Praying With Faith

     One of the most important, crucial components of a believer's relationship with the LORD is prayer. Prayer, however, is the subject of so much criticism and frustration. Countless Christians (and non-believers) challenge the power of prayer when they don't feel like their prayer was answered or that they received what they asked for. Many will question the faithfulness of God. After all, Jesus did say that if we ask anything in His name, He will do it (John 14:14).
     So why, then, do we feel like our prayers are not answered? That our prayers do not have power? I just finished studying the book of James and one concept I learned from it is the ridding of doubt from prayer. Doubt is one of the biggest obstacles to effective prayer. James states in his letter:

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord." - JAMES 1:5-7

     When we approach God with our requests, we have to believe that He can fulfill them. Sometimes, we ask but do not receive because we do not trust or believe that we will receive. God deserves better than that! We have to have faith in Him. If we ask from God with doubts in our hearts, we insult His majesty and sovereignty. Before God can fulfill our requests, we have to show Him that we are truly following Him and willing to rely on Him for everything. We not only have to give him our requests, we have to trust him with our requests. Trust requires faith. Prayer needs to be our first response to tribulation, rather than our last resort. James reaffirms the power of a faithful prayer later on in his letter:

"The prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up..... the effective prayer of a righteous person has great power." - JAMES 5:15,16b

     When we pray with faith, miracles can happen. We have to have faith in God. And in addition to that, we have to have faith in ourselves. We are, after all, empowered by Christ and the Holy Spirit to do all things through Him. Christ tells us this in the Gospel according to Luke:

"Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you." - LUKE 10:19

     The power of Christ is within us! We have the power and the authority to do all things through Him! This is very important to remember. It's said all the time: you cannot love anyone until you can love yourself. I have found this to be very true. And it is perhaps most true with our relationship with God. Part of the reason we have trouble believing in what God can do through us is that we have lost confidence in ourselves. We not only have to believe in God, but also ourselves because we are the vessel by which Christ lives and works on this Earth. In John, Christ reiterates the power we have when we have faith in Him:

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." - JOHN 14:12

     We know that Christ did miraculous things on Earth. But are we ready to believe that we could do those same things through faith in Him? Do we believe that we can do greater things through Him? I know I am guilty of doubting the strength that I have through Christ Jesus. Christ says that the signs that accompany those who believe Him are the ability to heal the sick, cast out demons, and speak in tongues (Mark 16:17-18). Christ has so much faith in us. It's time that we buckle down and believe in ourselves, and the power of Christ within us.
     We quote all the time that we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4:13), but do we really believe it? Are we moving mountains with our faith or being tossed by the ocean of our doubt? Do not be afraid of anything, brothers and sisters. Do not think twice. God is with you and will strengthen you. With Christ in you and the Father above you and the Spirit around you nothing can stop you. You can heal the sick. You can cast out Satan.
     You can do anything through Christ. And Christ can and will do anything for you. He loves you more than you know.

Medical Missions 2010: Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

       I had the blessing and the honor of serving our God in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico. Sinaloa is a nation roughly the size of Tennessee, but sadly only has about 33 churches. Under the leadership of Marco Vallejo, whom we had the awesome opportunity to serve with and live with for the week, each of these 33 churches are establishing “missions,” which hope to become fully functioning churches within 3 years.
       Throughout the week we set up 4 free clinics, mostly at the mission churches. The goal had two parts: (1) to heal the sick, both physically and spiritually, and (2) to attract and invite people to the mission churches who may not even go near the church otherwise.
       Most of the people of Sinaloa cannot afford proper healthcare or even the simple over-the-counter medications that they need. Countless people said to us that they knew that they needed to see the doctor but could not afford it. Fortunately, we were able to give everyone who came something that they could use to help ease their pain and suffering, but it came more and more evident to me as the week went on that it really wasn’t at all about what we could provide these people.
       It was about what God, the Great Physician, could supply them. God reveals to us in Psalm 41:3 that he will “sustain [His children] on [their] sickbed” and “in [their] illness restore [them] to full health.” This is something only the LORD can promise. No matter how many vitamins, antibiotics, and pain relievers we supplied these people, nothing could ever compare to the healing and loving nature of our God. And so, we made it an effort to pray with and for each patient individually and love on them the way that He loves on us. In the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 10, Jesus sends out the seventy-two and commands them to “heal the sick in [every town] and say to them ‘the kingdom of God has come near to you.’” If we were to minister effectively as missionaries and followers of Christ, we needed to not only attempt to heal these people, but to also make an effort to further His kingdom.
       The most memorable moments of this trip were praying with these people. I prayed over more people during that trip than I ever did in my entire life. Some people were more receiptive than others, but I have no doubts that in those moments the kingdom of God was brought nearer to them. One woman came back to me after I prayed over her, asking me to pray again and also for her son. Keep in mind the language barrier. Almost no one who came through our clinics could speak a word of English, and yet they still wanted to hear us pray for them in our language. Another man, after praying with me, thanked me and my whole team for the work we are doing for God and said (in Spanish) that “a prayer made in trust and in faith and in truth is worth more than any medicine the world can provide.” After I heard a friend of mine translate that for me, I was so overwhelmed. This man had suffered from three heart attacks and still believed in the power and faithfullness of God.
       One of the most emotional and memorable events of the trip involved a man named Salvador Lopez, who came to our triage table with pre-heart attack symptoms. He was immediately rushed to our nurse and given some aspirin. There was really nothing we could do for him except give him the little medicine we had, pray for him, and send him to the hospital. I still to this day wonder what would have happened to that man if God had not sent our team to set up that free clinic at that church. He probably would not have gone to the doctor, because he couldn’t afford it. He probably wouldn’t have gone to the hospital because he had no idea what was coming. God may have saved that man’s life that day.
       Aside from the amazing work done through helping their sickness, another part of our clinics was a “vision center.” Where we provided cheap, simple reading glasses for anyone that needed them. We used a Bible to test whether or not the people needed corrective lenses for reading. It hit us mid-way through the week during our reflection time that some people in this world can’t even read their Bible because they cannot see it. I cannot imagine what I would do if I couldn’t see the word and truth of God.
       This trip revolutionized the way I think about my faith, missions (especially through medicine), prayer, and the medical field. It reaffirmed God’s will for my life and reawakened my passions for medicine and ministry. The gospel may have been written 2000 years ago but the world is still the same. There are still countless sick that need healing and lost that need to be found. Christ calls us to reach out to these people and to fill their needs. God challenges us through James that “if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? (James 2:15)” It felt so amazing to be apart of a ministry that I felt confident was the will of God. I hope to continue doing His will, through missions, my career, my relationships, my entire being.
       I feel like these scriptures, along with what I have experienced in Los Mochis can be applied to the American church. We often ask why there are so many lost in the world when we build churches and invite them and pray for them. God’s word says that we must fill their needs and love on them and get to know them before they will ever accept our messages of peace and truth. The lost can’t be found without knowing God; they can’t know him until they feel His love; they can’t feel His love until we give it to them; and they won’t accept the love we give them until we get to know them and their needs.
       God is so much greater than we can possibly ever know, and it has been a blessing to share with you a tiny bit of what I saw Him do in Mexico. God bless you!


In His unending love,
Zachary Akvan.

Hineni

     For those of you who don't know, "hineni" is one of my favorite Hebrew words ever. It means "here am i," and, in its use in the Bible, it is usually associated with surrendering to God. 

"Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?'
      And I said, 'Here am I. Send me!'" - Isaiah (Isaiah 6:8)

"When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, "Moses! Moses!" And Moses said, 'Here I am.'" - Exodus 3:4

"But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, 'Abraham! Abraham!' 'Here I am,' he replied." - Genesis 22:11

     You get it. Just as God revamped my understanding of Jeremiah 29:11, He taught me an important lesson in surrendering when I went to the BCM summer missions interview weekend. It was such an emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausting experience, but one of the best of my life. Someone actually told me that exact same thing right before I left, and I remember thinking... Really? Exhausting? How? I already know where I want to go. There isn't much to it.
     I was very wrong. For those who aren't familiar with the process, you basically show up and divide up into groups. Its kinda like a group interview, if you've ever done one of those. Every group has a leader, and the leader's goal is to get to know everyone in the group as well as they can so that they can discern the best, most God-inspired mission to assign them to. Most of the "interviews" are done as a group, like ice-breaker questions that relate to your background, personality, and passions. There is also a one-on-one interview with the group leader that helps finalize your preferences- a list of 8 missions the interviewee feels called to go to in order of preference. There is also a box that you can check that indicates that despite your preferences, you are willing to serve anywhere.
     I made the mistake of going with the attitude and mindset that I already knew where God wanted me to go, and so I never planned on checking that box, even though our group leaders encouraged us to do so. As the day went on and I had more time to pray about it, the conviction started settling in. I started trying to justify my choice to limit my preferences. Things like... I need a job over the summer and so I can't go on most of the trips. Or that I am a pre-med major so it's obvious that I need to go on a medical trip. Or the thought of my parents not supporting it if it wasn't a medical trip. I was writing all this to God in my journal when I heard His voice almost audibly say something along the lines of... Drop all you have and follow me. Am I not your God who knows your needs and where you should go?
     Now, I don't want you to think I am crazy. And this may have just been the Spirit guiding my thoughts. But  whatever it was, it was enough to wake me up. What was I doing by submitting a preference sheet that only allowed me to be assigned to one of four mission trips, all of which were medical? I was (1) limiting myself, (2) telling God that I don't trust Him with my summer (or my life, essentially), and (3) telling God that I would love to serve Him, but only if I could be sent to those four places. How proud and unfaithful was that of me? Very.
     God knows my gifts and my talents. He knows where I will succeed and sew seed. He knows what I need in order to serve Him. And if I need a job, He'll provide a way for that to happen. If my assignment takes up most of my summer, then clearly it means that getting a job is (A) not necessary this summer to prepare for the life He has in mind for me and (B) is not as important to Him as me serving Him in a place of need.
     And so I said to my God, Hineni, and searched for additional trips to fill my preference sheet of 8 and indicated that I would serve anywhere. And at the closing service, which was SO beautiful, I placed it on the wall with the others that picked my number one choice, drove back to Rome, hopped out of the car and waited for the call. I was glued to my phone all night and all morning the next day, anxiously waiting for the call that would let me know of my assignment. Kaitlin and I took Isaiah (our loppy-eared rabbit) to the park and played parcheesi while we waited. It was a gorgeous day.
     Ironically, I missed my call because my phone had been on vibrate the whole time. I found out my assignment through Kaitlin when she got her call. I was assigned to Los Mochis, Mexico. There, I will spend a week of my summer setting up medical clinics, sharing the gospel with villagers, and educating them about health.
     I am so stoked. =]

In Christ Alone,
Zack