Colombia and the Power of Prayer

Warning: real life events in this blog post. (Maybe not for young children) 

Since I was a small child, prayer was normal for me. My family and I would pray before meals, before school, before bed,  and before heading out on a long road trip. To have the ability to pray to God who created the entire universe has become normal to me.   I think most people my age who have grown up in a Christian home often leave the faith because maybe the prayers they are praying are not being answered how they think they should be. Maybe it’s because they can’t tangibly see the hand of God moving in their life. Maybe it’s because tragedy has struck and they were praying for a miracle, and they didn’t see it happen. 

During the last few years I have been praying to not only believe in the power of prayer, but when things happen to not discount the power of God moving in the situation. 

I am convinced that your prayers are acting as a shield around my team and I.  I just wanted to say thank you to everyone. If you pray for us once a day or once while we are on the field, I believe in the power of prayer, so thank you. 

Colombia is now one of my favorite countries. We had the opportunity to work with Ciudad Refugio. I have never seen an organization operate quite like this. They have not put any limits on how God wants to use them. The same floor that operates as a homeless shelter at night, holds church services on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. The building is designed with the ministry needs in mind. The first floor is the homeless shelter/ church, second floor is the men’s Teen Challenge program, third is the women’s program, the fourth is used for youth and the fifth floor/ roof is used for staff as well as a soccer field. 

While in Colombia, my team and I had the opportunity to work with these programs as well as go out into the community to share the love of Jesus. 

One Tuesday afternoon I thought it would be a fun experience to take two of my new friends to one of the tourist spots in town known as comuna 13. We were so excited as we headed down to the metro to get to our destination. Upon arrival at the metro, we witnessed something horrific. As we saw the metro approaching, we looked down into the tracks and saw a lady sitting in the tracks waiting for the train to come and take her life. The sound of the loud horn filled the station, but the lady did not move a muscle. We watched as the metro came closer, I looked away for a split second, when I turned back, I could only see the metro and hear the crowd crying.  As Stephanie (one of my teammates) fell to her knees, she began to pray and beg God for a miracle. On the other hand, I was frozen in time, and not sure what to do. To me, praying for a miracle after watching the metro run over a lady was pointless. But now, looking back, I know we were there for a reason. We were soon rushed into the metro offices with the police officers. As the shock began to wear off, I began to cry. My teammate Morgan went around the room and offered a hug/prayer to any of the whiteness who wanted it. Steph continued to pray for a miracle. A few minutes later we were notified that the woman was still alive and that they would be taking her to the hospital. We were all relieved, but deeply traumatized. When I closed my eyes, I could only see the back of the ladies pink hair sitting in the tracks. 

As we headed back to the foundation, my body started to collapse, the emotion fully hit and I began to think of all the things that had to line up for us to see that. We were there for a reason and I believe we were there to stand in the gap and pray. God is the ultimate healer. I don’t know why the lady felt the need to end her life that day, but God had other plans. For each and every one of us, He has a plan for our lives. He has already walked before us, and knows what we are going to face. As we lean into Jesus and seek his way, it is amazing to see how he really is near to the broken hearted and does heal our wounds… if we let him. 

As I sat in my bed at the foundation, I felt broken, broken hearted for the woman that we saw, broken hearted that my new friends were also witnesses, broken hearted for the hopelessness. I didn’t think I could emotionally go on. I didn’t think I could continue to see the disparity. As I was crying out to God, he healed my heart, mind, and body. I no longer saw the images when I closed my eyes and I felt at peace. The Holy Spirit moved in a way that I can’t put words to. In that moment, instead of feeling broken, I felt empowered! WE HAVE THE GOOD NEWS AS BELIEVERS! We have the light instilled within us! We have the opportunity to bring that HOPE and LIGHT into the dark places with God’s authority and power. 

1 Corinthians 2:5 “That your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

We live in a hurting and broken world. During the rest of my time in Colombia I didn’t walk around with the fear of the darkness, but with boldness in who Jesus is and how much he does care and love us all. During this holiday season and for the remainder of my time on the World Race, I am praying for continued boldness/faith to share the love/hope of Jesus. To live each day not in fear but fullness. To step into the uncomfortable conversations and places to see what God wants to do. 

Fast forward, I am now in Ecuador. God is good. 

More to come.  

Happy late thanksgiving to you all! 

Much love, 

Morgan Noonan