He told me its usually when you want something really badly... told me to spend the day fasting; to read the bible whenever I felt hungry and pray for whatever it is I truly wanted.

GOD works faster when there's passion and a sense of urgency in the prayer.

So I made a list of what I wanted. It consisted of everything for my family but NOT got to what I REALLY WANTED. I fasted on a Friday.

By 4:00pm I was starving. When staying away from the kitchen was getting harder and harder, I decided if I was going to work this hard, the heck with praying for someone else, I was going to pray for something I REALLY WANTED. ha ha! IT'S MY TURN!. That's when I finally prayed 2 fervent prayers:

I told GOD {Yes, I told, not asked}I wanted HIM to give me a sign within 24 hours whether:

• HE wanted me to have Ruth's horse: "The Black" or
• If HE had another horse in mind for me, to bring HIM on!!

Struck me odd when I heard myself say "HIM"

The Lord 1st answered the prayer about "The Black" early the next day. . . then . . Later, he answered the 2nd prayer.

Late Saturday, after returning sad and heavy hearted from the farm, I opened the Washington Post newspaper, went straight for the classifieds. There I found an advertisement for a: "4 yr old Black/Bay Arabian Stallion" Exactly what I was looking for! Even the right age!

According to the seller, the ad had been in the classifieds for the past 2 weekends, but I never saw it and believe me I looked every weekend.

Called & asked my friend Jeanie Kemp if she'd go with me for a look see the next day: May 7th 1984. The first glance we had of "Shetan" was when he poked his head out of the barn and looked in our direction. The site of the cutest face I'd ever seen, with a big white star on his forehead, melted my heart.

Out of respect for my mentor, Raymond Medina, I asked him to check out "Shetan" before giving the owner my decision but I already knew it was a "MEANT TO BE".

As we drove away I asked Jeanie "What's wrong with him?"

Neither of us could find one thing wrong with this horse. Raymond checked him out and gave his approval. I asked the owner if he'd allow me to keep "Shetan" there where he was raised for the first month while I breake him. The owner agreed. After the month was over and it came time to trailer him to Middleburg I prayed a friend, Red Revelle, acclaimed as a "The East Coast Horse Whisperer" by The Washington Post, would help me trailer "Shetan".

Here's a photo of Red riding my 1st horse "Tahoe". He accused me of being a fast rider and I insisted it was not me, but all "Tahoe", so I bet him $1 he couldn't get her to just walk slowly. Took him close to an hour to get her to walk slowly.

It wasn't as easy as he thought!

Back to my prayer: The next day I bumped into Red at a gas station in Leesburg. He was among those who thought I'd never find another horse so when I asked him about trailering my new horse, he got excited and immediately agreed to help. What a great friend! Another Prayer Answered

"Shetan" was/is an unquestionable gift from GOD. A gift leaving my non believing friends scratching their heads.

Remember, I wasn't expected to find a another horse after "Tahoe". Here was the HORSE that met every one of my criteras PLUS MORE. . . . so so much more.

"Shetan" was a 4 year old, unbroken breeding Arabian "Shetan" who cost me only $1,500 {a steal!}. He was an answer to my dreams.

I broke him myself and with GOD's total guidance over the next several years, got extraordinary top quality guidance and teaching to help Shetnand me grow as competent equestrians. Since I couldn't afford this caliber of education on my own, everyone agreed to and was happy to barter with me for custom designed Saddle Pads.

God used my years of experience & growth with "Shetan" to teach me how to pray. He rewarded me when I stayed on the right path and gave me a nudge when I'd amble off the path. If I didn't listen to the nudge, HE'D YELL! I eventually learned to RESPECT THE NUDGES & WHISPERS, because I hated the YELLS.

In retrospect I understand why GOD chose my relationship with Shetan to teach me what I needed to learn. My passion for Shetan was limitless. Absolutely nothing discouraged me. Seriously, NOTHING! I never gave up! In a perfect world, I could apply that same spirit to everything.

Letting go and letting GOD is one of the biggest hurdles people have to conquer. Don't get discouraged. It''s a life long lesson on so many different levels.

I know, without a shadow of a doubt what he has in mind for me, his plans for me & his sense of timing is so much better then anything I could ever imagine for myself. His plans surpass my greatest imaginations.

I could be wrong, but it's my experience when we're specific about wishes for others we're expressing OUR wishes. We don't know if our sincere wishes are in sync with God's plans. THIS IS A DIFFICULT LESSON TO LEARN.

On the bright side: each unanswered prayer gives us an enormous opportunity to pray a different prayer. With every positive experience and every answered prayer we have an opportunity to learn how to pray effectively. What we do with that opportunity or whether we recognize it's value is up to us.

We can't know what GOD has in mind. Maybe 6 months from now we'll look back and see how everything fell into place, according to GOD'S PLAN. he always has something better in store. What I'm going through at this moment is necessary for where I'm going next. You see, only GOD has the right timing. I certainly don't! I just know GOD IS NEVER LATE and HE'S NEVER EARLY! His timing always hits the bulls-eye right on everytime.

We just need to learn to have FAITH. That is a hard lesson for everyone. People say to me "you can't just do nothing and expect GOD to do everything". There's a BIG difference between doing nothing and having FAITH.

Fervent Prayer: GOD has shown me that prayers that are said with passion, sense of urgency and with great expectancy [FAITH] are answered quicker. Its the sense of urgency he responds too. Pretend your child is asking you for something. What influences your response?

GOD did himself proud!

Shetan turned 31yrs old May 2011 and looks & acts like he's still in his teens. Thanks for letting me reminisce, hope I didn't make you doze off! lol!