How can we give thanks when times are hard?!

December 5, 2010 by Leave a Comment

November 24, 2010

Donna is no stranger to the H.o.P.E: she is beloved by many of the people who have come to really appreciate her and her music on Wednesday night. She was up front for an entirely different reason: Her young adult son had had some scary news regarding his health. Yet his faith and his family’s faith remains strong. For now, Donna needed the prayers of her H.o.P.E family and they responded in unison. As they surrounded her and mothers in the congregation held her in their arms, it felt like the best place to be on Thanksgiving eve!

Around the Fall, the Israelites celebrated a holiday not unlike Thanksgiving. The season is associated with the harvest and God’s provision. There was another reason to be thankful. The Festival of Tents or Tabernacles was for thankfulness. It was instituted in Leviticus 23.

The purpose of this Festival or Feast was celebrate God’s faithfulness to them while in they were wandering in the desert. They lived in temporary homes in the light of a more permanent one in the Promised Land.

How can we give thanks when times are hard? Even while we are in temporary dwelling place, we celebrate because God is faithful and is preparing for us something much more lasting. I heard once that Psalm 27 was recited during that time. My favorite passage of the Bible is Psalm 27:4. It has new meaning now beyond a simple longing to see the God. And then there is verses 5 and 6:

For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.

Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

We “made music” with Calvary’s Light and they sang of peace and flowers that one day won’t fade. We gave our thanks for what God will do.

An unexpected prayer request came from a Jenny. During her Bible Study with Pastor Ron earlier that day, she revealed that she had just found out that her doctor had told her that nothing could be done for her. He told her that she would die from cancer. She spoke of her faith in God and said that she wished she had spent more time being thankful.

It’s never too late with God. That’s the beauty of Him. So she gave thanks for her family, her fiance, for her friends and for Jesus. And she said thank you for the breath of life in her tonight, and another chance to say that God had been good to her. We sang a scripture song borrowing the words at the end of Psalm 27:

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

-Pastor Sabine

Filed Under: cancer treatment, covering prayers, Dr. Sabine Vatel, healing, house of prayer, Thanksgiving Day

I Will Praise God… with My Whole Heart!

November 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment

November 25, 2009

Hanna just turned 6!

Her grandmother Barbara was present to give God praise and report that her granddaughter was declared 95% cancer free. Charlie had also submitted Hannah’s name for prayers when she was first diagnosed with cancer of the kidney.

The little girl had declared that she was healed when she was preparing for a scan. Her grandmother remembers how it was not the case at first, but as Pastor Derek pointed out, the little girl was being prophetic after all!

Pat had good news of her own and explained why she was thankful.

She was radiant when she shared that her husband had changed and accepted Jesus as His Savior and Lord. He no longer ‘persecutes’ her for her faith, but instead their relationship has blossomed. She had prayed for him for sixteen years. Pat remembered how the people of H.o.P.E joined her in praying for him when the group first met in one of the church’s classrooms.

‘Thank you for praying for him before you’ve known him’, she told her listeners.

A young woman who was visiting from Ontario, Canada had contacted Pastor Derek. She was suffering from a painful illness called scleroderma. She came for the first time to House of Prayer Experience because she had heard that it was a community of ‘pray-ers’. She didn’t expect the prayer quilt nor the wave of people who came to surround her. Another young adult, Esther had a friend on her mind and asked for prayers on his behalf as his life hung on the balance.

We remembered once more how H.o.P.E is a house of prayer for all people…and that joy is possible despite tough situations.


Daniila Dideko is pictured here helping lead worship in songs through inspiring (and inspired!) piano playing!

In between the testimonies and times for reflection, we sang Scripture Songs. The tunes composed by Bodil Morris have helped people draw closer to God and memorize His Word. The words from Psalm 9:1-2 have become somewhat of a theme for the Wednesday night’s gathering!

I will praise You, O LORD, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!

-Pastor Sabine

Filed Under: grandmother, praying wife, Thanksgiving Day, Trilogy Scripture Songs