One of my most creative friends nearly didn’t have the chance to share his talents with the world. His mother became pregnant with him when she was seventeen and unmarried. She was white. His father was black. This was 1971 in a small Iowa town.
The girl’s parents strongly encouraged her to have an abortion. In fact, they gave her an ultimatum: Either abort the baby or get out of their home. She chose to have the baby.
Once a promising concert pianist, she ended up in San Diego, eight months’ pregnant, alone and confused, battling a drug addiction.
A lady talked to her on the street one day about God’s love and forgiveness. And that day, she made a decision for Christ. The lady gave her a Bible. She flipped through it, saw the name Israel time and again. She thought to herself, I will name my baby Israel. She didn’t know much about God. She didn’t know how to pray. But she said boldly, “God, I’m committing my little baby to You. I’m asking You to use him to do great things.”
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The teen mother passed her musical gifts on to her child. God took care of the rest. Her son grew up with incredible musical gifts. He could play practically any instrument. He could write songs. He could arrange music. As he grew older, he began writing worship sons that declared God’s goodness. He put together his own band, and supernatural doors opened.
Today we all know and love Israel Houghton
. He is one of the great worship leaders and great songwriters of our time. Israel and his band, New Breed, have won Grammy Awards, and praise around the world for their uplifting music.That’s what happens when you pray bold prayers. Israel could become a statistic. He could just have foundered, never finding his purpose. But I believe that because this mother dared pray a bold prayers, his life was set on an extraordinary path.
It’s time for favor.
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