“Call to Me
and I will answer you…”
Jeremiah 33:3
I absolutely do believe that God answers prayer.
No doubt whatsoever in my mind. It’s all over Scripture, from the very beginning to the very last verse. Every story, every promise, every prophesy, and every teaching enforces the incredible, glorious truth that God answers prayer.
Problem is, He doesn’t always say Yes.
Just like when my grandson asks me for a handful of M&M’s. Sometimes I say, yes. In fact, I usually say yes (don’t tell his mom).
But sometimes I say, not now, later, after you eat your dinner.
And sometimes I say no.
No you can’t have M&M’s because they’ll make you hyper and crazy and grouchy and you’ll hit your brother and then where will we be?
And then there are those other times when I say no, because I have something much better in mind. Let’s hop in the car and go to Cold Stone and get us a big bowl of ice cream all smothered in M&M’s.
Which of those do you suppose Jude prefers?
And that’s the way it is with God too.
Sometimes He says yes,
Sometimes later,
Sometimes NO, and
Sometimes He’s got something better in mind.
But always, always, always, He answers prayer.
From my heart,
Diane
Has that ever happened to you? Has God not given you something you were absolutely certain you needed right now… only to find out that He had something far better on the horizon? Do old boyfriends come to mind? Or that house you bid on and lost but then you “happened” to find something beyond what you’d hoped?
Will you tell us about it? We need your stories to strengthen our faith!
Also, don’t forget about the night in prayer tomorrow night!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I have a story! I was interviewed for an admin position at Solid Rock back in May of 2009, totally believing from the Lord that I was going to be hired, but God said NO! Or rather, “NOT YET, I have something different in mind for you!”
One year later I was hired in a position better suited for me then the one I had originally interviewed for. God knows what’s best for us! Even though I battled through unemployment for almost a year, with different odd jobs here and there, my current role at Solid Rock was WELL WORTH the wait!
I’ve enjoyed my job so much I can barely even remember that year of waiting. It’s all a blur.
Turns out, this current position compliments the God gifted abilities He created in me way more then what I would have been doing had God said YES right away. He knows us better then we know ourselves AND He has a plan AND His thoughts are higher then ours!
Kristi C.
Kristi! I LOVE this story… especially because it means you’re working with Phil and me!! Everyone give three cheers for Kristi- she helps in so many ways I think creating a job description would be impossible at this point!
Much love to you, dear girl, Diane
This was much needed, Diane…having a first baby at home and feeling completely at a loss of for what to do and feeling that God isn’t answering prayers (prayers for sleep, figuring out why Ruth is crying, etc). I know He is still listening and I know He has amazing things in store for our family (LORD willing one of those is sleep:)).
love, Anna
Anna, An incredibly wise woman gave this piece of advice to me when I was bemoaning my baby who wouldn’t sleep (JohnMark): Every time he wakes up, PRAY FOR HIM.
So I did. And He didn’t sleep thru the night once for over a year! Yet that little one got prayer for every aspect of his life. It changed my perspective entirely- those bleary eyed sessions became an urgent appointment to pray.
And I learned to take a lot of naps!
Love to you Anna!
I prayed for years that my dad, who had some very severe medical conditions, diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and several mild strokes, and had just started dialysis, would be cured and his health would be restored. My prayer, THAT prayer, wouldn’t be answered until years later. He suffered daily, and was NOT living, but merely existing. Finally, after years of suffering, I finally prayed that Jesus would take him peacefully, in his sleep, that he wouldn’t have to suffer a dramatic violent death, or struggle or be afraid…and just 2 nights later, my prayer was answered. I found my father the next morning, sleeping peacefully, just like I had asked. And although I was so very saddened by his death, I was, at the same time, grateful and at peace for the Lord’s mercy and grace. I have had lots of these kinds of “moments”, in which I prayed for certain things, and a door has been clearly opened, or closed. I KNOW prayers are answered, we just have to be looking for it!
Jessica,
I think you hit on a vital truth:”I KNOW prayers are answered, we just have to be looking for it!” Such a wisdom filled realization.How would our lives change if we went around looking, searching, paying attention to all the answered prayer in our lives? Might stop us from complaining so much! Thanks for this, Diane
What a great reminder that God is in control and will hold us up in each situation we face. God has a beautiful plan in mind and for that we can have faith and not worry about what tomorrow will bring. My husband has a six year old son that he is trying to get joint custody of right now, the every other weekend is just not nearly enough time. Unfortunately he has about a 50% shot of getting what he hopes for because of how the court system is set up. We have spent so much time in prayer (as well as all of our family and friends) and know that God has something wonderful in store. We want to raise him to fear the Lord and have the heart of Jesus and for that we know when the decision time comes the outcome will be wonderful. We are already thanking the Lord for what he is about to do
Thank you for all your passion, inspiration and reminders that get transferred to blog each week. I hope to meet you at the Women’s Night in Prayer tomorrow night.
Dear Tiffany, We are going to be doing a section of the night (from about 2-3) called Impossible Prayers. I’ve got a story to read to everyone and then we’ll write down those things that seem so impossible to us- but not to God.
What an amazing father your husband must be to even WANT more time with his son! So many dad all but abandon their children… and it hurts them all the way through.
See you tonight! Diane
This may tie in a bit to the last post. But I met a guy right before I decided to follow Jesus. We even went to church together and accepted the Lord together. I grabbed hold of the edge of Jesus’ robe and never let go. He did; let go. But I also wouldn’t let go of the guy. For seven years. I held on for dear life; if only I did this thing right or that thing right and I followed Jesus better, I could have the guy. My heart wanted the guy so bad. He was a beautiful man; the best I’ve ever known. He was kind and gentle and forgiving and liked me for who I was. And I didn’t want to let go…because I’ve never known better. Didn’t think I would ever have better. But finally, after countless attempts at letting go, I just couldn’t hang on anymore. God would not allow me to hang on. Even after discussion of a ring and making things official, God made absolutely sure, that I could not accept.
We were equally yoked when we met…but over the course of time the yoke became glaringly unequal. And a man who does not submit to the Lord cannot and will not adequately cover his family. God gave me a glimpse of what that would look like and feel like and it wasn’t pretty. He has promised me that I will be repaid for the years the locusts have eaten; that I will be loved far greater than anything I’ve imagined or known. And while the tangible man is not currently present, I trust he will come in the time the Lord orchestrates. In the mean time, I am being romanced by the Lover of my Soul…and it is heavenly to basque in the glory of a real, true Love that knows no words. And I simply had to trust Him for it. And trust Him that the man He brings will not be the one who completes me, but is only the icing on the cake. Because the One who completes me, has already done so.
God has not given me many things, that I was certain I needed. A little more than three years ago I gave my life to Christ. Shortly after that I suffered a shoulder injury working out. Due to my selfish pride, I continued to make that minor injury worse by continuing to work out and playing sports. I actually love sports, and wouldn’t dream of not playing them. The worst possible, heart wrenching, tortuous thing I could think of happening in college was to not play sports. This started my three year roller coaster, through 10+ doctors, 4 multiple month length physical therapy programs, MRI’s, Ink Injected MRIs, Xrays, Acupuncture, multiple massage therapists, torn acl, sprained angle, broken finger, strained mcl, carpal tunnel, trigger points, tendinitis in multiple locations, chiropractor, and more. But I can say even in the mists through this, God is good. This minor pain, started Gods work in me to align me to him, and rid myself of everything not of him as my body is now a temple. I had no idea this was the plan. As a 18 year old I though I ought to be healthy, ought to have the ability playing sports, I ought to look good on the outside, and so many ought’s. I grew up only knowing to perform, and to perform well. I have suffered more pain, tears, and heartbreak in these three years, than my entire life. But looking at it now, I wouldn’t change a thing. One thing I have learned is that salvation costs nothing, but discipleship on the other hand, costs everything. I had so many idols in my life, and God made him the only one. To this day I have another surgery in a month and still go to physical therapy, Gods not done with me. Even though I want to play sports, I have hope. In hope, I so inspired and so motivated to share what hope and joy I have received from God that God is using me to create a movement in the college I am at. I am blessed in far to many ways, God is good sharing my story is far better than sports ever were.
Oh Tiffany, this is lovely- so filled with hard earned truth and life wisdom. God is obviously preparing you to serve Him effectively and to live in close connection to His heart. More and more I am coming to see that God delights in using our brokenness to create beauty in our lives. This is one of those stories- thank you!
Diane
John,
This is a great story! I love what you stated so eloquently: “One thing I have learned is that salvation costs nothing but discipleship on the other hand, costs everything.” The cost of being an all out follower of Jesus is incredibly high- and the most exhilarating experience in all of life. Thank you for your story!
One thought- have you considered asking the elders to pray for you? Look it up in James 5…
Diane
God has answered so many prayers, that I have given up thinking I know what is best, because clearly I do not. I love the story of David coming to know Jesus. He went along with “my plan” and went to this big church. I thought he would, in his private man kind of way, hear the Gospel, and then slip off into a private prayer room to meet Jesus. Because that was MY prayer for my husband. God, well he knows David better than me, and that man met Jesus in the most public way. Praying for my sweet kind husband for almost 8 years, and believing God would answer that prayer. DONE! Praying for healing of a brain tumor, DONE! Praying that my deaf boy would hear in way that allowed him to not miss out, DONE! Praying for a home and boy was I WAY off. I wanted this little home, which was in my scope. God gave us more than we had hoped for.Done! The list goes on and on and today I get giddy over the answers HE delivers which are so far off from my feeble heart. Amen!
I love this Elizabeth! It’s inspiring to hear that you prayed for your husband for 8 years! We’re so quick to assume that waiting means a day, or a week, or maybe even a month at most, but sometimes God calls us to wait for years! But it’s so much better in the end, even when we can’t see it, he knits it all together for his good! Reminds me of 1 Corinthians 3:7 which I’ve sort of adopted as my life verse – not our time, but his. Thanks for sharing! It spurs me to keep wanting to pray for my own family!
When I was a little girl, I wanted to do missions. I didn’t even know what a missionary was, or what that entailed, but when I was in the fourth grade I heard about it for the first time. I read a book about this missionary who went to Peru, and that was it. My little heart had something change, something planted deep inside for the country of Peru. But, I was in the fourth grade – so how do you act on that? I didn’t even know it was happening.
Then the 8th grade rolled around and I had gotten a magazine subscription for Brio from my pastor’s wife for caring for their cats while they were away. Remember Brio? Filled with little soul-fillers for young girl’s struggling to find their way with Jesus through a broken world? I came across this missions trip, but it wasn’t to Peru, it was to Uganda. I asked my parents if I could go, and as any reasonable parent would, they told their 8th grade daughter that they were not going to send her to a third world country to work alongside orphans and widows. But I was determined. I prayed. I prayed hard… and, nothing happened.
Or so I thought.
I forgot about my prayers to my heavenly father, begging him to let me go to Peru. But HE didn’t. He answered those prayers.
I go to George Fox and one of the awesome opportunities Fox offers is called May Serve, where you go and serve in a country with a team of around 20 students for the month of May. I applied my Freshman year, and the team was supposed to go to Swaziland, Africa. I was convinced, absolutely on the highest high of my horse that God was going to send me to Africa. I figured, I know it’s not Uganda, but hey, it’s close!
God said NO.
So I applied again the next year. Once I was accepted we hadn’t had the location set. At first, we were supposed to go back to Swaziland, and then there was an option of Romania, but both of those fell through… so then we were told we were going to Haiti. “Uhm, okay God, I don’t really know why Haiti – but we’ll go?” Right? Nope, that wasn’t his plan. Haiti ended up having a traveler’s warning put out on it and the school can’t send students if there is one of those. So, guess where we ended up?
PERU!
But you know, I forgot. I forgot my eighth grade prayers that begged and cried out on my knees next to my bed to have my heavenly father send me to Peru…He reminded me. I don’t know why, but for some reason I had my old teenage girls bible with me at college, and one of those days I picked it up and in the back where the prayer log is kept, my eight grade little heart wrote “Father, please send me to Peru someday. My parents are really struggling in understanding why I want to do this, but please, send me.” Simple, short and although I forgot, the creator of the universe didn’t. He said wait. So for 5 years, 8 months, and 2 days, he prepared my heart and my soul for the very thing he showed me in Peru.
Two weeks after I was accepted and found out I was going to Peru, I sat in the back of the garage during the Bridge as Ian announced the trip to Uganda. I remember going, “Seriously God?! You’re sending me to Peru, and I could have gone to Uganda?” You know, those frustrated prayers you send up when you don’t understand. But He said, why can’t you do both?
In the summer of 2011 I went to Peru, and then to Uganda… and now, I’m preparing to go live in Uganda for the summer. Holding onto the very specific message that the Lord whispered to me in Peru and now praying, seeking and desperately trying to find clarity on whether or not the Lord is calling me to be a missionary in Uganda.
He says no, sometimes he says wait, and sometimes he says yes. I heard all three in this story. He said NO to swaziland, he said WAIT for Peru… for nearly 6 years, definitely not my timing, but He knew better, and he continues to say YES to Uganda.
As frustrating and confusing, and exciting as it can be, we must remember Isaiah 14:24: “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.”
(Sorry for the novel!)
What a fabulous, faith inspiring story! Thank you so much for taking the time to write it here. It makes me wonder how many answers to prayer we hardly even recognize as answers! This is one you’ll be telling your children and grandchildren some day- really great stuff.
Much love, Diane