To begin this post about my praying grandmother, 2 songs immediately come to mind;
Prayer Saved my Life- James Fortune & Fiya
Never Would Have Made It-Marvin Sapp
In Prayer Saved My Life James says
“he remembers as a boy walking in on his grandmother, she’d be on
her knees interceding on behalf of her family, though she’s no longer here, because
prayers don’t expire, those same prayers are what’s carrying him through today.”
Then members of Fiya follow that statement by singing;
“Thank You For Praying For Me
Thank You For Covering Me
Thank You For Loving Me
Your Prayers, Your Prayers Saved My Life”

As lover of music, I welcome lyrics to minister to my spirit, especially during those times of reflection.
My grandmother was just like James’ grandmother, my fondest memories of her always include her on her knees praying for her family. When I spent the summers with her as a child, I would observe her faithfulness and unrelenting prayers for us by name, she prayed for my grandfather, she prayed for my uncle, she prayed for my mother & my father, she prayed for me and my siblings.

What was so amazing about her prayers was that she was specific about what she was praying for each of us and she never gave up or changed her prayers despite waiting on God’s timing for them to come into fruition. We like things in OUR time but God works on HIS time which is always RIGHT ON TIME!
My grandfather was a Disabled Army Veteran, he lost his right hand and half his arm in the Korean War and like common tales of those returning from war zones, he and his army buddies would hang around town and drink away the reoccurring memories of bombs, blasts, bloodshed, screams and the many other desolate things that they experienced. I SAW my grandmother’s prayers lead my grandfather out of the streets and into the church where he would become a faithful servant, deacon and so much more to the building of their local kingdom of God for the rest of his life.

Just imagine my smile from ear to ear when I went to visit North Carolina one summer and there was a plaque recognizing my favorite guy as a deacon! I KNOW without a doubt that without her prayers, my grandfather would never have made it as long as he did without those prayers. He had fragments of bullets still in his body that wreaked havoc on his health for the duration of his life after the war and yet he out lived his beloved. ♥

Despite being raised in the church, my father and uncle were not active “Church goers”, they like most of us do at some point in our lives had grown away from the church and its teachings. But… But, I am a living witness to the answering of my grandmother’s prayer when not one but both rededicated their lives to God! I get chills just thinking about it! It took years but it did happen! 🙂

As for me, I don’t even know where to start, her prayers definitely have carried me through this current day! This is where “Never Would Have Made It” comes to mind. I simply NEVER would have made it without her! My grandmother’s voice alone would comfort me, her presence would refresh my spirit, her prayers have covered me and her life entire life blessed me! I am a faith filled woman and wife because of her influence in my life. Amongst other things, she use to pray for my heart, my spirit, and most importantly my mouth! My heart is so pure but this mouth! It is still a work in progress, I know some people (raise your hand) are still waiting on that prayer to be answered… 😆 She would often giggle when I would say things because she knew it was a mirror image of herself, and after she was done laughing she would say ok, old lady dingy(her nickname for me when I was acting out).. and then she would correct me before she would laugh again. I like to refer to us as a combination of sass & class! We don’t mean any harm, we’re just really honest people. 😉

I remember Chocolate and I were going through an adjustment period in 2011 and it had been a roller-coaster year for us in regard to our marriage and being that my grandmother was my confidant and prayer warrior, she knew all about it. We had finally got it together by December that year and I vividly remember my last conversation with her on December 17, 2011, I had called her on my way home from work and the first thing she asked was how were the two of us doing and I said good, after thanking God for that answered prayer, we went on to talk about different things but at least two more times she inquired if we really were ok and I assured her we were. She had talked to Chocolate that night and my niece before speaking to me again before we hung up.

The very next day she left us to go to glory. I have never forgotten that call because it was like she needed confirmation that I was okay for her to peacefully transition to eternal life. My life forever changed on December 18, 2011. I sat in my bedroom in complete darkness as my family poured in to try to comfort me. There was no comfort for me at that time, I just knew my heart was literally broken in half in my chest. If you ask me, I felt the break, I could not breathe, I could not speak, I could not believe she was gone. It was not possible.

The feeling of emptiness engulfed me so quickly and completely I did not think my heart could take it, then I thought of her and I started to pray! And I prayed and prayed and prayed. I will not lie and say I immediately felt better but I did feel stronger, I knew I would get through and I knew I needed to be the source of strength for my grandfather and father. It was in her death that I truly understood her prayers for my heart as she knew one day she would leave and our family would need me more than ever. All my life, she had been preparing me. WOW.

We all need someone to pray for us, it is the greatest gift someone can give us. We also need to pray for others, especially those closest to us, our communities, our government and our world.
Be specific in what you are praying for, put in some work and keep praying and working until it comes to be.
If you don’t have anyone to pray for you, just ask me. I’ll pray for you in exchange of you praying for me. God Bless. ♥