Praying for Things - ALL things

Jim Sammons from Texas has a Financial Freedom Seminar I listened to. I’ve made some changes in my life since I listened to it. Sammons’ teaches that God has given us what we have and that we are responsible for it and will account for the way we use what He gave us. I have heard this before but not quite the same way.

He teaches that we should put our faith in God and pray for things before we just run out and buy them. This is the difference, in that we should seek God for it before we run and just make a purchase. This was a change from the way I was taught: that we were in charge and that the decision of what to buy was solely up to us. For instance, if I am making 50 k a year and my wife makes about the same then it should be in God’s will if I run out and purchase a 300 k Home. Hey the bank (World) says I am qualified, so why think twice?

Sammons states that before we make any decisions we should be on our face before God and ask of Him; whether it is a home, a car, or anything. Again this was foreign to me and to most Christians I’ve spoken to. I decided to do this. I’m not going to say I’ve been perfect at it but I am making good strides.

I had been putting on a little weight because I had been working a little more. You know spending more time in my patrol car. Oh and there was the two semesters of school where all I did when I was not in work was read, read, and then, yes sir, read just a little more. I was about twenty pounds heavier then I should be. 18 lbs. to be exact, fatter then I had ever been in my life. So when school was over I began to run a couple miles around the block. Sadly at the same time the rainy season began. It was a little hard to run in the rain. We live on a dirt road and when it rains it gets too muddy to drive down our road, never mind walk. So, I thought it would be healthy for me to get some type of exercise machine. I began to look into treadmills and then elliptical machines.

At this time I was also listening to Dr. Broggi who was teaching about many things. One that was convicting me was that I should take all thoughts captive. This teaching combined with the financial teaching from Sammons provoked me to get on my knees and while I was praying for others I began to pray for these things I wanted. This too, by the way, was strange for me. I mean to pray for something I wanted and not something I was in need of. This was something I was taught as being selfish and wrong. You know, praying for something that was not a need but a “selfish want”. Anyway, I made a list too. On my list I prayed for salvation for certain people I knew. I prayed for the physical needs of family and friends. I prayed for protection for many and I prayed for the will of God in my life. Then I finished my list with the things I wanted. I did not tell anyone of what I wanted except my wife. Hey I tell her everything. This is the part where it got “cool”.

I have seen God answer prayers throughout my life and I praise Him for it. This however was different, at least the way I see it. I asked God for a treadmill. I asked God for an elliptical machine. I did not care which one, I just asked Him to grant me something I could get healthy with. I advised my wife that I was praying for these things. She came home from work and said that one of the women she works with was trying to get rid of a $1,300 dollar elliptical. Maria said that the girl was asking $400. We went to look at it and the foot rest was loose but it worked well. The young lady took of another $25 dollars because of the loose foot rest so we purchased it. This machine was used probably more as a clothes rack then an exerciser. I took it home and praised God for it. I used it for two weeks and lost about 10 lbs in that time.

I was still praying for a treadmill because I really love to run. Ha! That’s a bold faced lie. I run because I know it’s the only way to keep you in shape for running. Let’s face it, as a police officer sometimes I have to run. Then when you get to where you are running, you still have to have enough stamina to fight, or you might get your butt kicked or even worse. Three weeks went by and I was speaking to my friend Michael about my new elliptical. I was telling him about the weight loss (14 lbs.) and how tough these machines were to workout on for 50 minutes. As I was speaking, another friend said, “Hey Jim, my mother has a treadmill she bought about two years ago. The thing cost her close to $2,000 dollars. It just stopped working and she doesn’t know why. Would you like it?” I said, “Yes, I would love it”.

I went to his mom’s house the next day and took the Pro series treadmill to its new home. I did a little trouble shooting on it and figured out the power supply board was the problem. The machine actually had a self diagnosis program, which I learned by searching the model on line. I looked up the circuit board on line and found the board for $190 dollars. So guess what I did, I prayed again. I asked God to help me get this board somehow or get this broken one fixed.

Then I remembered Nick. He works for Motorola. Nick is the guy who keeps the radios and in-car computers working for the Sheriff’s Office where I work. I called Nick and explained what I had and what the problem was. Nick said to bring the board by. So I did. Nick called me a couple days later and said that he believed the problem was that two Zener diodes were blown. He stated that if I got the diodes he would replace them. I did, he did, and then I placed the repaired board back in the treadmill. That night I ran two miles on my new Pro series treadmill. The two diodes cost me $2.60 cents, shipping was $9.80 cents. The grand total for my $2,000 dollar treadmill was $12.40 cents.

God is good to me and I thank him for that. He provides me with all I need and even with things that I want. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. This is not to mention the $2,000 dollar ride-on Toro-with grass catcher-lawnmower I received free from a coworker when he found out that my one year old push mower died. I didn't ask, I just prayed. God is amazing…amazing.