In walking closely with God over the past 25 years, I have discovered that when He impresses on my heart to pray for someone - and I comply - some pretty wild things can happen as a result.

As I was going about my daily business one morning, the Holy Spirit led me to begin giving thanks for my husband, Joe, and for his being such a faithful provider for our family for more than 40 years. As I gave thanks, I realized how much I had taken my husband for granted all these years, and I immediately felt remorseful, and confessed my lack of gratitude and appreciation to God. That's when the Lord strongly impressed upon me to pray for Joe to receive more rewards and recognition for his hard work. The Spirit of God brought to my remembrance Proverbs 31:31 (TLB): "Praise [him] for the many fine things [he] does. These good deeds of [his] shall bring [him] honor and recognition from people of importance." I began earnestly praying and claiming this promise for my husband, trusting the Lord to act on his behalf on his job.

A few weeks later, Joe came home from work sounding heartbroken and depressed. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me that some executives at work decided to change the person who he directly reports to. Inwardly, I panicked. I instinctively knew that the changes at work had been a direct result of my prayers. I poured out my heart to the Lord, and I asked Him to cause these changes to work together for Joe's good, according to His promise. (Romans 8:28) We discovered that Joe's new supervisor was intent on determining how productive my husband was being on the job. He had Joe keeping records of all of his tasks, and all that he accomplished during working hours. My husband chafed under the new leadership, and he felt the heavy weight of this new burden each day he reported to work.

Joe's new boss had much more authority than his old one, so it was vitally important for this man to see Joe performing well on the job. My husband painstakingly wrote down in detail what he was accomplishing during his working hours. Day after day, as his boss looked at these daily reports, he became more and more impressed with Joe's performance. All of a sudden, Joe was hearing reports of how he was outperforming his coworkers, and excelling at everything he put his hand to. Because Joe's new boss had so much authority at Joe's workplace, he was able to call for recognition and rewards for my husband that his previous boss never could. When Joe announced that he was receiving a monetary reward for his outstanding performance at work, no one was happier for him than I was. Now Joe's bosses use him as an example of what an excellent worker and employee should be, and my husband is enjoying going to work every day.

Very often, when the Lord wants to do something new and wonderful in someone's life, He will impress upon us to pray for them. Many times, He will prompt us to pray about a certain area of their life, such as their work ethic, their job situation, their spiritual condition, or something else. If we have a very personal and intimate relationship with the Lord, we will be more sensitive and obedient to these promptings. And we will see God move mightily in people's lives. But be prepared. When you start fervently and faithfully praying for someone, God may start shaking things up in the lives of the ones you're praying for. Things may seem to get worse at first, and you may wonder if you did something wrong. If you will resist the urge to panic, and turn promptly to the Lord for His perspective in the matter, you will most likely find out that everything is proceeding according to His mysterious and glorious plans.

Scripture says: "God can do anything, you know - far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams!" (Ephesians 3:20 MSG) I have seen God do some pretty wild and wonderful things in people's lives as a result of prayer. And I believe that if His people would pray more, we would all see even more radical moves of God. What is the Lord's Spirit impressing upon your heart today?

Prayer: Lord, teach me how to have a closer walk with You, and make me sensitive and obedient to Your voice. Show me how to pray the prayers of Your heart for myself and others on a regular basis. Fill me with a growing passion for Your presence and Your Word. Help me to partner with You to touch and change the lives of multitudes for Your glory. Thank You that as I am quick to follow Your Holy Spirit's promptings, I will witness radical answers to my prayers for myself and others!