Prayer… and Provision
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good. His love endures forever.” *
I began writing this article with
the intent of sharing an exciting answer to prayer. However, since there have
been several answers to specific requests lately, it was a good opportunity to express
my gratitude to God.
Some of the prayer requests came from
ministries with which we are affiliated; one came from watching the news; and
two were personal. The first one was in connection with the “Voice of Hope”
ministry at our church.
Many years ago, someone had the
idea of establishing an outreach whereby a weekly taped devotional could be
heard over the phone. With a rapidly growing congregation, there was the need
for a way that people could stay in touch with the church and receive
encouragement any time during the week.
My introduction to the “Voice of
Hope” was in 2017, when a friend asked if I would be interested in taking her
place. Unfortunately, in the past couple of years, the number of volunteers in
the ministry has declined. There was definitely the need to find younger people
who were interested in joining the team and helping it continue.
Many members prayed regularly that
God would provide the right people to fill those vacancies, with the result
that as of a few days ago three young adults have enthusiastically agreed to
join the ministry! Praise God for providing them and for their desire to serve
Him in this way!
Another need was shared during an
online prayer meeting for a ministry in Mexico that Al and I support. The
vehicle owned by two missionaries had worn out from traveling over rugged roads
and mountainous terrain as they went from village to village sharing the Good
News of Jesus. They asked that the Lord would provide another vehicle for them
to use.
This past weekend, there was an announcement
that the entire amount has been raised! “Ask the Lord of
the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew
9:38 NIV) Jesus said to ask. We did, and He provided!
In the news one evening, the plight
of seven miners trapped inside a cave in Laos during heavy rains was reported.
This caught the attention of people worldwide. Many were praying! The rescue
team was able to pull one miner out from the submerged cave using tanks and scuba
gear.
During the night, water was pumped
out of the cave, lowering the water level. The next morning, four muddy figures
emerged, much to the amazement of the rescue teams. They were able to find
their way out as soon as the water abated. A great answer to prayer; however, sadly two
of the miners remain missing, presumably dead.
On a personal note, there was my
911 prayer to the Lord when I accidently messed up the garage door opener!
After telling Al about the problem, he was able to get it to function, knowing
where to connect a wire that was dangling from the mechanism.
In order to make sure that the door could be
opened manually, Al disconnected the device and pulled the door closed from the
outside. However, the heavy door was smooth and had no handles to grasp. With a
great deal of effort, he and I finally managed to push it up. Once reconnected,
the automatic function worked just fine! Thank you, Lord!
The wonderful answer to our prayers during Al’s
hospitalization after his shoulder replacement surgery can’t be left out
either! Praise the Lord that he is now on the mend, making progress with
physical therapy sessions two days a week and getting back to his normal
routine. We are extremely grateful for his healing!
God is faithful to hear every
prayer, no matter how important the request seems to be, including those that
are intercessory or personal, uttered individually or corporately. Sometimes
the answer comes almost immediately; but most often it involves waiting and
trusting.
If it seems that a prayer has been ignored,
perhaps His answer will come in a different way than expected—or it could be
for some reason, “no!” But that does not negate His love for us. He will still
provide abundantly for our every need as we learn to trust Him completely.
He is faithful! Keep praying!
“Be joyful always; pray
continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will
for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Thessalonians
5:16-18 NIV)
*Psalm 136: 1 NIV
(The artwork above, "Lily's Hands" was painted by my friend, Verna Hatcher, and used for the cover of my book, Letters to Loki, published in 2013, Create Space/Kindle publishing)
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