You're welcome.  I too only hope that our testimonies will encourage 
others who are going through the same kind of financial difficulties.

Thank you for sharing as well Phil.  Oh, and I also used to be a 
medical transcriber for a couple years in 1970-72.  That was when we 
had different colors of correct-type and the old IBM selectric 
typewriter.  I'll bet Sandy remembers that.

Jackie

At 09:08 PM 5/5/2013, you wrote:
>Jackie,
>
>Thanks for sharing that with the group.
>
>Phil.
>
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Jackie Shepherd" 
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2013 9:58 PM
>Subject: Re: A Different Way To Pray For Money
>
>
>>Yes, Phil, we too have been there many times, as my husband and I 
>>have been married for 42 years this August.
>>
>>Upon my retirement in 2011, we found that we also had an upside 
>>down mortgage, and we would no longer be able to afford
>>almost $1400 in house payments.  This was just before they 
>>initiated financial programs to help home owners in our 
>>situation.  Therefore, we had to foreclose on our house, though 
>>that was the last thing we wanted to do.
>>
>>Now we have been renting an apartment in Portland,as we have moved 
>>from Salem; and though we have lost our home, we are still finding 
>>that God does answer prayer, as he helped us to find an apartment 
>>about a block away from where my Mom used to live, so we knew the 
>>area.  The apartment is small, but then there is no upkeep.
>>
>>We are about to move to a larger apartment, costing $10 less per 
>>month, with a washer and dryer, as well as a dish washer.  It's 
>>amazing how much you take appliances such as these for granted!
>>
>>Although God didn't answer our prayers as expected, he answered 
>>them in a way that was best for us.  He knew what we needed before 
>>we did.  PRAISE BE TO GOD!
>>
>>Jackie
>>
>>
>>At 04:06 PM 5/5/2013, you wrote:
>>>I thought this would be worth sharing on echurch; first, because 
>>>it is personal, it happened to me, and second, I know others have 
>>>similar financial needs.
>>>
>>>Sandy and I have, at times, made good money; for a couple of blind 
>>>people, that is.  Sandy does well having been a medical 
>>>transcriptionist for well over 40 years, however, she has, in 
>>>today's poor economy, reached a ceiling.  She no longer receives 
>>>annual raises but gets a 3 percent, one time per year check, of 
>>>her total income; most of which is taxed right out of the picture, 
>>>too.  We also have experienced various times of being broke to the 
>>>degree that hasn't been much fun.  Years ago, when I traveled and 
>>>spoke in churches around the country, we were so broke, people 
>>>were giving us food.  Guest speakers don't receive many speaking 
>>>opportunities during the summer months when it comes to 
>>>churches.  A couple of people gave us each a frozen turkey, about 
>>>12 pounders, and we had turkey and potatoes for two weeks day and 
>>>night.  So, in short, we know financial hardship up front and 
>>>personal and not just once or twice.
>>>
>>>Recently, with Sandy surgery, and Obama's new health care 
>>>ratcheting down private insurance companies, along with the 
>>>hospital she works for picking the cheapest insurance plans they 
>>>could find, we found ourselves in deep water financially.  Our 
>>>house has been upside down for well over two years and although 
>>>we've tried many places, we could not find a company to modify our 
>>>mortgage for lower interest rates.  Financially speaking, I'm 
>>>leaving out a lot of details but many of you on the list 
>>>understand what I'm trying to explain.
>>>
>>>My prayers for finances have been restricted, to one degree or 
>>>other, mostly to what I have heard through preaching and teaching 
>>>and studying God's Word.  I also have put aspects of prayer the 
>>>Lord has taught me personally into play over the years but I was 
>>>still coming up dry most of the time.  Nothing, unfortunately, was 
>>>working and things were getting worse.  I deep down inside, 
>>>believed there was an answer and one that worked every time but I 
>>>sure couldn't find it and what I had been practicing wasn't working either.
>>>
>>>One night, my victor stream battery was running low so I needed to 
>>>plug it in to the charger.  In my small 2-room office attached to 
>>>the house, my walls, several of them anyway, are floor-to-ceiling 
>>>bookshelves with all sorts of books and electronic equipment, 
>>>including my ham radio equipment. To say the least, there are, 
>>>wires and cables running all over the place in out-of-the-way 
>>>places; for the most part, haha.  In this particular case, I have 
>>>two heavy duty computer electrical strips, with every slot filled, 
>>>laying between my rocker recliner, and bookshelves I can reach 
>>>easily without getting up, with lots of cables and wires laying 
>>>around them on the floor and floor level shelve.  What I lack, I 
>>>have installed on the walls, near floor level,  which I paid an 
>>>electricians to do for me professionally, 24 more AC jacks and 
>>>wired to only a couple of breakers at a time, so I have lots of 
>>>power capability when it comes to plugging in everything under the 
>>>son.  My breaker box outside on the back of the house is so large, 
>>>you can practically crawl into it, haha.
>>>
>>>As I reached down to feel for the victor stream charger wire, my 
>>>mind immediately said, "Holy Spirit?  You know where that wire is 
>>>I need. Place my hand right on it."  You guessed it.  The first 
>>>wire, out of all those cables laying on the floor, the first one I 
>>>touched was the wire connected to the battery charger.  By now, I 
>>>have told these stories so many times, most of you are sick of 
>>>them but there's more to this one than meets the eye.
>>>
>>>The split second my fingers touch the correct wire, at the speed 
>>>of light, an additional thought came to my mind.  this thought 
>>>intersected, or overlaid, the first, that is, they overlaid one 
>>>another just like coming to an intersection of streets.  The other 
>>>thought was, "Now, Lord," I said, "Why can't praying for money be 
>>>as simple as the Holy Spirit helping me find a lost wire laying on 
>>>the floor."  I heard a small voice say, "It. IS. that. simple," He 
>>>said with a strong impasses on the word is.  I somewhat dismissed 
>>>this because I wasn't listening as well due to my interest of 
>>>finding the wire for the charger so I could plug in the charger to 
>>>the victor stream.  A short time later, however, I remembered what 
>>>I'd heard and began to ask the Lord, "Are you trying to tell me it 
>>>is truly that easy?"  I realized it should be, for God, so what 
>>>was the problem with me and how I prayed.  I tried, that very 
>>>evening, the following prayer.
>>>
>>>"Holy Spirit, you know exactly where the money is that I need and 
>>>I don't. So I am asking you to take me to wherever the money is, 
>>>placing my hand on the money, and then giving me the strength to 
>>>lift it into my possession. If angels of God are needed to clear a 
>>>path for us to get to where this money is you know about, I call 
>>>upon them, in the name of the true Lord Jesus Christ, to clear a 
>>>path and remove all that hinders.  In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."
>>>
>>>The next morning, I prayed the same prayer again, and as Sandy and 
>>>I talked, we were directed to money we did not know was available 
>>>to us.  In fact, we had been blind to it because it had been 
>>>discussed at least once. A phone call was made, and 50,000 dollars 
>>>was available to us.  It paid off all of our debts, except our 
>>>house, so now we even have money to give to the church on a 
>>>regular bases.  Plus, we helped out some other people and we also 
>>>paid back loans we had from our family members with interest. One 
>>>big blessing, we do not have to pay it back so no extra loan 
>>>payments. Does it work?  Try it.  I've learned, you don't have to 
>>>believe on the outside by verbalizing it but you do have to 
>>>believe on the inside that there is no way Jesus won't do it for 
>>>you as one of His children.  Go back and read that sentence 
>>>several times.  Without that inside belief, you don't have to 
>>>understand it on the outside; just do it from within because Jesus 
>>>has already done all the work for us.
>>>
>>>I cannot guarantee this will work for you because I can't even 
>>>guarantee it will work for me again.  I'm believing, on the other 
>>>hand, this was no accident and it came through the power and 
>>>wisdom of the Holy Spirit; of that I am certain.  So, I will pray 
>>>this way when needed.
>>>
>>>Phil.