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by Indira PatroIt seemed that we had everything. But I knew there had to be more to life than what we were living.
At home in India, I thought that my family's life was not any different than that of a Hindu family. We went to church instead of going to Temple. When somebody died, we would bury him or her and a Hindu family would burn them. We prayed without an idol and they prayed to many idols.
Yet, I saw my parents continue to struggle in finances, health and regular day to day problems. Although we as a family went to church regularly, I always felt that there was something missing in all of our lives. Especially in mine.
In India, the male children are always preferred over the female child. My mother's discrimination between my brothers and me left me deeply hurt. I craved her attention and approval. I felt empty and rejected.
The rejection of motherly love led me to search for what I was missing.
One day in my church, I heard a speaker telling me how I could know God personally. It was the first time I had heard this; the first time I had heard that God loves me. It was the first time I had heard that He has a plan for my life and I could know Him personally. I was very interested in that message.
I came home that night, and on my bedside, prayed a simple prayer. I said, "Jesus, if it is true that you are real, then I open my heart willingly for you to come in and live in me."
There was nothing extraordinary in my prayer, but it felt real and I meant business with God.
Following that simple commitment, I experienced an inner strength and a sense of belonging. I did not feel rejected any more. I became more aware of wrong things in my life and the lives of others around me. I also developed a keen awareness of the importance of leading a pure life in the presence of God. I became more aware of the difference between religion and a personal relationship with God.
During that time, I was going through deep trouble regarding my marriage.
My parents arranged a match for me, and the insecurity of not knowing much about the man whom I would marry haunted me. At that time I was 18 years of age.
My new found faith in God gave me confidence that God is with me and He will never put me through a life which is not good for me. This faith in God sustained me through my troubled time and gave me the confidence to go through my marriage.
I faced a second challenge following my marriage the same year. After my marriage, I saw that there was a great difference between my husband and I. He had no interest in going to church or in having anything to do with God. He was an elite Government officer and he was making lots of money. For the first time I became aware of corruption in society. Bribery among Government officers, as well as immoral lifestyle, were commonplace among the educated and elite. It was not considered wrong or strange.
To me it seemed like everybody in India was living a life of lies and corruption. I started to share about God and man's purpose in this life to my husband. One day, at an outdoor meeting, I believe he invited Christ to come into his life as I had done.
At that time, desire to lead a different life became more important to us than money, a secure job or our country. It soon became impossible for my husband to lead a clean life and stay in his job with the Government in India. With much thought we both made a decision to leave our country and come to North America.
In North America we faced enormous difficulties. For a number of years we went through difficult financial problems, which was shocking to us. We had to do jobs which we never dreamt of doing in India. But there was more to our life than this.
If we had not known God personally, we would not have been able to get through that time. Yet the confidence of God's love for us and His promise that He would never leave us or forsake us kept us going forward. We saw many miracles and experienced His abundant supply in the midst of difficulties. We are blessed beyond our expectation.
What about you? Are you looking for something that is missing from your life? Are you wondering if this is all there is? It doesn't have to be that way. You can find peace and perfect love in a personal relationship with God, through His Son Jesus Christ. All you need to do is ask, like I did.
If you are looking for a deeply satisfying relationship with God, I encourage you to pray by faith and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, God has given you His Holy Spirit to help you live life according to His perfect plan. Why not pray this simple prayer and by faith invite Him to fill you with His Spirit:
Dear Father, I need you. I acknowledge that I have sinned against you by directing my own life. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ's death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I pray this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, we would love to hear about it!
