Smoking Miracle (24-7 Prayer)

From a member of KNU International English Church (in Cheonan, South Korea) who prefers to remain anonymous.

This is a smoking story, but not the kind one reads about or sees on TV.  This is about a real miracle.

Back in March, my boss told me that all foreign teachers had to get some tests done at the medical center.  My boss told me that he needed to take me to get tested March 27th.   I scheduled my time at our church's 24/7 Prayer Room for March 30th.  Then, my boss told me he only had time to take me to the medical center on March 30th (right when I was scheduled for the prayer room). I was very angry and hurt about this, but rescheduled the prayer room for Sunday.

When I came for the tests, I found out there would be a chest x-ray also.  I always get nervous about chest x-rays, but this time was extreme.  I was so nervous that I failed the blood pressure test.  

I decided to smoke before going into work and quit for 24 hours in order to really help the blood pressure results on the following day.  I figured that after the test, I would be free to smoke all I want.

I passed the blood pressure test and the chest x-ray, but something very strange happened: I suddenly lost the desire to smoke.  I also had a cold and a bad cough, which I wasn't even taking medication for.  All of this went away the same afternoon.

Then on that Saturday, I went swimming and found myself swimming very fast without even trying. My lung capacity had improved so much that I just naturally swam faster.

I have been smoking heavily since 1980!  I did not plan to quit smoking last month.  It just happened.  I feel that God worked a miracle in me. I am even more grateful to God for helping me quit and for healing my body.   All of this means even more to me, because it all happened during Holy Week before Easter and our 24/7 Prayer Week.  I have now been free of smoking for almost two months!

24/7 Lent Podcasts

Lent starts today with Ash Wednesday.  Our church will finish with 10 days of 24/7 prayer leading up to Easter. 
This will be our fifth trip through 24/7 Prayer.  Every time it has been a time of spiritual renewal, community bonding, and creative outflow.  If you're part of our church, this is a must-participate event.  Don't miss out.  If you're part of another church, gather some people to start your own week of 24/7 prayer.
Last go-round, our prayer spaces filled up so quickly that some people didn't find a time to pray that would work for their schedule.  This season, we are expanding 24/7 to 24/10.  To prepare us for that, I encourage you to follow the 24/7 prayer videos guiding us to walk more closely with Jesus.

Feeling our Prayers - Isaiah 63-64

   Every single person I know has struggled with prayer at some time.  Most people I know struggle with prayer most of the time.  Praying can be hard.  Someone told me last week that he has just about given up on prayer.  Most people say they wish they had more time to pray, but most people don’t seem particularly interested in actually spending more time in prayer.  When it comes right down to it, most of us would rather do most other things.  If you have ever struggled with prayer or with not praying, you are not alone.  Most people are like you.

   We are entering the Season of Advent.  This is a season of waiting.  We are waiting in three ways. 

• We’re waiting symbolically with the people of the Old Testament for Jesus, the Messiah to come.  We’ll celebrate Jesus’ coming at Christmas time.
• We’re waiting for Jesus to come again and make our world right.
• We’re waiting for God’s coming and action to be more fully present in our world and in our lives.

    In the midst of all this waiting, prayer can be hard.  When I graduated from university, my Aunt Sue gave me a book by one of America’s greatest philosophers: Dr. Seuss.  It’s called O, the Places You’ll Go.  Dr. Seuss describes life as this long journey of ups and downs, celebrations and failures.  But one stage of life is often “The Waiting Place”:
        a most useless place … 
        … for people just waiting.
        Waiting for a train to go
        Or a bus to come, or a plane to go
        Or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
        Or waiting around for a Yes or a No
        Or waiting for their hair to grow.
        Everyone is just waiting.