. Yes, please pray for me!” So, we bent our heads and right there in the doctor’s office, I prayed for him.

????????

That was the first time God spoke to me like that, but it hasn’t been the last. Sometimes I’m busy or it isn’t convenient, and maybe sometimes I miss God and don’t obey, but the times I have followed the direction of that inner voice have been very rewarding. I’d like to get a 100% follow through rate.

Then I thought, “Wait a minute. Jesus said he gave me authority over all the enemy’s power, why am I afraid? This is my body, my house, and my property.” I stood up and commanded, “Get out of here in Jesus name! Out of my house and off my property! There’s some heathens down the road, go there. You don’t belong here!”

And it was gone in an instant.

As the disease progressed, we took turns sitting with him. My turn came, and I was alone with him. He was unconscious, in a coma probably. As I prepared to pray for him, I placed my hand on his chest. When I did, he snarled at me. That’s the only way I can explain it, a snarl like an angry, cornered animal. It made me jump, but I kept my hand there and prayed. His lips remained in that position even though he made no more sounds. His face did not relax until his wife walked into the room. He died shortly after.

I have no idea what this means, but it just seems weird to me.

What I got from that was that our prayers were freeing people from places/things that had them locked up behind closed doors. That there was pressure on that door, they wanted out, but someone had to open the door for them. And as we prayed, that was exactly what we did, opened the door and prepared the way for them.