Ask With Faith

Today, one of the most inspirational men I have ever had the privilege to meet spoke in church. He has a fatal disease that I don't know very much about, but the main symptom is lameness, being physically paralyzed. He has been through so many treatments and since he is a member at church we are notified of his status and some of the things he goes through. He has a beautiful, faithful wife, and two precious little boys. If I remember correctly he was diagnosed with this several years ago. He is already doing more and living longer than the doctors expected, but this is not the most inspirational thing about him. Brian has faith like no one I have ever seen! He has memorized over 300 verses during this time. He KNOWS he is going to be healed without the shadow of a doubt. He appears to have the faith of a Bible character, the faith that to me sometimes seems unattainable. This morning he quoted "And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive." [Matt. 21:22] I feel like a lot of people, myself included, don't take this verse to heart. We hear the ask and receive and just forget about the BELIEVE. You can't ask for something and say "you know God, if you could do this for me that would be great, but then if you don't I have this back up plan"...God should be plans A-Z. We should trust Him so much that if he didn't come through we would be in a bind (Francis Chan). Brian told a story about one day he needed God to speak to him, but then again, he thought better yet, speak to my wife--give her a dream or vision. He woke up the next morning and she didn't say anything about it but at 3 or 4 she said she told him she had a dream that she was in the den cleaning up toys and he started calling her name and came walking into her...then his son who i believe is 6 told his dad that he had a dream about him that he was walking up the stairs in their house and was shouting "I'm healed! I'm healed!" This and the other things he said touched my heart and made me want to have more faith in God--the church should be the ones doing most of the encouraging for Brian...but I feel like he does even more for us. He sees right now--the waiting period--as a time that his testimony is being built up and when he gets healed people from all over will praise the name of Jesus because they hear about his miracle.
When Brian is able to come to church he comes in his wheel chair and his oxygen mask...but I know he's so thankful to be able to make it there even though I'm sure he doesn't physically feel that great. I can't believe sometimes I find it a hassle to get up and go to church when I don't feel well, or I'm too tired. I get to WALK to my car and use my muscles to DRIVE myself to church, I get to WALK, yet again into the building, and I get to LIFT my hands in praise! What a blessing in itself!
Brian put it like this...if you have the ability to lift your hands in praise, take advantage of it because He is worthy!
I truly believe along with so many other people that Brian's healing is on the way...please help pray for him whether you know him or not because it's going to be worth it all!

--"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." [Heb. 1:11]
--"For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world: your faith." [1 John 5:4]
--"But let him ask in faith, without any doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven by the wind and tossed." [James 1:6]
--"What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled;” and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself." [James 2:14-17]