March 20, 2023
I want to tell you that God STILL answers prayer. He cares about the things that are important to us, just as much as He cares about us. He takes care of the birds and animals in the field. Why wouldn’t He take care of us, too? This website is one of those prayers that He answered clearly and succinctly. I had no doubt left when He finished answering my prayer about it.
When I began BringingJesusN2Focus, I started with prayer. At first, I was just writing devotionals to possibly publish on Amazon. But as I was writing these devotionals, my direction was changed. God led me to writing a blog. I was stunned at first when the thought entered my mind. I was nobody. I didn’t have a name that anyone, but friends and family knew. And even that circle isn’t very big. How was I going to show Jesus in the Old Testament to anybody? I had no idea where to even begin. I started praying about it. I asked God for a sign, because a sign knocking me up ‘side the head was what it was going to take to convince me that this was from God. I spoke with a friend about it, and she said, “Go for it.” My husband said, “If that’s where God is leading you, do it.” So, I kept praying. All Saturday evening, when I thought about it (which was pretty much all evening), I prayed “Show me.” The next morning on the way to church, I kept praying. “Show me. Give me a sign.”
Our Sunday School class lessons were on being a Christian in our daily lives. That morning’s lesson was “Being a Christian in your leisure time.” DING! A bell went off. I am retired now, and I have some leisure time to write what God had set for me to write. I punched my husband and said, “There’s my answer.” He just nodded. The morning service started as it usually did with worship songs. But that morning the songs were Brandon Lakes’ “Available” and another song by Elevation with “Here I Am” in the chorus. You could have knocked me over. Then came our pastor’s sermon. I was listening. But my attention was grabbed when he asked our congregation, “How are you using your talents for God?” I looked at my husband, with tears rolling down my cheeks and said, “I guess I’ve got my answer.” I praised God for the extremely clear answer He gave me. I’ve committed myself to writing this blog. There is some resistance from one of my family members about it, but I won’t stop. I can’t stop.
Recently, a dear friend told me of some of her acquaintances (I’ll call them John and Mary), who were looking for jobs and she asked me to pray with her about their job situations. Then, one of my friends, Kelly, had been laid off and went to work for another firm. It turned out to be a miserable experience. She asked me to pray about it. I have been. John and Mary were not used to praying about things like jobs. I am not sure of their Christian experience, but my friend told them we were praying for them and for new jobs. That has been weeks, or months ago. Just this week, Kelly was offered a great position with another firm. She was excited because it was one of the two jobs she really wanted. Then, John and Mary both received job offers on the same day. John got his dream job and Mary was ecstatic over the offer she received.
My friend was amazed. She said, “Gosh! This is a HUGE answer to prayers.” It is! God STILL answers prayer. It doesn’t have to be a huge thing with dire consequences. It can be as small as “Lord, help me find my keys.” If it’s important to you, it’s important to God.
I can’t say that all prayers will be answered the way we want them to be answered. God does what is best for each of us. He sees our whole life’s puzzle. He knows where the pieces fit. We may want something very badly to go the way we want it to, but God sees our future and knows that it will not be good for us in the long run, and He shuts the door. Don’t keep trying that door because He probably has a window that will prove to be the very best thing you need. You can pray hard for something and sometimes He will give you what you ask for.
A family in our church went through that very same scenario. The head of the family had a very bad stroke. His family bombarded heaven, praying that he would live, no matter what. God answered that prayer, but it wasn’t a good thing. The man was severely disabled from the stoke and could barely walk. He couldn’t speak and had to have assistance with everything in his life. He lived a good number of years after that. His daughter said that they had prayed the wrong prayer. That they should have prayed that God would do what was best for him and for the family. They suffered the tragedy of losing him twice. Once, from the stroke and then, his death. That stuck with me.
When my dad had the heart attack that ultimately killed him, I remember what she said. I made sure I didn’t pray that God would let him live; I prayed that he would still be there for me to say goodbye. Daddy had Parkinson’s. I didn’t want him to die, but the Parkinson’s was taking him from us rapidly. I met with the doctor and Mom. He was brain dead, but still breathing on a machine. The doctor told us the prognosis. It was grim. Mom couldn’t make the decision to take him off the machines, I did. It was a long night. When his body quit functioning, he stepped into heaven, whole and healthy. I have often wondered what would have happened if I had prayed otherwise and I remember that daughter’s statement. I am glad I didn’t pray the wrong prayer.
So, I am telling you to pray. Pray without ceasing. Pray about everything. But most of all, pray that God will answer in the way that is best for you or for whomever you are praying for or about. Not only should you pray for others, pray for those who torment you, who are rude, who are critical, and who are just plain not nice people. Pray that God will change their hearts and that He changes yours at the same time. Prayer is less about changing our world; it is more about changing ourselves.
