By Yaasha Moriah
I work at a pregnancy center that reaches out to women
who face unexpected pregnancies, and one of the first lessons I learned there
was the power of prayer.
The center started with prayer. In 2005, supporters in
northern Vermont recognized the need for a branch in my home area, and began to
pray for a new center. Five years later, in 2010, the new center came into
being. When the center received a phone number, we recognized it as a reminder
that the Lord had heard our prayers, for the number included the number
2005—the exact year that our prayers began.
Many people worked hard to let the community know
about the new center, but, as we all know, it takes time for the word to get
around. There were many days, then weeks, then months, when no clients came.
But it wasn’t wasted time. Why? Because we prayed.
There were only two of us in the beginning, and we
prayed every time we came to the center, before the day’s work began. We began
with short prayers—five or ten minutes—but soon we found ourselves praying for
hours. We prayed for spiritual fruit and a lively ministry, we prayed for each
other and our families, we prayed for our community and our nation. It seemed
that we never ran out of things to pray for, or for reasons to praise God.
And we saw change. First of all, God changed us, through our persistent prayer. This was important,
because when He began to bring the clients, we had been refined and strengthened
to be the support that our clients needed.
I remember that I began to pray specifically for two
kinds of clients: the woman who was considering abortion, and the woman who
wanted to live purely, but didn’t think it was possible. Months later, the
first kind of client walked in the door. We spent two hours talking over her
pregnancy options and, by the time she left, she knew the risks of abortion and
her child’s stage of development. I praised God that I had been there for that
moment of her need.
But the moment my new friend walked out the door,
another young woman arrived. In the next hour, she and I discussed the reality
that she was worth waiting for, and that the right man was also worth waiting
for. By the time that crazy day was over, I was in awe of my amazing Father and
the way He answers prayer!
Today, the life of the center is very different and
active, especially since we now offer ultrasound services! Even though it is
quite busy, we still pray. We pray for our clients, for their children, for
their spouses or boyfriends, for the deep spiritual need of our community, for
our own need for God’s grace and sufficiency in our lives, and for God to be
glorified above all. We also have much to be thankful for, which we pour out in
praise to Him. We’ve seen prayers answered in BIG and marvelous ways!
Sometimes the specific requests we have go unanswered
for a long time. That doesn’t stop us from praying again. We have learned over
and over that God truly cares for our needs and desires, and He answers when
the timing is right.
Sometimes we think of prayer as Plan B. “Well, if that
doesn’t work, I’ll try prayer,” or, “Well, if we can’t think of anything else
to do, we should pray.” But prayer should be our priority. God moves through prayer, and responds to
His people.
I am so thankful that we did not stop praying because
of discouragement or the seeming delay in God’s response. We would have missed
so much if we had given up! We did not grow weary in well doing, and God
answered—and is still answering—in amazing and mighty ways!
A Little about Yaasha
Yaasha Moriah considers herself an apprentice to the Master Writer, whose amazing story, woven through all of history, inspires the stories that she writes today. She is the author of READY FOR HIM TODAY, a book for single Christian women about faith, purity, relationships, and readiness; and of two speculative fiction titles (REFLECTIONS and IMMERSION). When she is not chained to her laptop, she is loving her life as a sister to her five best friends, a daughter to her two wise parents, and an aunt to an adorable little girl. She intends to continue writing until her own story has reached its last page.
A Little about Yaasha
Yaasha Moriah considers herself an apprentice to the Master Writer, whose amazing story, woven through all of history, inspires the stories that she writes today. She is the author of READY FOR HIM TODAY, a book for single Christian women about faith, purity, relationships, and readiness; and of two speculative fiction titles (REFLECTIONS and IMMERSION). When she is not chained to her laptop, she is loving her life as a sister to her five best friends, a daughter to her two wise parents, and an aunt to an adorable little girl. She intends to continue writing until her own story has reached its last page.
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