MORNING THOUGHT 3 Wednesday January 5th
2011
Good morning. We have
recently come back from Mustard Seed Jersey’s Christmas trip to Romania and I
want to share some more of our experiences with you this morning. All of us
have memories that are special to us from this trip. Today I want to share you
what was the most memorable time of Neil’s trip. Neil was one of the drivers
bringing the 12 tonnes of aid to Romania, it was his
first trip to Romania and his first time to drive a long articulated vehicle.
On the Saturday it was
arranged that he would go to Oradea to spend the day with Nelu
and Cristina from the Romanian trust Fundatia Increderea, as he had met them when they visited Jersey.
This charity assist many of the poorest of the poor in the city of Oradea, many
elderly pensioners struggling to survive on tiny pensions or people unable to
work for medical reasons also struggling to survive on their meagre medical
pensions. It is incredibly different from the help available in Jersey. In
Romania many cannot afford to buy medication or to visit the doctor as they
simply do not have the money and may have to choose between pills or food for
the week.
When Neil went to the poor
homes of several different pensioners, many were suffering and in severe pain. The
first woman he visited had pain in her whole body, especially in her heart
area. Neil was moved by the suffering he saw before him and felt quite helpless
to do anything constructive other than to pray. So he asked permission of the
woman and he and Nelu the social worker simply prayed
asking the Lord to heal whatever was causing the pain and to take the pain
away. Immediately the woman felt relief from the pain especially in and around
her heart and she said she felt her strength returned. That was an answer to
prayer.
In another dwelling they found
another woman in great pain. This woman was bed bound with a cast over her
right leg. She had no money for doctor or hospital treatment or painkillers.
Again Neil and Nelu offered to pray with her and the
woman accepted and agreed they should pray for her. After praying once this
woman said she felt no change, but a sense of peace and calm. After a second
prayer the woman began screaming in excitement that the pain had all gone. That
was an answer to prayer.
We believe prayer works and
is effective because we are asking for
God’s intervention. You do not have to be someone special to pray. Neil’s
co-driver Bob could tell you of answers to prayer on previous trips when he ran
into problems with the aid lorry. My husband Phil could tell you of countless
prayers he has had answered, so could I, so could Neil, so could many others.
Too often in our society we
only turn to God as a last resort and not as the first source of help when
problems come, but God is always longing to hear from any of us.
If you do not normally pray
or talk to God, can I encourage you to take time out to pray. It doesn’t need
to be an elaborate prayer just be yourself and be
honest. Maybe something along the lines of God I know I have neglected You and ignored You for a long time. But here I am again. I
want to change things and make You a part of my life.
I know I don’t deserve Your help but please help me
and show me the way to change & sort things out for good. You can be 100%
certain that God will hear your prayer and respond.
Have a good day and please take
time or make time to pray.