Turn arounds

Its hard to say the how, the when or the why it happens. We've been feeling stuck lately, sorting out schedules, needing to make some significant changes and feeling lost in that, and dealing with the death of my dad two weeks ago. It has been heavy and depressing, even as we pressed in in prayer for so many people who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses - Ben Towne, Marina Mitskevich, Tina Thomas, Jason Mattax, and Pete Sheldrup.

Pastor Bill Johnson noted on Jesus' parables about prayer:

• the friend who comes to his neighbor at midnight asking for a loaf of bread for his guest; the neighbor won't give it because he is a friend, but because the neighbor is going to wake the children if he continues
• the widow who comes to the unjust judge for justice; he won't give it except that she keeps coming and bothering him, so he gives her what she asks for

Johnson says that there are prayers that God answers because we are His friends, and prayers He answers because He is the just judge, but there are prayers that are only answered because we persevere and press in for the answer.

While we haven't seen the level of healing that we are pressing in for, as I pressed in to Jesus this morning, I felt a cloud lift and a lightness of heart that I haven't felt for a while. I saw Jesus standing there, glorious, full of the fire of love and holiness, and had to look away as the cloud dispersed. His presence moved my eyes away from focusing on all that is before me as though it were telling me the truth of things. His invitation is to keep seeking Him, to keep pressing in, to keep asking, seeking and knocking; but to look to Him and keep looking - the Author and Perfecter of our Faith.