Powerful Prayers Yield Powerful Results!

Prayer Was an Important Part of Our Home Life Together

It was late Monday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk at work when I received a phone call from one of my daughters. She told me that her younger sister (my other daughter) just called to tell her that my younger daughter’s thirty-nine-year-old husband and father of their three preschoolers was apparently having a heart attack while at work. My younger daughter was on her way to be with him. At this point not too many details were known, but the main reason my older daughter called was for me to get with some people and pray immediately; she would pray also as well as call others to pray. With my mind racing through all the possible outcomes in this situation and wanting to know more and yearning to leave the office and get on a plane and fly to them, I focused on what I was asked to do—pray. I got with one of my sisters and another person in our work area and we claimed my son-in-law’s health and for God to protect that young family!

Barely had we finished praying when we got the news that my son-in-law had already completed emergency surgery and was recovering nicely! Earlier, he had initially asked his coworker to drive him to the only hospital he knew, the one a few blocks from where he and my daughter lived. But that hospital was still several miles away, so when he saw a blue hospital sign in their immediate vicinity, he made the crucial decision to turn in there. It turns out this hospital was one of the top cardiac centers in the northern part of the state. The highly trained staff knew exactly what to do to help him and they did it without delay. They told him those few minutes made the difference in this life-and-death situation.

In The Way Ministry, I have learned that we have the right to claim good health for ourselves and those we love, that we can make intercession for others through perfect prayer, that we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and that we can hold the Word in our minds even in stressful situations. My children learned these truths also—from me, from other believers, from the home fellowships they attended, from Children’s Fellowship—and we practiced these concepts in our home. Prayer was an important part of our home life together. And now, in an extreme situation, all that teaching and practice came into play as my older daughter went into action, organizing a strong prayer team, and my younger daughter claimed God’s protection and supported her husband in person.

My son-in-law was delivered that day and continues to be in good health, and we are thankful to our God Who loves us so much!

A Peril in Travel: from Victim to Victor

For over seventy years, my loving heavenly Father has had His hand upon my life and those I love. From being adopted as a baby to growing up in a loving, Christian middle-class environment, I’ve noticed that I have been protected, cared for, loved, and have been given many opportunities that only God ultimately could provide. As I have sojourned across the USA, I have experienced so many situations where God has stepped in. In them all, He has interceded and delivered me from potential harm, health situations, financial investments, marriage and family misunderstandings, and perils while traveling.

The following is one example of a peril while traveling—a vacation I call “from victim to victor.” (Here is a side note: when it comes to moving our family or traveling from point A to point B, my wife and I are very careful in planning a safe journey. We save, we plan, we map out our routes, reserve housing along the way, and we prepare our vehicle or rental equipment so that we reach our destination without incident.)

We set sail on our first of three days of traveling to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Before leaving our home, my wife and I prayed, thanking our loving heavenly Father for a safe trip. We left with peace in our hearts and with the anticipation of a leisurely vacation. As we viewed the Gateway Arch while driving through the city of St. Louis, Missouri, our vehicle’s check engine light warning came on the dashboard. Our van began choking and coughing for the proper mixture of oil, fuel, and oxygen. My wife was driving at the time and began losing confidence and showing signs of panic. I responded with soft, simple instructions to stay calm and look for the next safe exit where we could pull over and figure this out. She did a great job, and we ended up in a nice neighborhood where we could stop to find a local dealership with qualified technicians and parts if needed. We kept the engine running, found a full-service dealer that was on the same route we were currently on, and limped into the service department a few miles away. Thank God for GPS.

Upon getting a complete evaluation of the problem, we learned that one of the engine parts had worn out and was hemorrhaging oil, causing improper firing to the cylinders. The job would take days to repair and the cost would be close to $3,000. Can you see the temptation of feeling like a victim, helpless, fearful, and unprepared for such an event? Without God comforting our hearts and our knowing that we are more than conquerors in every situation, without examples that we could recall from the Old and New Testament of godly deliverances, plus the realization of the Christ in us, this unforeseen bump in the road could have prevented us from enjoying our planned vacation with fellow believers and the experience of being in a peaceful setting.

The victory was that the full repair was covered by an eight-year warranty that would become null and void in about a week. The victory was that we didn’t have to pay one penny for any of the problems that the manufacturer covered with the warranty. The victory was that the dealer made available a late model, comfortable and fuel-efficient loaner vehicle at no charge so that we could continue on our way without losing any time.

Jeremiah 32:27:
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

When Believers Pray Together, Great Power Is Exerted

Before coming to this ministry, I had no power to overcome any of the many challenges I faced. That all changed when I took the Foundational Class. For the first time in my life, I saw the amazing power that is manifested when believers pray together.

When I took the Foundational Class, I was stationed aboard a U.S. Coast Guard ship. The work schedules for myself and another sailor taking the class gave us just enough time to complete the class before our ship went out for another deployment. I had just finished my shift in the kitchen and was preparing to go to the fifth session of the class when an announcement was made over the ship’s speaker system. The ship’s wheel had been stolen, and all sailors were confined to the ship until it was returned. The ship’s wheel was located on the bridge of the ship and was used for steering the vessel. This particular ship’s wheel was beautifully crafted of walnut, with brass fittings to give it added strength, and apparently, someone had claimed it as a trophy!

My heart sank! I began to think that my opportunity to complete the Foundational Class before I set sail again was gone. Then I remembered the many local believers who were supporting us during the running of the class. With a bit of anxiety, I called one of the believers in the fellowship I was attending and told him the situation. After we prayed together, he spoke God’s Word to me. He reminded me that God wanted me to take this class, that the adversary was trying to hinder me from finishing it, and that when believers pray together, great power is exerted to overcome the attacks of the adversary. Then he reminded me of James 5:16, which was a verse he had shared with me several times before.

James 5:16:
…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The local believer told me he would have all the believers praying for our situation, and that we (the other sailor and I) should pray about it too. We agreed that the two of us aboard the ship should keep getting ready for class as though this obstacle was not there. I was greatly encouraged and told the other sailor we should stick to our normal routine, clean up and change our clothes, as though we were going straight to the class.

I had just finished cleaning up and getting changed when the announcement came across the ship’s speaker system: liberty was granted for everyone who was not working. We were free to go! I was amazed! When I asked what had happened, I learned that while I was getting cleaned up, a car had pulled into the parking lot, the back door was thrown open, and someone inside the car had hurled the ship’s wheel into a snow bank. The door closed, and the car sped away. The officer on duty retrieved the ship’s wheel, and the restriction was immediately lifted.

The other sailor and I quickly made our way across town to the class location. As we approached the door of the house, we could hear the believers inside singing songs from the Sing Along The Way songbook. We smiled and opened the door. A great cheer went up from all the believers as they welcomed us to class. We all rejoiced at how God had answered our prayers. The lesson has been firmly rooted in my mind from that day unto this present day: when believers pray together, great power is exerted to overcome the attacks of the adversary.

Prayer with Like-Minded Believing

Our God Is a Faithful and Powerful God

Our son was three years old when my husband took him and his three brothers fishing. He was holding his little fishing pole and line when a gust of wind swept the unbaited hook into his little eye. Blood poured down his tiny face, and he was crying while they were speeding toward the nearest hospital when my husband instructed our oldest son to pray while he and the other young boys silently spoke in tongues. After praying, our son stopped crying and very calmly said that God was going to take care of him, so he was going to take a nap now. When they got to the hospital, they were redirected by ambulance to another hospital because the eye injury was too severe. When I joined them at the second hospital, our little boy was asleep on an operating table, awaiting a surgeon’s removal of the fishhook from his eye. I clasped his little head in my hands, and my husband stood at his feet, both of us fervently praying whilst the surgeon began. She removed the eye patch that the previous hospital had put in place to keep the injury from worsening during transport, and she gently lifted his eyelid. The hook fell away, and the doctor backed away slowly, hands up, as if she had just seen a miracle…because she had. There was no longer an injury to our son’s eye, not even a scratch. She backed out of the operating room, returning to review the reports she’d been given from the previous doctors. She had no explanation, but we did. Our God is a faithful and powerful God, and we’d been given the privilege to know Him, His goodness and grace, and the power of speaking in tongues by the teachings of The Way Ministry. We are ever humbled and are daily reminded of God’s love and power when we look into the brilliant blue eyes of our son.

God Backs Up His Word 100 Percent

Mark 11:23,24:
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

There I was and the mountain in front of me was a piece of equipment I had never seen before, and it was not working. My task was to troubleshoot the equipment and to get it back to normal running condition. I was given no manual and thirty minutes to perform the task—“big mountain.” Earlier that morning my wife and I got together, and we prayed with like-minded believing that no matter the situation, I was going to prevail. We did prevail. Back to the situation: I was allowed to bring any of my tools that would help me complete the task. Do you know what my best tool was? A prevailing mind-set and the believing that no matter what, God was going to back up His Word 100 percent. The task was completed with ten minutes to spare, which qualified me for an interview with a board of interviewers. I answered the questions with confidence, and got most of them right. I currently have a position working for the company I applied for and have prevailed every single day since. Thank you, Father, for helping me. With love, your son.

Thank God for His Protection!

Power to Claim God’s Deliverance

When our firstborn was a few months old, I was home alone with him on a hot summer day. The weather forecast predicted a strong line of thunderstorms heading our way. The power to our apartment suddenly went out, and in the heat of summer, I knew I had to get myself and the baby to a safe location. I packed up our things, and we headed to my mother-in-law’s house in the next town over. As I was driving, lightning flashed, thunder clapped, and sheets of rain poured down on us to the point where I could barely see the road or the other vehicles around me. I knew from the Advanced Class that I had the power to claim God’s immediate, miraculous deliverance. So I shouted out loud in the car, “Father, I need to get this baby safely to our destination! In the name of Jesus Christ, I claim that this rain STOPS!” And it was as if we passed through an invisible wall. The rain stopped, and the road on the other side was bone-dry. We made it safely to my mother-in-law’s home, where we were able to sleep soundly through the night and return home (power restored) the next day.

God Kept Us Safe

My husband, daughter, and I lived in a house that had a garage attached to the side of the house. We usually parked the car and came into the house through the door that went from the garage to the house. The door was wrought iron. One day my husband left to do some errands, and my daughter and I stayed home. About fifteen minutes after my husband left, I saw four police cars parked in front of my house, and I heard them say, “The thief jumped over the fence and went into that garage.” They were pointing at my house and at my garage.

I moved toward the garage door and saw that the thief was standing at the door. He looked at me and told me to open the door. I told him, “NO!” He started twisting and turning the doorknob to open the door. I prayed and thanked God for His protection. The door did not open, and I was so relieved that my husband had locked the door when he left to run his errands. The thief kept turning the doorknob and banging on the door to open it, but it didn’t open. After a few minutes, he gave up and ran out, jumping over a fence and out to the street. The police followed after him, and I took a deep breath and thanked God for His protection. Once I was sure he was gone, I went to the garage door and tried it. It opened easily. It had not been locked. All the time the thief was trying to get in, it was open. But God kept it locked and secure so that my daughter and I would be safe.

This ministry has taught me to believe in God’s love, care, and protection. As I prayed and believed, He took care of me and my daughter, keeping us safe from all harm. What a great God and Father we have!

We Rejoiced to See How God Answers Prayer!

I am thankful to God for The Way Ministry and for the rightly divided Word that I have been taught. Because of the keys to the Word’s interpretation and the principles from God’s Word that I have been taught, have believed, and have applied, I have had the joy of seeing God bring about great victories in my life.

One such victory came when our daughter was eight months old. One morning while I was waiting for her to wake up, I heard her crying and went to check on her. I found her on the floor; she had fallen out of her crib. I picked her up and tried to calm her and prayed for her, but she continued to cry. I noticed that she had a large bump on her head, so I decided to drive to my husband’s work to have him look at her. He said we should take her to the military hospital. (My husband was in the military at the time.) During the ride to the hospital, our daughter began falling asleep, and it was difficult to keep her awake. At one point her body went limp, and she was not responding. I began to be afraid, but then I turned to God. I remembered the Word that I had been taught, and I reminded myself of the promises of God. I believed that God would keep His promises, and I once again became calm. I knew she would be all right.

We arrived at the military hospital, and they found that she had a crack in her skull. She was awake and seemed fine, but they kept her overnight for observation. That evening our household fellowship coordinator came to the hospital and prayed with us. We were thankful for the mutual believing of the household.

The next day, the military doctor suspected that our daughter had blood collecting on her brain. With the prayers of the household and by holding the Word in my mind, I remained confident that God would heal her. How thankful I was for the principles from God’s Word that I had been taught on how to believe and receive! The doctor decided to fly our daughter and me by helicopter to a civilian hospital in the next city that was specifically for children. The doctor also requested that the best child neurosurgeon meet us at the hospital. This was unusual because normally military doctors handle all medical needs within the military hospitals. My husband and I could see how God was providing the best to bring about our daughter’s deliverance.

At the children’s hospital, it was confirmed that she had blood collecting on her brain. The neurosurgeon gave us two choices on what we could do. One was to have him perform surgery and the second was to just “wait and see” if the blood would dissipate. He also stressed that we needed to make a decision soon because of the pressure on her brain. We asked to be left alone so we could pray. After praying, my husband and I both believed that the best decision was to have the doctor operate.

During the operation, my husband went for a walk outside of the hospital. While outside, he heard the pay phone ringing (this was before cell phones!) and he decided to answer it. When he did, he was amazed to hear that it was our State coordinator calling to see how our daughter was doing! God’s timing was perfect! The State coordinator told my husband that our daughter would be fine, which really blessed and comforted him.

The next morning after the operation, when we went to see our daughter we were told that they had to move her out of the ICU and to her own room because she was so active! She was healed! God is GREAT! The doctor said she was completely well and in record time. We took her home, thankful and rejoicing, and the believers in our household fellowship rejoiced with us to see how God answers prayer!

This is just one example of the victories that I have seen in my life. I have so many things to be thankful for because of this ministry and the Word that someone took the time to teach me—things like fellowship with my heavenly Father, understanding and application of God’s Word, deliverance from fear in my life, my wonderful marriage with a believing man of God, our children that are born again, healing, the joy of serving in this household, and so much more. I am very thankful for our Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry that has taught me the greatness of God’s Word, the Bible, and the “how” of living it.

Staying Our Minds on the Word Taught by Choosing to Pray

God So Lovingly Led Me to the Solution

I am a blessed daughter of God and remain thankful to Him for the accuracy and integrity of His Word that I have learned, utilizing our ministry’s resources for forty plus years. I have seen and continue to see the Scriptures come alive as I apply them in my daily routine. One of my favorite verses, which encourages me to be still and rely upon my heavenly Father, is Isaiah 26:3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

I will share a powerful incident that occurred as I applied this verse in my home. I was by myself, washing dishes in the kitchen, and I placed my diamond wedding ring on the windowsill then stepped away. After a few chores, I returned and my ring was gone! I then realized that the only possibility was that our pet cat must have seen the glistening stone and batted it somewhere near the sink. I prayed that God would protect my ring and that I would find it in the powerful name of Jesus Christ. My husband and I checked all over the kitchen and other rooms to no avail. I admit I allowed frustration and discouragement to tempt me over several weeks; and I had turned over furniture and looked everywhere EXCEPT the one place God wanted me to check. One morning I was praying perfectly—which is speaking in tongues—in my home, then had a thought to read the chapter called “How to Avoid Being a Failure” from our Volume I collateral, The Bible Tells Me So, where it depicts the woman in Luke 15 who had lost one piece of precious silver that was a gift from her husband and “doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?” So I was reading aloud and got my broom and began to sweep, as God directed me, to the dining room area, where I stopped sweeping right near an air vent. I gently pulled off the top of this vent, and my diamond wedding ring was right there on the inside edge. Praise and glory be to God that He had reserved it there for me! Once I decided to pray perfectly and stay my mind on Him without distraction, God so lovingly led me to the solution. How wonderful it is to trust and obey our heavenly Father, taking one day at a time!

God’s Deliverance in Action

I was helping a Way Ministry class graduate who needed to move her furniture across town. We had the moving trailer out in front of the house, but big black clouds were on the horizon, and it looked like a big rainstorm would be coming our way very soon.

It was shortly after I had taken the Advanced Class, so I was inspired to act on what had been taught. I got our group together, who were helping with the move, and prayed to God for the clouds to part so the Way believer’s furniture would not be ruined by rain.

The clouds parted and went by the area where we were, so there was no rain during the move and we were all blessed! It was a huge blessing to her and us to see God’s deliverance in action.

Prayer Brought Sunny Skies

The week of my wedding day, I was checking on the weather. The weatherman on the news was saying it was going to be cold and wet all weekend. I was getting concerned that the boat we were to get married on would not be able to be on the river because of the weather and that they would not open the dam for the boat, but my future husband and I continued with our plan. We got to the hotel and it was cold, windy, with no sun in sight. This was on a Thursday. Friday came and it was still cold as ever, windy, and still raining. So my fiancé and I prayed for sunny skies with no wind or rain. We also prayed for the dam to be opened up so that we could get married on a running boat. We claimed God’s promise in Matthew 21:22—that with believing all things are possible. The next morning, I opened the curtains from our hotel room and I could not believe it. It was so awesome—God had answered our prayer! There was no rain, no wind, no cloudy skies. And it was not even cold. The next news was that the boat was going to be running on the river because they had opened up the dam. Now, on the day following our wedding, the cold weather came back, cold and raining just like before. Because we had been taught how to believe God and trust His Word, our day was awesome!

I’d Never Been Healed Quite Like That

The clarity of God’s Word that The Way International teaches concerning raising children has blessed many parents, including my husband and me. Our two children, who are adults now, are aware of the profit of their upbringing. They have, at one time or another, in a card to us or in a paper they wrote, quoted Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” On a certain day when our children were somewhere between the ages of five and seven, I benefited greatly from what we had taught them about our wonderful God.

On that day, I became quite ill. I grew nauseous, and then became increasingly dizzy. I went to our bathroom and was on the floor ready to throw up and was very concerned that I would pass out. I was especially concerned for our children, as there was no adult with me, and the kids were outside playing. What would they do if I passed out? I remember thinking that one of the children would need to come in and pray for me. It seemed like I was about to pass out and throw up at the same time when I noticed that one of the kids had come inside and was standing outside the bathroom door looking at me. I said, “I’m about to throw up. Pray for me.” I was thinking that he would somehow pray that I would survive the experience, for I was surely going to vomit. I could already feel it bubbling up from my stomach. He prayed, “Thank you, God, that Mom doesn’t throw up.” He then turned right around and went back outside to play. I had never been healed quite like that before. As soon as he finished the prayer, the stuff inside of me immediately reversed course and settled back to my stomach. Then, one at a time, every negative symptom peeled off me in such a distinct manner, and I was better, as if it had never happened.

I don’t think our son was standing there for more than fifteen seconds, and I never talked with him about the incident. More than twenty years later, I was recounting the incident with a few people, including our son. He looked at me after I was done, and to my surprise said, “I remember that.”

When I Could Not See a Way, God Made a Way

I have learned the power of prayer and believing during my time in the ministry, and on various occasions seen the impact that they can have. One such occasion involved an event at my job.

After serving as a career officer in my country’s defense force for a number of years and reaching a senior level in the organization, I was approaching the age of retirement at that rank. I was looking forward to starting a new career as a civilian in the maritime sector, but I would have really liked to continue in the career that I had so much enjoyed over the years. My continuing, however, could occur only if I was elevated in rank; but this was not possible since there were no vacant positions in the organizational structure.

Although I had the desire to continue in my career, I could only see this occurring if a position became vacant at a higher level within the organization. This certainly was not my desire since the people occupying those positions were not yet at the point of their retirement and were not interested in leaving the organization. I had no intention of continuing at someone’s expense. In fact, I had a very close relationship with the people who occupied those positions, so this was certainly out of the question.

After some consideration, my wife and I decided to take believing action by daily going to God in prayer and asking that He make a way for me to continue. Within weeks of our taking this action, I was called to the office of the head of the defense force and informed of a decision that our government had made to establish a new aviation organization for the defense force. This organization would have the same status as the other three organizations that comprised the defense force at that time. I was also informed that even though I had no aviation experience, I had been chosen to plan, develop, establish, and head this new organization because of other skills that were identified as essential to the success of this project. Furthermore, being selected for this position meant that I would be promoted to a higher rank, giving me the opportunity to continue in my career.

I was surprised by this development. God answered my prayer in a way that I never even envisioned. When I could not see a way, God made a way. Today the organization is well established and is the preferred choice of many who wish to serve our country. God answers prayer in ways that we often cannot begin to contemplate when we go to Him with believing.

The Power of Praying in the Name of Jesus Christ

My brother, another believer, and I were in a car together on an overpass sitting at a stoplight. The rain was pouring down so hard, we could not see anything. We even sat through a light because we could not see. I looked at my brother and said, “This rain is not of God. In the name of Jesus Christ, I command this rain to stop!” The very instant I said stop, the rain ceased completely. The look in my brother’s eyes was unmistakable amazement, and he said, “HOW DID YOU DO THAT?” I began witnessing about the name of Jesus Christ and the power we have when we pray.

The believer, in the backseat of the car, had come over earlier that evening before my brother met us. She had a broken pinkie finger that she accidently slammed in the car door. That finger was definitely not straight. I prayed for her in the name of Jesus Christ. She showed my brother that her pinkie finger was totally straight and healed because we prayed for healing in the name of Jesus Christ. This open door of deliverance led to our helping my brother get born again and leading him into speaking in tongues later that evening.