Signs & Wonders in everyday life

God shares the details

A few weeks ago I was invited by a friend to go prayer walking in an area near where I live in South Africa that is known for gang fighting and poverty. My friend has started going every Wednesday morning, trying to bring the love of Jesus to the community by seeing what God wants to do there. We met with one other guy to pray in a church building before we started walking. As we prayed, I had a picture of an older African lady wearing a red top, and also the word ‘arthritis’. I felt God had given us a heads-up of who we would meet, and that we should pray for this lady. I wrote the details down on a piece of paper, and was excited as we headed out, knowing that God was with us. On the first road we walked down, I saw a lady wearing a red T-shirt hanging out her washing. We stopped and introduced ourselves, and asked if she had arthritis in her body. She said she had pain all over her body. We showed her the piece of paper with her description and the word ‘arthritis’ so she knew God had spoken to us about her. She said her name was Cordelia, and she let us pray for her.  ‘A few weeks later we went to try and find Cordelia to see how she was doing. She wasn’t home when we got there, but her elderly mother was. When we asked about Cordelia’s pain, she said, “She’s much better!” Thank you Jesus for involving us in your ministry of healing.

Anja

God’s miraculous provision for parents

My father had been suffering with early onset dementia for many years, and my mother and I knew the time had come for us to find long-term residential care for him. We also knew that she would need to sell the family home in order to cover the cost of this. So, we put the house on the market. However, even after waiting for several months, we received no offers. In fact, there seemed to be no interest whatsoever in the property. We kept lowering the asking price, but it made no difference.

I began to pray into the situation, asking the Lord to show me what was behind this, or what he might be asking us to do. It was only then that I realised I hadn’t really ever asked God for his guidance on the issue. I’d been deciding what needed to be done on the facts as I saw them, rather than seeking the Lord and trusting him. My mum wasn’t a Christian, but I had been for a long time. God showed me how my unbelief and fear had been causing me to strive instead of waiting on him to lead our steps and give me his peace as he did so. I spent some time in repentance and laid the whole sale – as well as the huge sum needed for my dad’s care – at Jesus’ feet. I also talked to my mum and shared the revelation I felt God had given me. God asked me to fast and pray over and around the property. A weight lifted from my shoulders – and from my mum’s, she told me.

That next week, we received two offers! They were both at the new asking price, which we’d lowered from the original. I could feel a shift in my spirit, as if things were moving but not there yet. The estate agent then informed us that there was nothing we needed to do but wait, while the parties making the offers went into a bidding war over the property. Three days later, we accepted the highest bid, which was the original asking price before we’d lowered it!

This was amazing in itself, but there was more to come. We had known that, after using a large part of the house sale to pay for my dad’s care fees, little would remain for my mum to find a new flat. But, just before we put an offer in on a flat for her, we received more news. A recent assessment of my dad’s care needs, after a deterioration, meant that he qualified for continuing health care and nursing provision from the NHS: we would only have to contribute a fraction of what we had expected for his care fees! This made an incredible impact on my mum’s life and wellbeing. Praise God for his kindness and compassion. Truly, nothing is impossible with him.

Bobbie

Given the rights words at the right time 

A few weeks back my husband and I had a dinner celebration with our daughter, her fiancé and his parents, as my daughter and her fiancé are getting married next month. During the dinner we were chatting and having a good time. However my daughter’s future mother-in-law then gave the couple some unsolicited advice, which I thought was not her place to say. Her comments upset me, but I kept my mouth shut, trying not to make things worse for the happy couple. 

On my way back home I couldn’t stop thinking about what she had said. I wanted to talk to my daughter; it was so hard to hold my words, so I started praying for God to calm my emotions and I asked him for an opportunity to speak about it – not my own thoughts, but to understand what God said about it. I even asked God to help me understand why my daughter’s future mother-in-law made those comments. The Lord showed me her comments came from fear. Our kids are having a hard time trying to find stable jobs and they are about to get married. However, I know they are very hard working and, even without full-time employment, are making enough money to cover their expenses. They are working towards their goals. Many couples, including ourselves, started from nothing. So after I understood that she was fearful, my heart felt for her. 

A few days went by, and my daughter asked me to go to a meeting with her, related to wedding planning. Everything went well at the meeting and on our way back home, she made some comments that gave me an opportunity to talk about the subject her mother-in-law had mentioned. Our conversation went so smoothly, and even if I had tried to plan it, I couldn’t have been as peaceful as I felt when speaking to her then. I was really glad I didn’t rush to speak my mind, and instead waited on the Lord for the right time to speak his truth. I am amazed at how much better things can go if we ask him for his intervention on our everyday situations. 

Edith