He Has You

Several years ago, the Lord answered a prayer and brought a healing to my wife Mary’s cat. I wrote about it in another blog called “Saving Figaro”. Figaro was terribly sick and the Vet had told Mary to bring him in the next day to put him to sleep. But the Lord had other plans. We need to learn to pray for these other plans. Figaro was healed after prayer!

Years later we picked up another cat for our daughter and she was named Amelia. Her and Figaro quickly became the best of friends. We needed to get Amelia fixed but were concerned, as her brother had died suddenly from the anesthesia when he was being fixed. We let the Vet know and they said they would take special care of our Amelia.

Amelia survived the surgery and we brought her home. She was having a hard time, not able to stand up and shaking uncontrollably. We prayed over her and then my wife held her in her lap. I went to study in my office.

A little later I heard my wife call out to me, something about Amelia’s breathing. I went into the family room and laid hands on Amelia. I remember praying a simple prayer, something like “Lord, you give us all the breath of life, help our Amelia to breath, by Your breath Lord, I pray”. She looked ok so I went back to my office. We don’t need to be dramatic in our prayers, but believing.

Later that evening Mary came to talk with me. I asked her how Amelia was doing, and to my delight Amelia was doing great! I was so happy, we have such a wonderful healing Jesus! I asked Mary what had been going on with Amelia’s breathing earlier. Mary told me, “no, you don’t understand, she was not breathing anymore, she had died”. Friends, would you agree with me that nothing is impossible with God? “For with God nothing will be impossible” (Luke 1:37).

Several months later Amelia became very sick. We prayed over her, but she was not getting better. We took her to the vet and they had us leave her there, and so we prayed over her and left. A few hours later we got a call that she had died. We were all heartbroken.

Then a few months after this my dog became terribly ill. I prayed over her, to no avail, so took her to the vet. Her liver was failing and on that day, I held her in my arms as they put her to sleep. I cried.

Then a few months later our cat Figaro became terribly sick again. We prayed over him, to no avail, and so took him to the vet. They gave him some drugs, but he was not getting better. He was shrinking away, losing weight and just laying all the time and not eating anymore.

I was in deep prayer with God. Was I not doing something right? I did not understand. I know all things come to an end. But, had I fallen into error somewhere and did not realize it? I was living a life of fasting, praying, devotion, consecration, so I did not understand.

I cried out to God to bring me revelation. That is when the Spirit revealed to me, “you need to pray like you mean it”. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I was convicted to the depths of my soul. I had been praying with belief, in righteousness, but not with fervency. Immediately the Spirit brought to my mind this verse: “…The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). It is not enough to be righteous, we must be fervent.

I repented before the Lord. Friends, stop thinking you are beyond repenting. We always have something to repent from. Repenting is not a onetime act, but an ever-growing process of letting go of all that does not belong. Sin is not just doing wrong, it is missing the mark, not hitting the bullseye with every action we do, every word we speak, every thought we have.

That night I was alone at home with Figaro. I went up next to him. We had just lost two pets and were about to lose a third. And Figaro is so special as he has been a great story line for sharing the gospel to friends and family.

So I got down on the ground next to the chair he was laying in. I sat there cross legged and started to pray. I was thanking the Lord for His great mercy on my life. I was praising Him for all the miracles He has allowed me to see. Then I started to plead for my little furry friend Figaro.

I started to pray in the Spirit, and went on for some time, and it was so deep with God that tears started to stream from my eyes. It was so precious. Friends, it is not just about saving a cat, but it is about us drawing ever nearer to the Lord.

When I was done I went to my office, and I was praying and thanking the Lord for the anointed time He allowed me to have with Him. I thanked him for the conviction to pray fervently. Friends, learn to love the convictions, as they are the sign He knows you are ready to change.

I was praying that my prayer had been an acceptable fragrance unto the Lord. Then I got the most hurtful convicting word from the Lord that I had ever heard, “why don’t you pray for My children like that”? Let the Holy Spirit have His way with you, you will never go wrong with that advice.

I want you to know that the Lord answered my prayer for Figaro. He was healed and to this day he is doing great. I prayed the Hezekiah prayer over him, that the Lord will extend his life fifteen years. We will see how that goes, but what I know is that I learned how much I need to pray for God’s children. For the sick, for the dying, and if in His will even for the dead to be raised.

My prayer for you is that you would learn to pray like you mean it. Pray in the Spirit. Let His tears come through you. “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude 1:20). Once you begin to pray in the Holy Spirit, natural prayers will no longer have a place in your life.

Blessings to you,

Paul