The Power Of Prayer!

Now I know all of you who know the Lord, knows there is power in prayer! And I believe if you are sincere in a prayer, and let the Lord know you mean the prayer, he is faithful to answer.
But what happens to the rest of you when your prayer gets answered in a way that is hard to accept? Ok, what do I mean by this??? Well let me use me as an example, because recently, a prayer that I've been praying to the Lord for some time was answered in a way that I wasn't expecting.
You see, for several years now I've been praying for the Lord to change me! That is, my way of thinking, my selfish ambitions, and that side of me that is deciebtful, and ugly. For many years now I have struggled with selfishness that has lead me to make some desicions that are not always the best for me, or my family.
Without going into too much detail, let me just say, there was a side of me I didn't like, and that side kept leading me into different areas of life that were not Christianlike, nor Family man Like... Whenever I would slip up, I would repent, and ask God to take the desire from me to do anything that was bad for my Christian witness, as well as for my marriage, and family life.
But eventhough I prayed for release from this bondage of my old self, I still struggled against it, and gave into it too many times!!! I was wicked and evil, and I hated everything about it! And most importantly, I meant those Prayers when I asked God to change me!
Well, from the day I recieved Christ, God has been changing me, but this prayer was finally answered in the last several months in a way that I would of never dreamed. And if I did, I would of changed me a long time ago!!!
You See, because of these problem areas in my life, I almost lost everything that is important to me!!!! My Wife, Teresa, My children, house, etc, etc... Because for so long I put myself ahead of all that was important to me, I came within an eyelash of losing it all!!!!
So what does that have to do with my prayer? It was the answer to my prayer!!!! I guess it took the Lord bringing me to a place so low in my life to open my eyes to see the damage I was causing due to my selfish choices.
I guess you could say it was like the story of Scrooge, and how the Ghost of Christmas Past, Present, and future showed him just how big a mess he made of his own life. So was it true for me. God showed me just how it would feel to be stripped of all the gifts that he has given me, such as my Wife and family, then he showed me how my choices hurt my wife, and put her in a position to shut down, and move away from me in life to her own independence. Then just today he revealed to me what my future would be like if I didn't change, and ended up losing all that is important to me. That's right, a grave with no visiters. A life ending with no reward or meaning.
And just as I thought that, God revealed to me that this was the answer to my prayer, and exactly what I needed to be able to move past the selfish, deciebtful me to a man who can be used by God once again, and a man that can be trusted by his Wife and family again!!! He had to reveal to me what it would be like to lose it all, to get me to change, and thus, my prayer was answered!!!!!!!!!
A very hard answer to recieve, but just as God is always good, this was no exception!!!! I just hope that it's not too late to repair the damage I've caused in my life with others, especially my wife, and get back to being that man I promised to be to her 10 yrs ago!!!! Thank you Lord for your faithfullness, even when it hurts to hear the truth, you never fail me!!!!
And to all of those who had to suffer while my prayer was being answered, please forgive me! I never wanted anyone to suffer because of my choices, Especially my Wife. But it took God revealing the truth to me to see that is exactly what I was doing, hurting the ones I love! Old habits, I'm finding out, will die hard, but with every new day, God brings me one step closer to being that man He set out for me to be all along. Thank you to my wonderful Wife, Teresa, for sticking this out with me, and eventhough it has been very hard for her, she has not left my side (yet). Hopefully I can prove to everyone that this blog is no joke, and God did do a miracle in me in these last few months.