God answers.
Oh I realize He answers the prayers of other churches, too,
but I want this to be personal, because it is. How dare I barely stop and
notice when God does His miracles in response to my prayers and the prayers of
my church family. How dare I not take a moment to ponder the reality that I
routinely see miraculous things happen as a direct answer to prayer. How dare I
not even notice when the God who flung the stars into space stops to listen…
and to answer my prayers… and the prayers of my church.
Three recent examples:
1.) We brought a man named Francisco from Colombia to help
us plant a Hispanic church. He came legally, of course, but when it was time to
renew (or really change) his visa, we began to run into problems and mostly a
very long delay. As time marched on, it began to look more and more like he may
be forced to return home and leave his work unfinished. Indeed, we had to get
special permission for him to stay a little bit longer while the paperwork was
being processed. If he had been forced to go home, it would have been horribly
sad for many reasons, not least for his small congregation who love him, and
not least for his wife and children who love it here and have settled into this
place where God led them, by faith. But we prayed and we prayed hard. For many months
we prayed our guts out on this issue. And late last night, I got a text from my
dear friend. He had received his approval letter from the office of
immigration. His visa is approved and he can stay and work legally for the
foreseeable future. When my church prays, God answers.
2.) Church members brought a prayer request, not for anyone
in our church, but for the son of their postal carrier. [By the way, that tells
me a whole lot of good about this couple’s effort to reach out. Proud pastor,
here.] The boy had a brain tumor and it didn’t look good. So we prayed. Today I
received the report that after the surgery, the doctors spoke of the results as
nothing short of miraculous. In fact, there is no sign of the cancer and the
boy is operating normally (despite dire warnings about him losing his speech,
etc. from the surgery). He has been miraculously healed and doesn’t even need
to go back for a check up for a year. When my church prays, God answers.
3.) I had been out Jeeping with a friend and church member
last Saturday. After we finished tearing through the snow and were enjoying a
hard-earned burger, he mentioned that he was about to be a grandpa. He said his
oldest daughter was set to give birth any time. A few days later, I received
word that he and his wife were on the way to the hospital across the state. Sadly,
their grandbaby had been stillborn… but machine’s were keeping him alive
temporarily. This precious newborn’s heart had stopped for eight minutes and
his lungs were filled with blood. The doctor told the mother that the baby
would probably not live. Quickly, we put the word out to our prayer team, and I
called my staff into my office. We prayed. I choked out a prayer through tears
but I was able to pray with faith. We didn’t pray for comfort. We prayed for
healing. We prayed that God would save this baby, even though it looked pretty
hopeless at that point. We prayed for a miracle. Now, the baby’s lungs are
clear and he is breathing on his own. All indications are that he is going to
be okay. We will keep praying. When my church prays, God answers.
So there you have it. Three examples inside of a week. God
answers prayer. I really should keep a lifelong list. My soul magnifies the
Lord.
Now, do we always get the result we ask for? Of course not.
God is still God and we do not control Him. But my goodness, isn’t it enough
that many times God does exactly what we ask? Does it have to be EVERY time for
us to have faith and believe prayer makes a difference? Does the answer always
have to be yes, for us to keep asking? That would just be illogical and silly.
Think about it. When you were a kid, did you stop asking
your parents for what you wanted, just because they didn’t ALWAYS say yes? No,
in fact, one yes in a hundred no’s was enough to keep asking… especially if
what you wanted was right there in front of you. Remember asking for candy in
the aisle at the grocery store? Did you ever stop asking? No, because at least
every once in awhile the answer was yes. Well, this week we got three yes
answers from God, and I feel like a kid again, because, yes… God gave me what I
wanted and EXACTLY what I asked for. And guess what that means. It means, just
like a kid, I’m going to be asking more than ever! But the difference between
parents and God is that He actually wants us to keep on asking. As Jesus put
it,
Keep on asking, and
you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on
knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks,
receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will
be opened. “You parents—if your
children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they
ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful
people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly
Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:7-10 (NLT)
So, church family, what are you asking God for these days?
Are you asking for Him to make our church all it can be? Are you asking for Him
to lead people to the Cross through our ministry? Are you asking for salvations
and baptisms and spiritual growth to occur? I hope so. Because, when my church
prays, God answers.
