Believing in the Power of Prayer
Hello everyone and May the Lord Be With you.
I am writing this testimony to my fellow parishioners to testify to how great the power of prayer really is and to how a home group and a small group of men from a 4th Day retreat can be a great support network that can get you thought life’s ever changing events.
On April 1st of this year I was laid off from my job and like most folks it was quite a surprise. The way things at worked looked to me I was one of only two Draftsmen working at the firm. We had a lot of work scheduled and we were bidding two or more projects a day. The fact is we had been on overtime for several weeks, there were a lot of large projects in the bidding stage and my employer had hired a part time person to pick up the smaller estimates. So to say the least I was thrown back by this event.
By noon my employer had given me my last check and a check for the two weeks of vacation that they owed me. I was told I could pack up everything in my office or I could leave my stuff there just in case they had a change of heart over the next two weeks. I called my wife and we decided it was best to pack up my office things and go on to the house.
By the time Thursday morning came I felt lost. I said a short pray asking the Lord for direction then started to update my resume, followed by filing for unemployment. The last thing to do was be ready to go over the checking and savings accounts with my wife Elayne. Wouldn’t you know it I was done by Thursday afternoon, Lord please help me through this I really need some help and guidance my emotions are getting the best of me. I called a couple of members from my home group asking them to pray with me , I really need your strength and guidance to get my wife and I through this lay off situation. Next Day I called Bill Driscoll, “Man Bill I just got laid off Wednesday please help me pray for some help and insight into what I am suppose to do”. On Friday morning a little panic started to come to the surface. I call one of the men from my 4th day retreat, Joey Kaleel, “Joey I need you to help me with something. “I got laid off Wednesday and I need you to help me pray for help and wisdom. I am doing what I am supposed to do but it seems to be getting rougher as the days progress”. By Friday evening when my wife and I sat down to dinner, we agreed that the job I had just lost was supposed to last only two weeks and it had lasted us seven years. We needed to be grateful to the Lord for the gifts we had received and we needed to be good stewards of what we now had.
Now it is Saturday my wife, Jim Capell and I went out on our kayaks. We figured a little quite time on the water would be what we needed. During this time Jim tells me, “Dave, have hope in the Lord, know that he has a plan for you, things might not happen in the time frame you have in mind but they will happen”
It is now Tuesday, I spent most the day making sure all my certifications and credits were up to date. By that evening I meet with my 4th Day Group. They tell me that there are two home groups praying for my wife and I and I needed to have faith in the Lord. He will come through for you. Later that same night my wife tells me that while she was at our home group had just lifted us up in prayer, “Honey I felt like the Lord was right there with us”. We just need to leave this situation to the Lord he will come through just wait and see.
Thursday afternoon while I was reading my bible I had this over power urge to start to pray for the people I use to work with. “Lord please be with the employees at Ferber, please help them and give them a good direction. Lord please be with the draftsman and estimator that were still there. Give them the strength they will need to endure the stress that will be coming their way”. This prayer has been part of my evening prayers ever since.
Tuesday morning April 14th I go on my first job interview. It takes two and a half hours. I listen attentively as the lady from Human Resources tells me about the company their plans for the future and where I might fit in if hired. They have taken in twenty five applications, they plan to bring back five or six April 30th and select one from that final group. As I am walking out to the car I pray “Lord help me get through this day. It is just going to be one of those days and I need you to be close to me.” I took a deep breath and said to myself “Another interview after lunch.”
By 1:00 I walk into the next interview. The receptionist hands me the job application and asks for a copy of my resume. She makes a call, a few seconds later the door behind her opens out steps a guy that I use to worked with back in 1999. “Hey Dave how has it been going, Come on back to my office.” I walk through the door way into his office and notice two men standing in the room. I recognize both of them from previous employment in the early 2000 and 2001. We shake hands, they start to explain what their company is doing and where I would fit in. “Dave we want you to come on board as a senior designer, when can you start, you get two weeks’ vacation, 401K starts in 30 days after hire, Here is your contract, Please sign here.
Believe me I am a very realistic guy. I do not believe that things happen by chance or in “being lucky”. The facts of life are not easy. What I have come to believe now more than any other time in my life is the Lord works in mysterious ways. He has a plan for each and every one of us and he does answers our prayers. Above all I believe that we must treat others as we would want them to treat us.
In closing I have several people to thank. Bob Baldwin you lead my wife and I through the Dave Ramsey course. We learned to be good stewards of the gifts we receive. Elayne and I had saved our six months emergency fund; we had setup a semi envelope system. Using all the steps we were ready for the short but tuff time.
Thank You home groups your prayers were answered and we will never forget what you all have done for us. You truly are a prayer ministry. Bill, I am so glad that the Lord sent you and your family to Redeemer, We are all truly blessed. Jim, Your wisdom and spiritual strength is beyond me and I am thankful that the Lord has brought us together. Joey, Carl, Ed and Charles, I thought our 4th day retreat was amazing but I really feel like we have just got started. My Redeemer Family, Drew Edwards once told me that you all were like a hospital triage unit. When one of the fold is down, in pain and in need of help you all work together like a well trained team. United in the word of our Lord, faithful believers in Jesus Christ his one and only son, woven together in the power of the Holy Spirit.
In God Grace
Dave Gascoine