Answers in Affliction

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by marilynbj

by marilynbj

Answers in Affliction

5/8/2016

Cell group homes meeting:

Before the meeting, an elderly sister comes to me and she tells me she has pain over her left wrist and arm due to a previous injury. She has asked the Lord to heal her but have yet to be answered. Usually, we pray for one another at the end of the meeting, and she has indicated to me that healing for this condition is her prayer request. I asked her to have a seat and I prayed for her immediately for healing. She is in much pain and has numbness of her hand. Since there was time, I decided to pray for her first.

After the prayer, she told me that she could not understand why she has not received healing from the Lord even though she has asked Him so many times, sometimes even to the point of tears. But every time, God's response is for her to turn to Nehemiah 1:5-11. She does not understand why. She faithfully prays the prayer in Nehemiah as directed by the Lord.

I turned to Nehemiah 1:5-11 and read it aloud. After reading it, I understood why with the help of the Holy Spirit. The answer was not only for her but for me as well. In my own current similar affliction, I understood her, and God has brought us together to bring His answer to both of us. He has brought the pieces of the puzzle together for me to understand His Will better.

Nehemiah 1:5-11 (New Living Translation, NLT):

5 Then I said,

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of unfailing love with those who love him and obey his commands, 6 listen to my prayer! Look down and see me praying night and day for your people Israel. I confess that we have sinned against you. Yes, even my own family and I have sinned! 7 We have sinned terribly by not obeying the commands, decrees, and regulations that you gave us through your servant Moses.

8 “Please remember what you told your servant Moses: ‘If you are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the nations. 9 But if you return to me and obey my commands and live by them, then even if you are exiled to the ends of the earth, I will bring you back to the place I have chosen for my name to be honored.’

10 “The people you rescued by your great power and strong hand are your servants. 11 O Lord, please hear my prayer! Listen to the prayers of those of us who delight in honoring you. Please grant me success today by making the king favorable to me. Put it into his heart to be kind to me.”

I, too, am seeking healing from My Lord for the nerve compression at the upper spine mainly over the neck and upper back causing pain and numbness over my left arm. I also have some problems with my eyes. I have prayed for healing too. The healing has not come yet.

Yesterday, on 4/8/2016, from my journal diary:

After the Prayer March, I returned to my office to pray and intercede for everyone. As I was on my knees and bowing down to Our Lord, in the midst of my prayer, I wept. This generation is headed for destruction. Do not allow us to be destroyed, Lord. Protect us. Save us all. The Lord is MERCIFUL and Full of GRACE. HE LOVES US ALL, and wants us to REPENT and turn to HIM. The Lord loves us so dearly.

After reading Nehemiah 1:5-1, I noticed that it reflected the Heart of Our Lord during my prayer time with Him on 4/8/2016. It is really not about ourselves but about the Will of our Father in Heaven. Jesus had suffered much, and we too, as children of God, share in His suffering. Our suffering is hardly comparable to Our Lord Jesus. The Lord has a purpose for all this, and we will faithfully obey and trust Him.

I shared this with our sister in Christ and she understood. Her spirit and countenance were uplifted. She proceeded to tell me her testimonies, her life, and her relationship with her Daddy God.

She is an Indian lady and she reads the Bible in the Tamil language.She is a lady who is spiritually greatly blessed by the Lord. She has seen so many visions from the Lord. She hears the voice of God speaking to her. She is a faithful prayer warrior.

She has seen a vision of Jesus. Jesus has personally come to visit her once at her home. He came to her balcony dressed in glorious white with His face shining so brightly, that she could not see His face. He enters her house and sits at the sofa.

However, she goes about doing her housework even though she wonders in her mind who is this man. Then, the Lord spoke to her. He said, "Do you want to be Martha or Mary?" Upon hearing this, she immediately recognised the Lord and went to Him.

She saw that our Lord Jesus was very beautiful, and Glorious. He was shining so brightly. When she went to Him, He stood in front of her and caressed her head with His right Hand and said, "Pray and Worship".