Mountains still move - and I have proof.

Mountains still move. And I have proof.

Let me preface with the fact that everyone I know is either sick, getting sick, or just getting over being sick. It's sort of ridiculous. But it's flu season and the weather here in north Louisiana has been crazy! A high of 40 one day, then in the 60's the next, lows in the 20's, sleeting, humid, the works. So it's not surprising we all have had colds and viruses.

My preschooler, Little Miss, was out for a week before the holidays with a nasty virus. And I recently got over some head congestion, which wasn't that bad, at least I could still function and go to work. Hubby went through the same then relapsed and has been off work a day or two to rest. The doctor said his was upper respiratory.

Yesterday, I was taking care of hubby, picking up his prescription, and snuggling Little Miss in the chair and watching movies when I started coughing. Not the throat tickle kind, or the productive flim-y kind, but the deep, terrible, painful bark from deep in your chest that just makes you wheeze and lose your breath and accomplishes nothing. I coughed for an hour straight. I coughed so much my teeth hurt. My face hurt. Every time, without fail, if I took a breath past a certain point, I'd wheeze and start a coughing fit that ended with groaning. This came on just all of a sudden, out of the blue, while resting in the chair with my Little Miss. Odd.

I got up and started walking around to see if moving and being upright would help. Took some Dayquil pills. Tried to distract myself with folding laundry. Nope. Still barking like a dog, and my chest felt heavy now, like someone was trying to drown me. I got pretty anxious about it, a little panicky. If I didn't take a deep breath past a certain point, I was okay, just uncomfortable. But if I breathed deep, I was afraid I woulldn't ever stop coughing. Once, I got so far into a coughing fit doing the laundry, I had to go spit in the sink and thought I was going to throw up.

Then guess what happened? I got mad. Mad at the cough. And then came a Light Bulb. I didn't need medicine. I didn't need rest or cough syrup or anything.

I needed to pray it away.

So, totally angry at the enemy, and feeling pretty indignant, I went into my closet, shut the door, leaned against it on my knees, and prayed. Told God I really believed this sudden attack was from the enemy, and that I knew God was bigger. I told Him if there was a reason for me to be dealing with this, then fine. I could take it. But if not, would He please take it away? I specifically asked Him to take the cough, to heal my lungs, to heal my body, so I could enjoy the evening with my family and take care of everyone else that needed me. I asked in faith and believed it would happen with my whole heart. And then I took a deep breath. Still wheezy, but maybe a little better. I tried again. Still wheezy. I was a little disappointed, but thought "okay, well, I tried, and God obviously has a reason for me to feel like this tonight."

Then a thought came to me, and I knew it was from the Lord. So I prayed again for Jesus to take the cough away, and then said outloud, firmly,  "In the name of Jesus, cough - MOVE." I said it three times.

And I could breathe.

Just like that. Crystal clear breaths. As deep as I wanted.

I spent another minute on my knees praising, then got up and went about my night. I maybe coughed three or four times total  the entire rest of the night, and they were the really mild, easy coughs that didn't mean a thing. That's it. No more anxiety. No more panic. No more pain. No more drowning lungs. No more fits. Not a single deep cough again.

This stuff is real, folks. Prayer is real. Intercession is real. GOD HEARS YOU and CARES.

What are you praying for today that needs to move? What mountain in your life needs to get out of the way? Jesus - and your faith, the faith He calls us to, the faith no bigger than a mustard seed - can do that for you today.

Will you try? Will you believe? Tell it to move. BELIEVE. Have faith. It might not happen immediately. It doesn't always work that way. If God had chosen not to remove my cough last night, I would have believed anyway. My faith would not have been hit. He knew that about me and I knew it about myself. But He chose to give me this one and I'm sharing it with you to encourage you. Everything for a reason, and I believe maybe that was the reason. To bolster my faith and hopefully bolster yours.

TRY. Don't be afraid to fail.

Tell that mountain where to go.

And let me know what happens :)