This past week, we all held our collective breath as a young man collapsed during the Monday night football game. 24-year-old, Damar Hamlin, suffered a cardiac arrest. But what happened after, is what truly caught my attention. Prayer! In the anguish of the moment, those around Damar, from both football teams, dropped to their knees and cried out to God.  A few days later, ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky prayed publicly on live television,

“God, we come to you in these moments that we don’t understand, that are hard, because we believe that You’re God and coming to You and praying to You has impact. We’re sad, we’re angry, we want answers, but some things are unanswerable. We just want to pray, truly come to You and pray for strength for Damar, for healing for Damar, for comfort for Damar, to be with his family, to give them peace. If we didn’t believe that prayer … worked, we wouldn’t ask this of You, God. I believe in prayer, we believe in prayer, and we lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in Your name, Amen.”

The feeling of complete and utter powerlessness certainly can drop you to your knees. And when you find yourself in the pit of that dark valley, the only thing we can do is to look up and ask for help. God, in His infinite grace and mercy has conditioned our souls to know who He truly is. God’s power is evident to all. “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.” (Romans 1:20)

The power of prayer is in the truth that we are not in control. We are forced to relinquish our illusion of control, and put our hope and trust in the God who rules the universe. That, my friend, can be hard to do. I am a control freak! I don’t want to take any chances that anything will go wrong, and I will worry about every contingency. Yet, God in His wisdom has brought me through some harrowing ordeals; times when I had absolutely no control—times that I only could bend my knees in submission and hand my burden over to Him.

Our lives are so broken. Even as I write this blog tonight, my phone keeps chiming with incoming prayers for a friend who is going through a difficult situation. Yet, even in her pain, she is acknowledging that God is in control, and she is leaning on His strength to carry her through this storm.

When I was a little girl, about 9 years old, my dad was dying of Hepatitis B. I remember how sick he was, and I remember sitting alone in church and asking for prayer. At that time, dad had been given a few weeks to live. His skin was so yellow. My mom nursed him as best she could, but there was nothing that could overcome the disease caused by a dirty needle. Nothing except prayer; that little girl, who didn’t understand why her daddy was sick, only knew that she needed help. She also knew the Great Physician, and she took her small amount of understanding and her heart full of faith, and presented her need to her Savior. My dear friend, God healed my dad of his Hepatitis, and he lived another 14 years.  God’s power is evident; His mercy and love are great! May this bring you hope tonight in whatever storm you may be facing. I pray that the Lord’s strength will uplift you and fill you with His peace, that you may glorify Him within your trials and praise His name within your heart. -Amen

May the God of peace

Who raised Christ from the dead

Strengthen your inner being for every good work.

And may the blessing of God Almighty Father, Son and Holy Spirit

Rest upon you and dwell within you

This day and evermore. Amen.