“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

One of my favorite devotionals available is Mark Batterson’s Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge. Throughout the book Mark explains why praying is an integral component to the life of each believer. Most importantly (in my opinion) Batterson discuses the imperative nature of praying bold prayers that go beyond our lifespan and time continuum. He states, 

“Our prayers never die! When we pray, our prayers exit our four dimensions of space-time. Our prayers have no space or time limitations because the God who answers them exists outside of the four dimensions He created. You never know when HIs timeless answer will reenter the atmosphere of our lives, and that should fill us with holy anticipation. Never underestimate His ability to answer anytime, anyplace, anyhow. He has infinite answers to our infinite prayers. He can answer them more than one. And He answers them forever” [Draw the Circle; The 40 Day Prayer Challenge p. 109 emphasis added].

It is my firm belief that there have been, are, and will be people who cover me and you in prayer. I’m not sure when or if God will answer every prayer that we lift up to Him or others lift up on our behalf, but I do know that God will answer; whether it be with a yes, or a no, or quite possibly a not yet. He will answer.

Introducing Gloria Taylor

In 2006 I had the honor of giving my grandmothers eulogy. At the time, I wasn’t a believer and my life was in disarray based on my life choices. At the end of my tearless speech I stated, “See you later, Gloria Taylor.” At the time, hope didn’t live in my heart and I was far off from calling on Jesus, but there was something in me that believed that one day I would be reunited with my grandmother. 

Grandma Gloria (the name my family called her) was a woman of faith who prayed loudly and often at any given time of the day. As a child I felt as if her prayers created an earthquake within the house. When I lived with my grandmother I could hear her in the middle of the night praying fervently, yelling out my name, covering not only me, but my parents, and my siblings in prayer. Her biggest and loudest section of prayer was for us to come to know Jesus and the salvation that He offers.

To my dismay, a year after her death I started to follow Christ. Even though she passed on to be with Jesus, her prayers still linger in the natural world. Her prayers are constantly coming to fruition in my present time. I am a firm believer and follower of Jesus, I am serving Him, I have a husband and soon a family. The enemy didn’t crush me or defeat me, instead I have complete and total victory in Christ over Him. Without my grandmother’s bold prayers, I would not be the woman I am today. 

The Unthinkable

In 2016, during a hike up Execution Rock in Eswatini with a few crazy teenage girls, God drops a bomb on me. As I was looking out at the breathtaking country of Eswatini, I felt the Spirit impress on me the need to read the book of Joshua 1:3. It reads, “Every place the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised Moses.” I laughed out loud, because God had to be joking! I remember praying, “God I am not Moses and I don’t even like Swaziland that much, but Your will be done in my life” and left it at that. The funny thing is, I never planned to go back to Eswatini after 2015. However, I couldn’t stop dreaming about the girls’ home I worked with the year before. One afternoon I shared my dreams with my roommate, Morgan. She flat out just said, “Maybe you are supposed to go back to Swaziland.” A few days later, I chatted with the director of the girls’ home and emailed my supporters. Two days later I had the funds for a plane ticket, a free place to sleep for the duration of my stay, and a food budget. All God! Two months after I came down the mountain, I left everything familiar in the USA and moved to Eswatini.

Now fast forward to today. I’ve lived in Eswatini for almost four years now serving different ministries. I’ve embraced this place as my home and I’m even married to a fine, young, strapping Swati man. It is my firm belief that there have been, are and will always be people who cover me and you in prayer. I’m not sure when God will answer the prayers that we lift up to Him, but I do know that God will answer; whether it be with a ‘yes’, a ‘no’, or quite possibly a ‘not yet’. I do not know what God has up His sleeve, but what I do know is that through prayer, thanksgiving, heavenly interactions and stepping out in faith, God has kept me and will keep on showing up in my life and He’ll do the same for you. 

Now Remember: Don’t be quick to forget that you are a product of answered prayers and unthinkable divine interventions.