PRAY ALONG THE WAY

Testimonies of the Amazing Power of Prayer

We've been talking recently about some of our wonderful answers to prayers, and special prayer experiences, that we have each had throughout our lives.  So we decided to do a post about the amazing power of PRAYER.  Although their are actually countless stories we each could tell, we are going to keep it to just a few from us, and then we'd like to kindly ask you all, our readers, to share some of your spiritual experiences related to prayer as well - if you are willing to do so.   :)

(Mrs. IDM)
A few weeks after my husband came out to me, shortly after our 10th anniversary, and he told me of his years of infidelity ,etc., I found myself constantly struggling with a feeling that he somehow 'needed to pay' for his lies and deceit.  It seems that I was experiencing some sort of  'natural instinct', a normal and common human behavioral attitude and response, that such indiscretions COULD NOT and SHOULD NOT go unpunished.  Even though I felt a lot of love and compassion towards him, and I was completely committed to learn how to forgive him and try to work it out, the fact remained that I seemed to be stuck, even from the 'moving on' that I wished for myself (and for 'us').  I was stuck with a sort of thinking process that had me believing that I could not move forward and try to heal myself, or our marriage,.. until he was punished.   I guess that deep in my heart (maybe because it was broken) I thought that 'I' was the one who must impose the necessary 'punishment' upon him for what he'd done 'to me'.

So, as these feelings mounted, and although I absolutely didn't like the feelings, and although I sincerely wanted to just move on to forgiveness and progress,  I did not seem to be able to move on, and I was stuck.  Then I happened across a book (which I believe was divine intervention) called "The Worth of a Soul".  In the book, a woman who was terribly hurt by her husband's addiction to masturbation, (and the marital infidelity that resulted from it),  tells of her feelings, which were so much like mine,-- "he HAS to be punished for what he's done".  The book tells of how she eventually realized that it was 'NOT her place' to impose punishment, and that she should literally 'turn it over to God'.  So she did turn it over to God, through personal prayer, and she tells about what great relief she felt and how the experience helped her to move on.

Well, I loved this idea, it was very enlightening to my heart and soul, and I decided to give it a try for myself as well.  I'm not sure that I was completely convinced that it would work for me, because I was so completely consumed with hurt and pain, but somehow, I had a spark of  faith that it 'could' work, and I was anxious to 'give it a try'.  What happened next was an astonishing and complete surprise, and left me overwhelmed with such a great love for my husband, and an undeniable testimony of the power of God.

As I knelt down and began to pray, I was humbled and sorrowful, (but not crying at this point).  I thanked God for my blessings, which were many, and then I began to explain to my Heavenly Father all the hurt that my husband had caused.  As I expressed my anger, and my need to be free from the emotions that held me bound, I literally turned my husband's 'punishment' over to God.

No more had I said the words, than I was immediately filled with such great love and compassion for my husband, that, through my tears, I actually began to beg and plead with my Father in Heaven to have mercy on this wonderful man.  Surprisingly, I prayed that his punishment would be light.  I sincerely and lovingly prayed for my husband to be strong, and desperately I prayed that we could just move on.

As I ended my prayer, and since I was overcome with emotion and tears, I was basically unable to move.  I was extremely humbled by what had just transpired, and I was in aah of God's great majesty and redeeming love.  My previous desires to 'punish'  him were miraculously gone and I WAS able to move on.

(Mr. IDM) 
I remember one night, around age 18, I said a prayer in such a way, and with much more conviction, than I ever had before in my life.

Although I had often had a sort of  'prayer in my heart', and an ongoing hope that 'God' would set me free from the misery and confusion I experienced due to my same sex attraction, and, although I had occasionally said little prayers here and there, I had had very little experience with daily prayers, or the order of prayer (Address God, Thank Him, Ask Him, and Close in the Name of Jesus Christ).   But then, one night, because I had been so terribly distraught, and I seemed to be sinking into the depths of despair,  I called on God in such a real and honest way, unlike anything I had ever thought of doing before.

I drove myself  into the hills with one purpose, and that was to find a private, secluded place to pour my heart out to my Father in Heaven in prayer.  As I drove, thinking about where I was headed, and what I was planning to do, a real and heavy feeling of "evil" surrounded me, and I almost felt like the devil himself was sitting next to me in my truck.   I was so frightened that I did not dare to look, I just kept my eyes ahead, found a place to pull off the road, and left the engine running (with the headlights shining) as I jumped out of the truck and knelt on the ground in the head lights.

As I began to pray, with all my strength, that God would help me,  I almost immediately experienced an amazing calm and peace come over me. I felt so much comfort, and a real tangible feeling of hope that somehow everything was going to be ok.  I was surprised and overwhelmed by the great power I felt, and especially by the instantaneous(ness) of the relief as the calm miraculously washed over me.

That night I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that GOD WAS REAL, that He had heard my prayer, and that He was watching over me. I knew that God was Mighty and that His love was real and more powerful than anything else on earth.  

(Mrs. IDM)
One of the most wonderful experiences I had with prayer was a very 'subtle and fleeting' moment that actually had a HUGE impact on my life, and still does to this day.

After years of enduring my husband's  lies and deceit, his unfaithfulness, and his addictive sexual behavior, I was feeling extremely angry with him;  I was obsessively and constantly thinking about what a horrible person I believed my husband to be, and, I was trying to figure out a plan of action to divorce him.

One night, as these thoughts seemed to be all consuming and dragging me down to the depths of despair, I ended up doubled over on the floor, on my knees, crying my heart out to my Heavenly Father in prayer.  As I prayed, for some unknown reason, (almost like I had not thought of these words myself), I said these words to God,... "please help me to see my husband as Thou sees him".

Immediately, I was filled with a wonderful peaceful spiritual feeling, and I had a 'sense' of or an 'awareness' of my husband's true spirit, and the amazing reality and majesty of him, as a wonderful, beautiful, and exceptional Child Of God.

It was such a sweet and comforting sort of  moment that I wanted to hang on to it and enjoy it for as long as I could, but it was so very subtle and fleeting.   It was there... and then it was gone.  But I, however, could not forget the experience, the feelings, the enlightenment, and the overwhelming love.  My thoughts of my husband were absolutely changed, and my understanding and compassion, my patience and love were increased beyond explanation.  I consider this experience to be an absolute 'tender mercy' in my life and I am humbled by the power and love of my Savior, Jesus Christ and our Almighty God.

(Mr. IDM)
After a very special experience with prayer as a teenager I gained a greater testimony of the power of prayer.  My positive experiences with prayer continued as I served in the National Guard straight out of high school, and then, as I later served a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Throughout my life I have always been prayerful.   Even through years of acting out, desperate struggling, sexual addiction, and literally loosing hope to the point that I just wanted to die, I still had an undeniable knowledge of a Father in Heaven who loved me, and I never completely gave up on Him.   Amidst all my confusion and unhealthy behavior, I always remained somewhat prayerful, and I somehow held onto a glimmer of hope that God would come to my aide.

As I look back on my life, so far, I am completely certain that, because of constant prayer, God has truly carried me through to this wonderful and amazing place where I am now.  I know that it is because of my lifelong relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ, the simplicity of daily prayer, and an undying spark of faith, that I am currently enjoying the great peace and joy that comes from the past seven and a half years of sobriety from my sexual sins.

It was ultimately because of my prayers that I was eventually moved to repentance and blessed by the Atonement of Jesus Christ.   And, because of the Atonement I have experienced a great change of heart that has brought me great comfort, peace, fulfillment, love, and joy.  Actually, I am at such a wonderful place in my life, that it literally seems like a miracle, since years ago, I could not have imagined that I would be where I am today or feel the way I feel now.

As my relationship with my Father in Heaven grows stronger, my faith in the power of prayer continues to grow,  and the miracles and blessings in my life multiply day by day.  I testify that, as we muddle through life, good things WILL happen if we just PRAY ALONG THE WAY.