Have you ever felt something from the supernatural manifest itself into the natural? Into the real world? I have. Like when you get a feeling that causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand up. Or when you get an uncomfortable feeling in your gut that tells you something just doesn’t feel right; some would call that intuition. I believe it is something else.

I don’t consider myself an overly religious person, but more of a spiritual one. I believe that things are too perfect to have just happened and that all things were created. I believe that God has a plan for EVERYTHING. Even though I grew up and most closely identify myself as being Baptist, when I think of religion, I can’t help but associate it with institutions, buildings, clergy, and rules. You either belong to it or don’t. I believe spirituality gives you the ability to project a Godly presence without it being contained by walls or institutions. Now don’t misunderstand me, I am not anti-church, I grew up going to church. The church in the small community where I grew up was a huge part of our lives and continues to be to this day. Every Sunday, I could set my watch to my Uncle Norris’ car pulling down our driveway, filled with my cousins. He would pick me and my brother up to head to Sunday school and then on to church service. Many of the lessons I learned in Sunday school and church I carry with me today. It was a great foundation and taught me a lot of what I needed to know as I went out into the world on my own.

There have been few times in my life where my faith has actually been tested. Even through the loss of both of my parents and hitting rough patches along the way, I never truly questioned my faith or why God took them from me at the point in my life when he did. I accepted whatever circumstance I was facing as just being a part of life. On the day of my accident however, everything changed.

I was shaken to the core and began to question. Was this some kind of punishment for misdeeds in my past? If so, could I really be faithful to a God that punishes people in this way for making mistakes? I am by no means perfect, but I have lived my life in a way where I continuously try to help others. I have not committed any type of heinous crime or hurt someone so badly that it landed me in prison. Why me? Why now? Why this?

My questions would soon be answered…. By the power of prayers.

Up and till the point of my accident, I had never been in a situation where I needed or asked for a mass of people praying for me.  Don’t get me wrong, we are all in the need of prayer in one way or another and each person, depending on what they are dealing with at the time, may think their situation is the worst it is going to get and asks for prayers. For me, this was that time. I was in a pretty critical state, physically and emotionally. While laying in my hospital bed the day after my amputation (2 days after my accident) word had started to spread about my accident and a funny thing started to happen. I started to physically “feel” something. It was not the pain meds, nor an urge to suddenly attempt to stand up and get out of bed (not that I physically could have done it at that point). The only way I can really describe it, is as a powerful surge of energy that passed through my entire body. I had never felt something like this before but somehow, I knew exactly what it was. A sense of healing started to settle into my spirit and my mindset started to change. My questions turned from why me, to what was the new purpose of my life. Why did God spare me? When I took a step back and started to look at the situation in its entirety, I realized how the perfect sequence of events led to me and that truck being at that exact intersection at that exact time. Coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidence. I believe this was in the plan the entire time. I played over and over in my mind, the thoughts of if I had been a little slow or a little late, if I would have stopped for gas, or changed my shirt, would I be sitting in the hospital today in this same situation? Things could have turned out a lot differently.

Had the gentleman driving the truck that hit me taken a different route or stayed a little longer where he was at would I be here today? Mr. Davis, the man who saved my life, was there at the exact moment right after the accident. He had the medical training that allowed him the knowledge of what to do to stop the bleeding and assess the rest of me, while holding my hand and preventing me from going into shock, all a part of His plan, GOD’s plan. Even though the accident left me as an amputee, my life had been spared and that was no accident.

It wasn’t until several days later, through conversations with family and friends that I learned about all of the prayer warriors that were praying for me. People that I had never met, in churches I had never stepped foot in, were praying for me. People visited me in the hospital and prayed with me and my wife in my room, nurses stopped and prayed for me as I was being taken down for my surgeries. People in different states, attending different ideological churches were praying for me and asking others to pray for me, forming teams of prayer warriors all over. I can honestly say I physically felt the power of their prayer and it was incredible.

I mentioned in my last post about the frame I was given. The 2^nd part of that frame and part of my daily affirmations (even though it may have been subliminal some days) was “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:13)  This along with prayer from so many, truly strengthened me. It made me realize how many people I really knew or was connected with in some way, and now they were making a difference in my life through their intentional prayers.

Today with all of the nonsense that is happening around the world and even in our own backyard, it has almost become cliché to say, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.” And though the news reporter and/or politician may be well intentioned, I often wonder, of those making the statements, how many actually pray for those people. Has it just become the right thing to say during crisis or when someone gives you bad news? I challenge you, if you truly want make a difference in someone’s life, take a minute to channel your thoughts and mind and intentionally pray for someone in need. Be present, if not physically, for them spiritually. Say a simple prayer for them and ask God for what you want for them in your prayers.

The energy I felt from prayers was so powerful, it caused a change in my spirit and my frame of mind. From being the victim, to what’s next for me and what is my bigger purpose? I am a living testament to the true power of prayer and to God’s awesome ability to heal.