The Boomerang Effect

When we find ourselves in difficult circumstances, in trying and testing situations, in lack in a particular area of our life, in sickness or ill-health, whatever the situation, it is so easy to get caught up in focusing on that. Even if this means focusing on it in prayer - which Jesus calls us to do - to pray for our needs, to have faith in God and to declare his Word until our situation changes. As much as I advocate that we pray for God's deliverance, healing and provision in our life when we need it, I have discovered another jewel that somehow seems to release this breakthrough faster and more powerfully than if we were 'just' praying for ourselves.

One of the greatest spiritual keys of the Kingdom I have learnt over time in order to see breakthrough come to pass in our own life, is to pray for that very breakthrough in the life of someone else. I can't begin to describe how powerful this is! I can guarantee that whatever situations you are going through where you are desperately seeking God for a release in whatever area of your life, you are bound to know someone else who is going through the same thing and who has the same needs. Sometimes even just recognising that other people are also experiencing the same situation gives us a bit more perspective. Even more so, when we realise that they are actually a lot worse off than we are, what we think we are lacking in we actually become thankful for how much we do have. It's not about the comparison, but if we do compare ourselves we will generally find someone who has it a lot worse...and often that's enough to get us into a position of praise, thanksgiving and gratitude despite our own circumstances.

But what is even greater than this, and what holds so much power, is when we position ourselves in prayer to intercede for these people in the very areas that we actually need God's touch, power, answer and breakthrough. There is something about getting our eyes off our own circumstances and being selfless enough to lift someone else's needs higher than our own. The funny thing is, as we pray for them in this area, we often see a direct correlation in that same area in our own life. Let me explain a situation that is very personal, but very powerful.

My husband, Gavin, and I have a precious gift from God, our son Hugo James who is almost 15 months old. But the journey to his conception and birth was a long and difficult one. For over four years we tried to fall pregnant. There was nothing medically 'wrong' with us, it was just the cards we were dealt. I could talk about this journey all day long, and I'm sure I'll go into a lot more detail in future posts as we learnt so much that I am keen to share and we grew in ways we could not have imagined, had we not experienced this difficult but invaluable journey. However, what I want to share today is one of the many lessons we learnt along the way. Our hearts desire was to have a baby. I can not tell you how passionate we were about falling pregnant and starting a family. I can safely say that this was the greatest desire of my heart, as far as 'earthly' wants go. We would regularly pray about this, faithfully believe in our hearts and declare God's Word and promises over our life with our mouths. We did all that we could possibly do, spiritually, in order to see this miracle of life come to pass and receive this breakthrough that we had been pursuing for years on end. One day, amidst a powerful prayer session together, God placed on my heart a couple who we knew who were also trying to fall pregnant. "They haven't been trying for very long, I'm sure it will happen soon," I thought. But that wasn't the point! The more we kept praying for ourselves and our situation, the more God impressed them on my heart. Finally, surrendering to his promptings I started praying for them. I started praying that they would be blessed with the very thing that we wanted to be blessed with. I started praying that they would receive this breakthrough in their life. The more we prayed the more joyful we became, the more passion rose up within us, the more power we felt and the presence of God thickened in the room.

We continued praying, not just this one time, but ongoing. And not just for this couple, but for everyone we knew in this same situation. Some people were only just starting out on the journey of conceiving life, some had been pursuing it for years just like us, and some had been contending with infertility, failed IVF attempts, miscarriages, losing babies and other situations that, in perspective, were so much worse than ours. Throughout this time, we saw this couple and many others fall pregnant and give birth, and we were genuinely excited and happy for them, even though we didn't yet have the fulfilment of this promise in our own life.

After two long years, we finally had OUR breakthrough and conceived and gave birth to our amazing little man! But that hasn't stopped us praying for those who still need it. A few of these people still haven't received their breakthrough, but we are steadfastly contending for them in prayer and fasting and standing firm in faith and believing for them. Some we don't even know the results of, because they were just people we randomly met at conferences or through friends of friends.

This experience taught us to apply this principle to any need in our life. Whatever we are going through, we always know someone who has the same needs and we make it our priority to pray faithfully, genuinely and joyfully for them to receive breakthrough in that same area. Even this very week we have seen two instances of praying for friends who are facing similar situations as us. One couple required a shift in their employment and great provision from God. We prayed hard one night and the next morning received a phone call telling us that they had been offered a job completely out of the blue, that was better hours, a better location and more money than their previous job! The second couple we were praying for the provision of a new house as their lease was coming to an end. Not only did they find a new place to move into, but they actually bought a house and will no longer be renting! Have we seen these breakthroughs in our own circumstances yet? No! But I worship the same God who gave good things to these people and who will also give good things to us. And as we continue to lift others up in prayer for the very needs that we also have, I am certain we will all see God's touch and provision in our lives.