Power of Prayer

21 Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
-Matthew 21:21-22

Growing up, I was surrounded by prayer. My parents prayed for me, church members prayed for me, pastors prayed for me, my friends prayed for me and even strangers I never met prayed for me. I am amazed by the prayers I received and the power it had on me. If my family did not prayed as hard as they did for me when I was in the hospital right after the fire accident, I believe I would not be living right now. I think God had a plan for me to live all along and live out what He wants me to do in my life; however, I believe God wanted my family to pray hard, having faith in Him rather than relying on medicine (by the way, the doctors thought I was going to die due to inhaling so much smoke from the fire and they did not know how to recuperate me from the coma.) So, my whole family prayed. They prayed that I would get out of the coma and be able to live. And, He answered that prayer. Little background about what my parents' lives were like prior to the accident, my parents lived a secular life even though they were sprinkled in the church. Technically, they were "Christians" since they got sprinkled; however, their lives were far from living the Christian life. My dad used to drink alcohol heavily and smoke a lot, that's what most Korean men do. My mom was comfortable staying home and raising us kids, that's what most Korean women do after they get married. My parents were content with their lives, living out the "Korean dream" you would say. However, that all changed when there was a fire accident and it was on the private school that my brother and I happened to attend for the first time. You can read about my story in the second blog I wrote in December '08. So, getting back to how I woken up from the coma I had for few days and relating to prayer, at that time, my mom and a church deacon (one from the church that sponsored the school) was in my ICU room. I do not remember this part because I probably was still out of it when I woke up but my mom told me that I told her that God told me to tell my parents to pray more and worship Him more in their lives. Oh goodness, this gives me the chill. I mean, I was just five years old and I knew about God but not necessarily did not know who God was. Ever since then, my parents have sold out their life for God and they serve the church faithfully. My parents dedicated their lives to the LORD and got baptized again believing that the first time they were not sincere. Prayer is powerful. My great grandmother (from my dad side) prayed to God that her son (my grandfather) would become a pastor and my grandfather became a pastor. How amazing is God answering prayers! Even though, at times, not all prayers are answered immediately or at all. I have an example of my prayer being redirected. So, I wanted to be a doctor and I prayed to God that He would allow me to be a doctor; yet, God already knew I was not going to be a doctor and He had another plan for me. I was pretty stubborn, okay, a lot and I thought that if I prayed harder about being a doctor, I would find peace about studying to be a doctor. Nope, I was wrong. I felt more uneasy and more depressed about being a doctor as I studied toward getting into medical school. And, I did not feel I was called to be a doctor. I still do not know what I am called to do in life. Perhaps, I am called to be an advocate for people who are weak, vulnerable and powerless or maybe I am called to be a missionary in a foreign country. I do not know and I pray that God will let me know, you know, soon, since I am getting impatient. Okay, so I am still working on the impatience and it's better than before but still needs lot of work. There is so much power in prayer. A example of how God answered my immediate family's prayer involves getting our Green Card (Permanent Resident to live in US) and also for getting our U.S. citizenship. Let me tell you that obtaining the Green Card was a very long and very rough road; however, God was faithful and He answered just in time. So in time, that I was able to travel with my church in Texas to various mission trips to foreign countries. Also, God answered the numerous prayers that my parents petition to Him regarding numerous surgeries I had for my burns. So, the surgeries I had were somewhat risky and dangerous since there was a lot of blood involved and also long durations I had to be in the surgery room. Also, there was the infection issue after the surgery and the treatments that go along the post-operation that were no fun. However, through all this, God gave me the courage to go into the surgeries and recover from the post-operation through healing process. God is so good and faithful! Like the hymn "What a Friend We have in Jesus", we have a great friend in Jesus! And yet, at times, I discount myself from bringing everything to God in prayer but I am learning to give everything in prayer to God and not withholding anything. It's a working progress, my prayer life, but I hope that I can have a strong prayer life.

Before, I end the blog, here's the lyric to "What a Friend We have in Jesus", the first verse:

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer! O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry everything to God in prayer. (Text: Joseph M. Scriven, 1820-1886 Music: Charles C. Converse, 1832-1918)

What's keeping you from giving everything to God in prayer? I pray that you will experience the power of prayer and know that He listens! Thanks for reading!