The Power of Persistent Prayer

Written by Sandi Todd, this story is the last in a series of stories about ways in which prayer has touched people’s lives. The stories have run in preparation for the CRC Prayer Summit 2015 set for April 13-15 at All Nations CRC in Los Angeles, Calif.

I was having a rough year and toward the end of 2010. I was severely overwhelmed with my job, my family and my volunteer position in the community.

I prayed fervently all winter to allow my life to not be as overwhelming to me in the forthcoming year so that my nerves would be more calm and I could revel in one day at a time.

In March of 2011, a friend of mine passed away in the nursing home and I sorely missed visiting with her even though at the end I could no longer understand her aged, raspy voice anymore than she wanted to talk to others with what was left of her voice.

We would sit together and communicate through gestures while we shared supper in the cafeteria.

Without her presence, there was a void in my life. My summer seemed longer and less joyful than normal as I worked overtime and ran errands and spent days volunteering with less mirth than former years.

That fall another woman friend died of breast cancer and the week before she passed, I couldn't visit with her in the home because I was feverishly ill. Her death was announced in church where I could not let the news sink in privately.

I cried for days for my two lost friends and then continued praying for relief of my consuming life.

But then slowly there was a change. As I kept praying, God led me on a quieter path where I was able to recover while still carrying on my responsibilities. My attitude was more disciplined and modified.

I felt like God had taken a tremendous burden off my shoulders so that I could enjoy the life he had given me.

In answering my prayers, which I prayed persistently, he showed me how to savor each day and handle my problems one at a time in a dignified manner. I thank God for all he has done, for answering my prayers. He has shown me a way to honor him and to him I give the glory.

Sandi Todd attends Marshview Community Church Horicon, Wisconsin.