Monday, April 21, 2008

A Fleece, a Miracle, and A TRULY KNOWABLE GOD.

3:19 PM by Christi Bowman

I just have to share, with my small corner of the world, what God did for me Friday night. I was working in my discipleship workbook, A Warrior's Journal, and that particular days study was about growing your faith. Seth suggested many different ideas to stretch yourself, and grow your faith. One of those ideas was to pray for a miracle. I was also reading in John, chapter 16. When I got to verses 23 & 24, of John chapter 16, I read this:

Ask the Father for whatever is in keeping with the things I've revealed to you. Ask in my name, according to my will, and he'll most certainly give it to you. Your joy will be a river overflowing its banks!

After reading those two particular ideas on the same day, I felt that God was calling me to pray some bold prayers, and I had some in mind. We need our house to sell QUICKLY, in a bad market, and we also need HUGE amounts of support to get our family to Africa. I have no problem believing that God can make these things happen for us, so I have no problem asking Him for them. The problem was Asking in Jesus's name, according to His will. I know that Kevin has received MANY signs from God, pointing our family in the direction of Africa. I have never asked for one so I have never seen one. Friday night I decided I needed one. I have relied on feelings and events up to now, but to pray the bold miraculous prayers God was asking me to pray, I needed a sign from God...making it clear that His absolute will was for our family to be in Africa.

I had all my study materials on my bed, and I had my laptop sitting there...with all my email up to date, and cleared. I told God that I really felt like He was leading me to pray with more boldness, and that I have some pretty miraculous needs, but before I could truly ask for them with true boldness, I needed to know if they were His will for our family. I asked Him for a sign. I asked that it come that evening, and before Kevin and I prayed together. I asked Him, to let my next email to come in be about Africa. I couldn't believe what I had just committed myself to knowing. I felt like what Kevin and I had been dreaming about, since February, really hung in the balance. I didn't know what it would mean if an email came in regarding anything but Africa. I just knew that God had been in my Bible study, and He was asking me to pray bold prayers, and I was honestly seeking His will so that I could pray the way He was leading me to.

After my little panic attack, I looked at my laptop screen, and an email had arrived. I looked at it, and it was from a friend, saying that they had been praying for us. I felt this HUGE surge inside of me. I QUICKLY emailed her back. I told her I had this HUGE fleece before God, and I NEEDED to know what she had been praying for us about. She quickly emails back...AFRICA. It was as if God Himself had come down, entered my little world, sat on my bed with me, and told me that my family and I were to go to Africa. At that moment, I felt like I could ask God for anything...and I did.

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