Hampering Harvey

Hurricane Harvey was not far from our minds. There was a number of us serving at a women’s conference over the weekend. The conference was staged by a Finnish organization, D&Ksuomi, a foundation that stands against domestic violence. Many of the speakers had endured domestic violence and gave their testimonies. While I have not suffered domestic abuse, I spoke about the importance of planting ourselves in God’s court spending time in prayer and in His presence, a message that would come into play once the conference ended.

The event was spirit-filled, however, we could not ignore the swirling winds approaching the Texas coast. Once Friday’s program was completed, the group went into God’s court and lifted up a powerful prayer asking for the Lord’s mercy and to “Hamper Harvey.” We prayed three things:

1.    That God would diminish the winds quickly.

2.    That there would be no loss of life.

3.    That people would use wisdom and would evacuate the area.

In Matthew 8:23-27, there was another ferocious storm that kicked up while the disciples and Jesus were out on the lake. The disciples, fearing they were going to drown, woke Jesus up from his nap. How could he sleep during a time like this? But then Jesus took control of the storm and said, “’You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’” Jesus got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. “The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’”

In John 14:12-14, Jesus also said, “Whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing” so in faith we lifted up our prayers concerning the hurricane, believing Jesus could do all that we asked.

Prayer #1: While the force of Hurricane Harvey was tremendous, and there was destruction in its path, the winds quickly died down from a Category 4 to a 1.

Prayer #2:  So far, only two people have lost their lives, which is a miracle considering the magnitude of this storm. Over 1800 died as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

Prayer #3: I read one account about Port Aransas and an official said most of the people “wisely” evacuated the area, exactly what we prayed.

We believe our specific prayers made a difference and we will now continue to pray for recovery efforts and the rebuilding of the areas.

So today I ask you, “What storms are swirling in your life?”

Do you believe in the power of prayer to calm the storm?

Have you experienced the miraculous in your life?

I believe.

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).