One of my best friends and prayer partner was very ill this winter. She developed trouble breathing and had cough and shortness of breath. She is a former smoker for 27 years. She was diagnosed with COPD by an internal medicine physician in another state. When she came back to Texas, she ended up hospitalized for 4 days with this malady.
Many years ago, we prayed together and asked God to deliver her from cigarettes and nicotine. I knew of the power of the addiction from living with a smoker who tried many times to quit before succeeding by using nicotine gum. My friend’s story is different; some time after we prayed, she woke up one night and knew it was the time to stop. That night, it took waking 3 different times for her to be honest with God and tell Him that she still liked smoking and nicotine but yielded her desire to His power. She has not smoked a cigarette since, nor had the desire to do so. She never had withdrawal symptoms; God delivered her body from the addiction immediately.
Fast forward to this winter when the COPD diagnosis was made because she is an ex-smoker. She chose to believe that the diagnosis was untrue, that God had not only delivered her from the smoking, He had truly paid the price to redeem her body and restore health to her lungs. She saw a pulmonologist for additional testing after her hospitalization. Monday, she saw him for the results. He told her that she was very healthy, that he believes the 2 tiny spots seen on x-ray are from the problem with reflux she has had with the bronchitis, and that she should come back in a year. She told him the story of her deliverance and it blessed him.
God heard our prayers so many years ago. He not only did what we asked, He went beyond and took away the consequences of her addiction. I am learning to believe God wants to do greater things for us, in us and through us than we can imagine. His love poured out is unlimited to His children.
Today ask Him for your greatest dreams and watch him do above and beyond what you can ask or think.
Ephesians 3:20a: Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think…(NASB) (www.BibleGateway.com)
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