Walk of Life – Day 15 – Thoughts from the Book of Proverbs – Blessed!
Proverbs 15:29 The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.
BLESSING OF ANSWERED PRAYERS
From a very young age, we are taught to pray, pray for the tiniest things. I remember praying for sweets, chocolates, stationery for school, and they would miraculously be provided through someone. The Lord answers our prayers. It may not always be YES, it may be NO or WAIT, but whatever it is, there is definitely an answer. We believe in a living and true God. If you learn to pray for everything and depend on the Lord for every answer, you will never be anxious, upset, or disturbed. My Heavenly Father will provide, that strong calm assurance surely does wonders.
A missionary on furlough told this true story while visiting his home church in Michigan. ” While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, every two weeks I traveled by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies.
This was a journey of two days and required camping overnight at the halfway point. On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city where I planned to collect money from a bank, purchase medicine and supplies, and then begin my two-day journey back to the field hospital. Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously injured.
I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and arrived home without any incident.
Two weeks later I repeated my journey. Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated. He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said, ‘Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. But just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.’ At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone in that jungle campsite.
The young man pressed the point, however, and said, ‘No sir, I was not the only person to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone.’”
At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the Michigan congregation jumped to his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation the date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:
“On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to play when I felt the urge to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?”
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary wasn’t concerned with who they were; he was too busy counting how many men he saw. There were 26!
This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it.
That is how strong and powerful prayer is. We speak to our friends for hours together but spend five minutes on our knees. We can browse on the mobile for ever but when it comes to Bible reading and prayer we rush, saying there is no time. The Lord surely knows what you have need of, but He wants to hear it from you. He wants to see that childlike faith that asks and receives. I always remember Amy Carmichael’s prayer where she asked the Lord for blue eyes and kept checking in the mirror if the color of her eyes changed. The Lord’s purpose for her was different, however. He taught her that the Lord can say NO and it has a specific reason.
Waiting is very difficult for all of us. A slight delay and we get frustrated, upset, and angry. But the Lord, many times expects us to wait. Think of Abraham, he had to wait for 25 years for the promise to be fulfilled…that is a pretty long time!
Isaiah 40:31. But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Always remember the Lord’s time is always best. We may want it immediately, He will give only when we need and only if we need it.
As His children we are blessed to have a prayer-answering God, a God who cares for us and loves us and meets our every need. Learn to lean on Him for every single need and life will never be the same again.
There is power in prayer. When you pray, God listens. When you pray, storms get stilled. When you pray, doors open. When you pray, relationships get restored. When you pray, sicknesses get healed. When you pray, hope gets rekindled. When you pray, strength is renewed. When you pray, answers come. Don’t lose faith about what you are praying for today. God is faithful. His answer will come at just the right time. –Anna Bachinsky
