A very close friend messaged me yesterday after reading my column.
“Bob,” he said, “your solutions to problems sound like impossible dreams. You paint pictures of a world that can never exist.”
Then, in good natured humour, he compared me to the famous dreamer, Don Quixote.
Most of us remember that wonderful story of the man from La Mancha charging at windmills, believing they were giants. We remember the unforgettable song, “To Dream the Impossible Dream.”
After the message I sat quietly and wondered whether he was right. Do I spend my days writing about things that can never happen? Do I keep urging people to believe in solutions that exist only in imagination? Am I merely waving at windmills while the rest of the world deals with reality?
And then I remembered what had just happened. Yesterday morning I woke up feeling miserable. My head felt as though someone had stuffed it with cotton. My nose was blocked. A cough was beginning to settle in. Every muscle in my body ached. Even getting out of bed felt like a major achievement. “Not now, Lord,” I muttered. “There is too much to do.”
But the body was unwilling to cooperate.
I tried working and quickly gave up. The energy simply was not there. I felt exhausted, irritable and defeated.
Then my wife and I did what we have done throughout our married life.
We prayed.
Nothing dramatic happened at that moment. No lightning flashed. No heavenly choir sang. No angel appeared beside the bed.
We simply prayed together.
I have written before about the power of prayer and have shared many such experiences in my book DARE. Over the years we have seen answers come in ways that often left us astonished.
And then, this morning I woke up and sat up in bed.
The cold had vanished. The body ache was gone. The cough had disappeared. The weakness was nowhere to be found.
I walked to the bathroom, enjoyed a refreshing bath and came out feeling strong and energetic instead of exhausted and ill.
Now some may call it coincidence. Others may smile politely and dismiss it.
But for me, it was another reminder that what appears impossible to us is very possible to God.
Was it an impossible dream when we prayed the night before?
Not at all.
I am not boasting about my faith or that of my wife. I am simply saying that throughout my life I have discovered one truth. Whenever I take a burden, a problem, a fear or a challenge to God, something happens. Sometimes the answer comes immediately. Sometimes it takes time. But it comes.
That is why I continue writing about hope. That is why I continue believing solutions exist.
Because in Mark 9:23, it is written, “All things are possible to him who believes.”
So no, my friend, I am not dreaming impossible dreams.
I am simply believing in a God for whom nothing is impossible…!
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Robert Clements is a newspaper columnist and writes a daily column, which has graced the pages of over 60 newspapers and magazines, from a daily column in the Khaleej Times, Dubai, the Morning Star, London, and in nearly every state in India, from The Statesman in Kolkata, to the Kashmir Times in Kashmir to the Trinity Mirror in Chennai.
Yes, God is near, all things possible by prayer, believe and it will happen. I believe! Thank you Bob 🙏🏻😇
Bob Sir Good Morning. I am delighted to read your true feelings which tally with my belief. When ever I am little uncomfortable I pray and feel better. I have a regular practice since I was a growing child 6- years old for chanting sitting with my eyes closed. It has also prevented me for doing wrong actions.
Yes, Amen to it…
Today, by design the verse was :
“Those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31
If He is our Creator and the One who ” knitted us in our mothers’ wombs”, He can sustain us through. An earnest prayer of a true believer availeth much. Very touching piece Bob🙏.
Dont give up Bobby. Your writing motivates & forces one to think. My father also believed strongly in the power of prayer.
Yes. Prayer brings miracles!!
The cold vanishing just after the prayer request….is the miracle.
Its all about the he timing.
The sea parting, the rains descending…its the timing that defines it as a miracle 🙏
Beautifully written, Bobby. I resonate deeply with this. Over the years, I too have experienced the power of prayer many times. Yes God doesn’t always answer in the way or timing we expect, but He has never failed to respond. Thank you for this timely reminder that our faith is in a God with whom nothing is impossible. Bless you, sir.
Evangelist J John has a hilarious and amazing story about a preacher and his cat. He ends it with: When you pray, coincidences happen. When you don’t, they don’t.
Thank you for sharing your reality Bob.
You have touched the core of all human quest through the ages.
What is Reality?
For some the reality is natural (the seen world) and what is pragmatic. Our long education is based on naturalism and we live unconsciously by what we have been immersed in for two decades.
For some the Reality is the Triune God and God’s active presence and working in the Here and Now, in the present, in the mess and muddle of our real daily life. That’s the kingdom of God. And imagination is God’s gift as a doorway to the unseen real world.
Thank you for sharing your experience with the reality in a beautiful way.
In a world filled with dismal news headlines, we need more like you Bob to remind everyone that we have hope and something good to look forward to each day. Our hope is not a perhaps or a maybe, but a firm confidence that comes from the Lord who conquered death to give us life. Let’s live that life with courage and faith.
I pray, I believe and Trust The Almighty ..
Prayers help when no one else does ..
Philippians 3:8