Counseling Corner - November 2009

Sometimes, we may think, that God is not hearing our prayers. It seems as if things are getting worse instead of better. I took a course a few years back on Prayer Counseling. I remember them saying the same thing. It is so difficult for us to be patient and wait upon the Lord.

Polly Wigglesworth is a woman from whose life we can learn patience and faith. Many of us have probably heard of Smith Wigglesworth a simple plumber who ended up being a great man for God. He had accepted the Lord early in his life, but had backslidden and became a drunk. His wife Polly was a faithful Christian woman. Smith told Polly during one of his raging that if she went to church he would lock her out for the night. Even though she knew she might also face a beating, she fled to church.

When Polly returned that night, Smith had locked her out, even though it was almost winter and very cold at night. She pounded and pounded on the door. Smith would not come to the door. Perhaps he was in a stupor, whatever the reason he would not come to the door. In the morning, when he opened the door Polly popped up and said "Are you ready for breakfast Smith"? He was totally taken aback and the story goes that he repented of his actions and became a faithful servant of God.

No way am I advocating spousal abuse. Those who know me quite the opposite is true. We see that God can and does work all things to the good for those that love Him and are called to His purpose.

I heard another similar story about a man who now travels the world for Jesus, preaching the Gospel wherever he goes. He is from Africa and when a missionary came to their town, he forbid his wife to go to services. She got on her knees a prayed to the Lord to touch her husband's heart. She wanted to go to service and had received the Lord in her heart. She knew it would be a disgrace to her husband to disobey him.

Her husband could hear service from their house and heard a man that he knew did not speak English speaking in English. The man was speaking in tongues. The husband immediately bowed his knees to the Lord for he knew that this was of God. Whether or not you believe in tongues God used it to bring this man to himself.

Personally, I have a brother who made fun of me most of my life for being "a Jesus freak". He did not live a Godly life. I got to the point that I just lived my life before the Lord and stopped trying to convince him to receive Jesus. One day when I wasn't expecting it he called me to tell me that he had received the Lord.

The point is that our witness and our prayers as we honor God can bring our loved ones to the Lord, so no matter how impossible we think it is, nothing is impossible to God. Keep praying and believing for your loved ones. Remember God loves them more than we do.

Donna Ridge