GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS
I was sitting in my living room
early in the morning, and I heard
flapping in my chimney. I knew a bird got caught
and I prayed it would somehow get out. When I was praying, I listened as the Holy Spirit told me to put some bread in
the fireplace so the bird would come down and be free.
My actions showed that I was in
doubt because I went off to work, automatically leaving the door open so Snowy
our cat could get into the living room. When I got home, sure enough,
God had answered my prayer, and the
pigeon was sitting on the mantel. It was bedraggled and shivering as Snowy
prowled around below it. I picked Snowy up and put him in the bedroom. Then I
gently clutched the frightened bird and took him outside where he flew away to
freedom.
The next day I was at a garage
sale and found a plaque of the same type of bird God saved for me. I hung it up
on my bedroom wall to remind me that God always answers my prayers.
There’s a story in Acts 12 like
mine, where people were praying but still doubting at the same time. Their
actions showed they didn’t expect God to answer
their prayers, BUT God knew their hearts, and He did answer. This is
the story:
Peter got thrown into prison and
Christians gathered at Mary’s house to pray. The Bible doesn’t tell us what
they were praying about, but we can pretty
much assume they were praying for Peter’s release. God answered their prayer
miraculously by sending an angel to lead him out.
Peter showed up at Mary’s house
where they were praying, and Rhoda
answered the door. She saw him and was so excited she ran in to tell the others
and forgot to let Peter in. She told them Peter was there in the flesh, but they said she was crazy and decided it must
be an angel. They believed in angels, but they failed to really believe God was answering their prayer
for Peter to get out of prison.
Peter kept pounding on the door
and finally they came to the door. They were astonished and must have all been
talking at once because Peter had to quiet them down to tell the story of his
escape (Acts 12:1-17).
Even though I prayed, I didn’t fully believe God would save the pigeon, and these people didn’t fully believe God would save Peter. My experience with the pigeon
was a turning point for me. It showed me that if my heart is right when I ask
something in prayer, God will ALWAYS answer. It’s not always in the way I would
expect, or even in the time frame I would
like, but He does always answer.
We can trust that He will do it
every time. Jesus always tells the truth: “What things soever ye desire, when
ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).
Notice He said “when” you pray. So at the very time of praying,
we need to also truly believe we’re going to
receive God’s answer. But, because God loves us so much and He is a
merciful God, He even answers when we retain some doubt. Thank God He always
sees our hearts and doesn’t just react to our unbelieving actions!
Love, Carolyn
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