MIRACLE #5
After just getting laid off of my job, I was laying on my bed in my apartment wondering what I was going to do next. Here's why:

The local steel plant had closed and unemployment was at an all-time high. In previous years, when looking for jobs in the newspaper, there were always 20-30 pages of jobs. Now, there were just one or two jobs listed.

I remember going to apply for a dishwasher job and there were over 400 people who had applying for this job. As a matter of fact, when I arrived at the job site to fill out an application, the line was all the way around an entire city block.

THIS is why I was laying on my bed, wondering what I was going to do next!

After laying there for several minutes, I got out of bed and walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat. When I arrived, I noticed I only had one can of green beans and one small serving of Malt-O-Meal left.

Next, I did the only thing I knew to do:

I walked into the living room, got down on my knees, and began to pray for food.

Just seconds after I began praying there was a knock on the door. I got up, walked a few paces to the door, opened it, and to my surprise there were two bags of groceries laying on the side walk in front of my apartment door - and no one standing around. This was around 8:30pm at night.

I picked up the groceries, went back inside my apartment, gave thanks to my Lord and had a good meal!

Put yourself in my shoes:

• Ten seconds after you began praying for food, there was a knock at the front door.

• You are on your knees praying just ten feet away from the door.

• You get up, answer the door, and find exactly what you had been praying for.

• All of this took a total of maybe 30 seconds!

Pretty amazing, huh?

Am I special? No. Do I have a unique gift from or connection with God? No.

So why am I sharing this with you? I'm sharing it to encourage and inspire you to not only seek after and pursue God with all of your heart, but also to trust in Him! Let me explain.

This was how I was taught to pursue after God:

1. Pray several times per day. Most prayers will be short 20 seconds to 2 minutes. Some prayers will be longer - 3 to 10 minutes. And some prayers will be long - 30 minutes to a few hours!

• Short prayers = Praise/worship. Give thanks. Ask for forgiveness. Be specific about what you truly need. Praise/worship.

• Medium-length prayers = Praise/worship. Give thanks. Ask for forgiveness. Pray for the needs of others (i.e., unsaved family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, enemies; saved family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, enemies; your church; your pastor/priest; local churches; other pastors/priests, etc..). Pray for yourself. Ask God to speak to your heart. Sit or kneel in silence and listen for 2-3 minutes. Praise/worship.

• Long prayers = Praise/worship. Give thanks. Ask for forgiveness. Pray for the needs of others, but this time the list of people you pray for in much longer - and includes people you went to school with, former co-workers, missionaries, evangelists, world leaders, actors in Hollywood and Bollywood. Pray for yourself. Ask God to speak to your heart. Sit or kneel in silence and listen for 20-30 minutes. Intercede for those for whom you care deeply. Give thanks. Praise/worship.

2. Spend 3-7 hours a week reading and studying God's Word. Allow Him to speak His truths into your heart and mind - for He is your Heavenly Father and desires to teach and guide you.

3. Perform a Biblical fast - where you don't eat food for a day or two, a week or two; where you not only fast but you also dedicate that time to prayer and seeking the Lord. The only focuses for this fast are (A) making your flesh submit to His will, and (B) drawing closer to Him through prayer and meditation on His Word.

4. Take one day a week and dedicate the entire day to The Lord! I was taught to do this right from the beginning. Here's how my day looked:

• I got up at 7:15am for the 9am Sunday morning service.

• I arrived at church around 8:30-8:45am, prayed and attended services until they ended - which was some time between 11am and 12pm.

• I fellowshipped and played basketball or football with the guys from church for several hours.

• I had a late lunch with the guys from church.

• I took a little nap before the evening church service at 6pm. Church service ended anywhere between 8pm and 10pm. Why so long you ask? Well, sometimes the church service was interrupted by a move of God's Spirit. Sometimes it happened at the beginning of service. Sometimes it happened mid-service. Other times it happened during the sermon. And when God interrupted the service, most of us got down on our knees, prayed, and waited for what came next. Sometimes, an entire church service was prayer. Sometimes it was worship. Other times, God spoke to us through the gift of tongues. And other times, God spoke to us through one of our ministers or sometimes through a visiting minister. And, His messages were very specific!

• After church, I usually went out to eat with some diferent brothers and sisters in Christ to fellowship and share!

When God becomes the sole purpose for living - even if it is only for a day or two - your life will change for the better. And, you will eventually encounter The Holy One of Israel!

I hope by now you're starting to see how God showed up BIG TIME in my life! And with these five miracles under our belt, you're beginning to get a feel for a few of the reasons why I follow Christ! If you have questions or comments, email me here.

Thank you for your time.

In His Name,

Roy