The Power of Prayer
1Elijah was a prophet from Tishbe in Gilead. One day he went to King Ahab and said, “I’m a servant of the living Lord, the God of Israel. And I swear in his name that it won’t rain until I say so. There won’t even be any dew on the ground. (1 Kings 17:1)
Hurricane Milton has come and gone, and his path of destruction stretches across the entire state of Florida. Milton made landfall on my favorite beach, Siesta Key, where I spent many a summer playing volleyball, doing beach runs, and digging my toes into Siesta’s powder-white sand as I read a book, or studied during my college years. To see the destruction in not just my home state, but the places I grew up, is heartbreaking. But as bad as the destruction is, it looked like it was going to be much worse. However, with so many falling on their knees and praying for God to spare the Tampa Bay area, God demonstrated His power and mercy, and Milton did far less damage than originally expected. After Hurricane Helene dealt the Tampa Bay/Bradenton/Sarasota area an unexpected blow, all those in the area prayed intensely for Milton to not be as destructive as the forecasts were calling for. And it worked. Instead of a ten-foot storm surge through Tampa Bay, the exact opposite happened: the Bay was sucked dry. While areas like Sarasota and Venice still found themselves underwater from an estimated six-to-ten-foot-high influx from the Gulf, these areas had just been flooded by Helene, and most are reporting that the water from Milton was lower than Helene. Now these poor people are back to drying out their homes. The debris from Milton is everywhere and the gulf coast of Florida will be cleaning up this mess for months. We will be heading back to Hazelhurst tomorrow, to help that little town with their own clean-up efforts from Helene, and at our first opportunity we will be heading down to Florida to hopefully help Grandpa Z clean up the five trees and dozens of branches that were knocked down during Milton. I am sharing the list of organizations actively serving in areas from Florida to Tennessee. In the list below, Team Rubicon and Convoy of Hope, were among the first to divert resources back to Florida and position their crews to respond to Milton. If you have the ability to, please donate to these amazing organizations. And continue to keep praying. Pray for the recovery. Pray for the resources. Pray for the rescuers. Pray for the linemen and those working around the clock to clear debris. Pray for our first responders who raced to save those in distress. Pray for those that lost everything in these storms. Pray for revival, that this season brings everyone back to God; that we lift one another up, lend a helping hand, stop pointing fingers and instead reach across the aisle to work together to help those in need. As Matthew West sings in the title track of his newest collection of wonderful songs, Don’t Stop Praying.
Common Sense Reborn 