The Mrs. Rev Podcast: The Day That Changed My Life
May 26, 2008 was a day that changed my life.
The past six months had been difficult for me and my family. We lost my mother unexpectedly, and I had a miscarriage. Despite these challenges, I was not angry at God. I was angry with the devil, and I was wrestling through my faith, trying to gain a greater understanding of God’s promises and see them fulfilled in my life.
That day, my father was going to clean the gutters at his house, and as he was about to go up the ladder, he passed out and had a massive heart attack. By the grace of God, his neighbor was out on her porch and saw him fall. She called 911 and began to administer CPR.
At this time, I received a call from my sister saying, “You have to come now. It’s Dad.”
I told my husband what was going on, and he asked me if I wanted him to come with me. However, with everything that had been going on, I knew that the devil’s attack was personal, and I needed to fight it personally. I grabbed my keys and made the 5-minute drive to my father’s house. As I was driving, I felt like I was going to pass out, but instead, I prayed in the spirit.
The Bible tells us that when we don’t know what to pray, we should pray in the spirit and He will pray for us because He knows exactly what to pray.
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.” Romans 8:28
When I arrived, I saw police cars, an ambulance, a crowd of my neighbors, and my sister crying in the front yard. But, I was not afraid. I felt strength come into me by the power of the Holy Spirit.
“A person who speaks in tongues is strengthened personally.” 1 Corinthians 14:4
I ran over to the paramedics and said, “Get out of the way.” And they moved! That’s the authority we have in the Spirit. My dad was blue and barely breathing. I got down over his chest and I said, “You will live and not die.” I was speaking directly into his spirit. I declared that over him and prayed in the spirit. I didn’t care who saw me!
I was not crying or panicked. I knew that my will was completely in line with God’s will in heaven. I was so one with him that I had no doubt that my father would live.
At this time there was a revival going on in the United States and there were testimonies of people being raised from the dead. Just one week earlier, I had shared one of those testimonies with my father in his kitchen. I believe that this testimony strengthened both of our spirits and helped our faith grow so that we could see a miracle happen in this situation.
After I prayed for a few minutes the paramedics put my father into the ambulance and we all traveled to the hospital. They told us that it was a miracle that he made it to the hospital and that he had a weak pulse. I saw his pulse as a sign that God was answering my prayers and I allowed it to fuel my faith!
Every few hours the doctors would come and give us an update. I would take whatever they said and turn it into a prayer for my father. Instead of causing me distress, every update fueled my faith!
Finally, a doctor that my family was friends with took my sister and I into a conference room and said, “I am so sorry. I don’t know how your family is going to get through this.” She went on to tell us that my dad was on a breathing tube and even if he did survive, he would likely be brain dead because he was without oxygen for so long. They decided to put him in the ICU on ice so that they could preserve his organs.
But we took the situation to the Lord every time. We prayed and believed God that my father’s mind would be completely whole! The gift of faith was in operation the whole time. I would take all of the reports to the Lord. I’m not going to be a daughter without either parent at the age of 27. I could have let doubt come in. I could have been a victim and asked, “Where is God in all of this?” But no! I was ticked off at the devil, and I said, “This is not going to go down. I’m going to enjoy many years with my father.”
I was reminded of Abraham believing for a son, Daniel in the lion’s den, and the story of David and Goliath. In the natural, these men were facing impossible situations, but they were not afraid. They knew their will was in line with God’s will, so they trusted God!
God makes the impossible possible. You obtain those things through the god kind of faith, to be able to see things not in your natural, fearful mind, but with God’s perspective and know that there is no other option when your will is lined up with God’s will.
Your will in unity with God’s will is a powerful, unstoppable force.
Sure enough, my father woke up and survived a quadruple bypass open-heart surgery. My family still remembers that day, and we use the testimony of God’s goodness to inspire our faith!
Q: What would you say was the day that changed your life? Do you remember the day as positive or negative? What role did your faith play in that day? If you remember that day negatively, describe a time when you exercised your faith in a positive way. If it was positive, write down your testimony and share it with a friend! Remember that testimonies provide fuel to both your own faith and the faith of others!
Whatever you want to obtain by faith, challenge yourself to grow your faith. Through faith we see the impossibilities of God become possible. Fresh testimony was what kept my faith strong.
Pray this: Father, thank you for giving me faith. Thank you for honoring my faith and for every testimony in my life so far. I do not take your goodness lightly, Father. Thank you for growing my faith through every challenge and every situation. Help me not to become a victim of the past or allow past situations to define me. Encourage my faith as I pray and as I take action on your Word. This year, I decide to obtain and take by faith the promises of God. I decide to refuse to settle for anything less than your good and perfect will. I believe that I will see miracle after miracle and testimony after testimony this year in Jesus’ name! Amen.