“I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of all about me seemed insufficient for that day.”—Abraham Lincoln
My last article was about how prayers are not always answered in the anticipated way. Our requests may not be met right away, or they might not come about at all. If what we’re asking for would be dangerous or traumatic, God won’t give it to us. He knows what we need; often, we don’t.
Prayer is a
great way to tap into God’s wisdom. Immediate answers to prayers build our faith
in a huge way. They’re proof of God’s existence and love for mankind. I would
like to share some examples from my life and that of a cherished Google+
friend:
Susan Clark (in her own words):
1. In one of the first jobs I had
post-college, I had no car and actually no driver's license. (I got my license
post-college.) My bus that would take me to work passed me by, and I knew a new
bus wouldn't come by in a while, so I prayed that God would help me find a pay
phone so I could call my job and let them know I'd be late. I found one across
the street from where I was, and when I stepped up from the crosswalk, I ran
into my pastor who gave me a ride to work in his car.
2. The second example has to do with my
first book which is out of print, (although I'm working on republishing it.) At
a dramatic point in the story, I wanted a girl's violin to be broken. It was
important to the story that the damage to the violin seem to be devastating and
yet the violin would be able to be repaired. I had no idea how much damage
could be done and have the violin still repairable. I didn't think even my
violin playing friends would know the answer to that question. I was at my then
job, dusting gift items at a book store and praying really hard over this
issue.
When I got
home, I talked to my mom about the problem. She told me to look at
"Guideposts" magazine that had arrived in the mail that day. In the
magazine, there was a true story about a violinist whose instrument broke into
eight pieces after she fell with it on ice. She was able to have it repaired and
claimed it played as well as before. I was so amazed by this answer! I modeled
my fictional incident (in terms of the scope of damage) after this real one.
:)
Me
1. I had a cough that was keeping me up for about
two nights. I usually get a prescription cough syrup. In this case, I didn’t want
to spend the time and money to go see a doctor. I was led to an
over-the-counter medicine that worked just as well as my usual
doctor-prescribed medicine.
2. One day, I had just finished running
a few errands when I noticed my credit card was missing from my wallet. In the
beginning, I panicked. I couldn’t even think straight. I feared my identity
would be stolen and my credit would be ruined.
Finally, I felt a calm feeling come
over me. Something told me that I would find my credit card, if I retraced my
steps. I remembered that I had been to a certain gas station, and I decided
that I might have dropped my card while I was getting gas. I prayed someone
would have turned it in to the office. When I returned to that building,
sure enough, the cashier had my credit card.
My Conclusion
“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” Mark 11:24 (NIV)
Sometimes, prayers give us immediate guidance and knowledge. We know this is God working; it’s way beyond what we can know or do. Small miracles like that sustain our faith through the hard times.
Related Posts
How have you been helped immediately through prayer?
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