Have any of you faced what seems to be an onslaught of battles since 2010 began? Since I know I’m not unique in the things I go through – which have already included many battles – I feel pretty certain there are at least a few of you who answered affirmatively. One of my battles, and the lessons learned, is the focus of this Prayer Nugget, because of the insight into praying more effectively.
In August of last year, I was diagnosed with celiac disease. To oversimplify, it is a digestive disease activated by gluten (a protein found in wheat and other sources) which affects the whole body if left untreated. The treatment is not a pill, but a drastic change in diet to eliminate all gluten. After my initial shock from the radical changes to menus, eating habits, and even grocery shopping, the Lord helped me take on His positive mindset: I don’t have to, but I get to live a gluten-free lifestyle. Because I feel so much better without gluten, it is much easier to choose His mindset and this new lifestyle. The problem arises, however, when I unknowingly ingest even a tiny bit of gluten, and I’m left trying to figure out the source so I can avoid it in the future.
Since the beginning of the year, I seem to have “found” gluten frequently, despite my best efforts to avoid it, and haven’t always been able to determine its source. I began to be fearful over every bite of food or drop of liquid I put in my mouth because of the contamination it might harbor, and the symptoms I could expect from it. Besides fear, there was a growing sense of defeat. No matter what efforts I made, it seemed that I continued to expose myself to gluten. When my morning tea and a little plain yogurt caused the celiac symptoms, I wanted to give up! The increasing sense of physical defeat was also working on my emotions, with my spiritual state not far behind.
When I began to read my Bible that morning, picking up where I had ended the day before, the ever-tightening grip of the enemy began to be exposed and eliminated. In Romans 8:15, I was reminded that I have received the Spirit of sonship, not a spirit making me a slave again to fear. As I kept reading, verse 18 added: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Strength was being renewed as the Word of God worked on my perspective, so I kept reading. Verses 26 and 28: In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. . . And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him . . . Then, in verses 31-39, the finale of this passage, the last grasp of that fear and defeat was broken, and I was restored to the place of victory in all that His finished work accomplished! I don’t know how the Word did its work in this situation, but I know it did.
What is prayer, but communing with God by His Spirit? Because Jesus Christ is the Word of God, when we read the Bible with our hearts open, we are communing with Him. As I opened His Word that morning, He led me to the exact weapon I needed for this battle, for He knew I had lost focus on the victory of the resurrected Christ living in me. It wasn’t traditional prayer I needed, but to commune with Him in His Word. This is also a needed component of our prayer and intercession for others – not just praying the Word for them, but asking Him to lead them to that weapon, that verse, that will bring them to victory in the power of His Word.
© Copyright 2010 Kay V. Stocking
