Has anyone had an answered prayer recently?

[lavenderdiva]

I have had several: the job I now have is an answer to a prayer that I had for years. Its absolutely the perfect job for me, and I still love it after a year of being there. Each morning I feel blessed that I look forward to going to work, and see what I can learn and what I can do that day. It was many years of praying, after not having a job for many years, for this job to come along. Persistent prayer does work!

Then again, just yesterday, I was going crazy looking around my house for my calculator. It had been missing for several days, and I had to balance my checkbook. I was getting so frustrated, and finally thought that I should just pray about it, and hope it turns up. I said a quick prayer, and sure enough, when I went into the den, there it was just sitting on TOP of something, so I couldn't miss it! Now, I had looked and looked and looked through that whole room, and couldn't have missed it previously, not with its prominent placement. However, after prayer, there it was!! I can't explain it, other than to say God is good, and He hears us, all the time, whether the matter is big or small.

[CBHagman]

1. Actually, I have had the opposite experience!

The past few months I have felt my entreaties are being met with deafening silence. It's caused me to rethink everything I have ever believed, starting with the way I prayed as a small child! I've wound up reading Rabbi Kushner and Pierre Wolff to make sense of it all, and Caryll Houselander to keep my heart from hardening completely.

Then again, perhaps the key here is that I have not received an answer in what I regarded as a recognizable form. I am recovering some initiative, which is perhaps an answer to prayer, but I'm still hopping mad at being in the "bootless cries" camp here.

[lavenderdiva]

2. I know what it feels like when it seems your prayers are going unanswered

You wonder if you are praying 'right', or is there something else you need to do to get an answer. You search yourself wondering if there's some unconfessed sin that may be hindering an answer. I've been there, and don't have a good answer for why it sometimes takes soooo long to receive an answer to prayer.

For me, it was many years to get an answer from Him about a job. I was unemployed for years, I looked and applied for many, many jobs but it never led anywhere. My husband and I were both unemployed for several years, and there were many times we couldn't make ends meet, and that's putting it mildly. I think God is a big God, and He understands how complicated we find 'faith'. I think He understands how hard it is for us to wait on Him and His answers. I also believe that when we accept Him into our lives, He cleanses us from all our sins: past, present, and future (this harkens back to my doubt about some unconfessed sin perhaps hindering my answers to my prayers and how I was very wrong about that).

Throughout the many years that I waited for my job, I always knew that I was in His loving care, even when we didn't have enough money to meet our obligations, and couldn't understand why. I knew He heard me, but couldn't understand why I wasn't seeing a more rapid response to my needs. Even in those dark times, I never went hungry but had to learn to scrounge the grocery stores for extreme sales, and dig waaaayyy into the back of my freezer. We lost our home, but didn't go homeless. Things are still not very easy, but are much better than they have been in years past.

The following passage helped me when I felt I was in a prayer desert; these are 4 things the Lord does for us in the wilderness we often feel:

Deuteronomy 32:10-12 New American Standard Version

"He found him in a desert land,
And in the howling waste of a wilderness;
He encircled him, He cared for him,
He guarded him as the circle of His eye.
Like an eagle that stirs up his nest,
That hovers over its young,
He spread His wings and caught them,
He carried them on his pinions.
The Lord alone guided him......"

here's how I read this passage:

'God found lavenderdiva in a desert land,
And in the howling waste of a wilderness;
#1: God encircled her
#2: God cared for her
#3: God guarded her as the circle of His eye
#4: God alone guided her
(substitute CBH here....)

We can be assured that He will never, ever abandon us. The answer may be long in coming, but it will come. He is guiding us toward the answer to our prayers, even when it doesn't seem like anything is happening, and He's taking care of you all the while. You'll be in my prayers, and we can both pray for your answers to come to you-
:hug:

[CBHagman]

3. Thanks for the prompt reply!

Prompt reply. Hm.

More soon. Must chew on this.

[Joe Chi Minh]

4. I don't want to pour oil on your, still, quite troubled waters, CBHagman, and

really, I am using you as a peg for everyone's benefit, and not as a "muscular Christian" morality tale for the feeble of spirit!

I found the body of this simple story very moving. Of course, dramatically miraculously answers to prayers - at least as far as we can see them answered in the way we want - seem to be as rare as other kinds of miracles. And when you're under the cosh, it can be very, very difficult.

Anyway, here it is. At times I wondered whether it was apocryphal, but, in the end, I find it much more improbable that it was so, than that it is highly likely to be true:

"Isaiah 65:24 - 'Before they call, I will answer'

This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa .

One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty
keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity
to run an incubator).

We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the
equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student
midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool
that the baby would be wrapped in.

Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She
came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle,
it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). 'And it is
our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no
good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be
considered no
good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and
there are no drugstores down forest pathways.

'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can,
and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
Your job is to keep the baby warm.'

The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby
warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could
so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
sister, crying because her mother had died.

During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed,
'send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby
will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.' While I gasped
inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are
about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll
know You really love her?'

As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say, 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had
been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never,
ever received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I
was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that
there was a car at my front door.

By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the
veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my
eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each
knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly.
Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were
focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out
brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.
Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the
children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I
put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it
and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I
cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that
He could.. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She
rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have
sent the dolly too!' Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she
pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She
had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: 'Can I go over with
you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus
really loves her?'

That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of
the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five months
before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring
it 'that afternoon'.

Hope you like it.

[lavenderdiva]

5. I loved reading that story, KCabotDullesMarxIII

ahhhh, the faith of children. Sometimes, its so hard to remember and hold onto that sort of faith. Life gets in the way, and blurs that simple vision. Thank you for sharing that story, and reminding me how much God loves faith like that of the child in this story: totally trusting and expecting divine intervention. :hi:

[Joe Chi Minh]

6. ... waving back at you, lavenderdiva!

[laughingliberal]

15. Thank you for that story nt

[AnnaLouise]

9. yes

God continue to protect all our loved ones.
God bring peace to the world
and end now and forever election fraud in the US

[RedLetterRev]

7. ((lavenderdiva))

It has been my experience (and I've had some pretty rough experiences) that the answer is always there. It just wasn't always in the places I was looking. Sometime's The Greater's answer isn't "No", it's "No, not just yet; you aren't ready", or most often, it's "No, not that, here is something better I've made just for you. Your job is to be quick on the uptake."

Well, I haven't always been quick on the uptake; hindsight being 20/20, if y'know what I mean.

I give thanks for the blessing you've received. G'd doesn't have to, but G'd does. That is how much we're loved, each and every one of us. Each and every one.

But one thing I do know: Something Greater has always loved me and taken care of me. Not always in the way I demanded or wanted. But somehow, even in the midst of homelessness and hunger, there was some kind of way to keep my family together at the eleventh hour, fifty-nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Then, a year and a half ago, my Big Dream prayer was answered with a home of our own; one we could afford in perpetuity, with enough land to make a small farm productive and worthwhile.

It don't git no better'n 'at! I have remained in a state of humbled and deeply grateful praise ever since, especially after having been brought so very, very low. I know exactly what despair feels like. I wouldn't wish it on anyone else. My sense of compassion has grown exponentially with my gratitude for being so blessed.

A long time ago, a friend of mine stated that faith is a gift. I've been blessed with it at birth. But after years of religious training, I stepped back, finding that all the dogmas and catechisms I had so faithfully studied and committed to memory sought to limit G'd or mold G'd into some image of mankind. That seemed almost sinful to me and I sought a wholly-non-denominational path. I refuse to name or limit The Greater in a specific religion or set of dogmas, leaving me free to give thanks and to talk freely and openly to Hir. It doesn't take a lot of effort to dash off a quick "Thanks, I needed that..." or "G'd, I need (whatever), can You help me find a way or give me an idea, here?" or more often than not, "Awwwwwright, I know the answer is in front of me, but I'm just not getting it. How 'bout a clue." G'd is on purpose a Mystery, so my soul adores G'd just in G'd's suchness as G'd made and adores me in my own suchness. If I think and pray on a problem, the answer will eventually become obvious. Sometimes it just takes a while for me to get it.

A clue will come, if you ask for it. G'd isn't there to play games. We're free to make imperfect choices and we often do -- but I believe that we're each and every one a beloved child, individually hand-crafted by a loving Creator. It's OK to say, "OK, I'm not getting it. I know You've answered, but I'm just not perceiving it. I need some more help to understand what You're trying to get across to me."

That, I believe is the real power of faith in prayer. It isn't always praying for a specific effect (like Dobson praying for rain on the Dem convention). It's praying for the guidance to stay on the best path. SHe is great, good, kind, loving and absolutely YES! will give us exactly what we need when we need it -- right down to finding a calculator if that's exactly the thing to keep us on the path for this day.

B/B

[lavenderdiva]

8. thank you for sharing such wonderful insights, RedLetterRev

I agree that sometimes we make it hard for God to answer our prayers, by limiting how He can respond. I do think that He can and will answer very specific prayers, if it is in our best interest. However, so many times, I believe He has so much more in store for us, if we will just allow Him to give us His best. My life verse is Ephesians 3:20 "Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us" (NAS).

In greek, 'according to' is "kata". This generally translates as 'in varied relations'. Meaning, if your faith is small, the power that works within us is small, so we are limiting what He can do for us. If we have BIG faith, he is able to do exponentially more for us. He can do more for us than we are able to imagine or dream of, more than we can even think of asking Him for. The only thing that limits Him is our faith.

RedLetterRev you have been blessed indeed. I agree, that He does use our failures and missteps. They make our blessings all the more cherished when they come our way.... :hi:

[DainBramaged]

10. Yes

A serious Family crisis was solved, and not through mine or another human intervention. The person it involved became aware of the problem without prompting and solved it. It was wonderful. And a person whom I had thought was lost became found (it's a really difficult story to relate).

It works. Trust me, the shiny oscillating dildo of DU is a firm believer in prayer.

[lavenderdiva]

11. Hey DainBramaged- thanks for sharing your story

Its always good to hear how God is working in other's lives. I really love the picture you posted!! :hi:

[DainBramaged]

12. .................

:hug:

[Fire1]

13. Enjoyed your story and perhaps it was what I needed to read

at this point in time. I'm faced with some pretty complex issues and in my limited view there is only one solution and that is a job. I quit a job before finding another because the conditions were insufferable. Four or five years ago, I asked and prayed for a position that I promptly received and it was down hill from there. I've never experienced my life going so out of control so fast and despite all my prayers to reverse this trend things just got worse. Now, I'm taking care of my elderly aunt as her finances have greatly deminished and mine aren't much better. I hope what I envision is not God's answer to my prayer.

[lavenderdiva]

14. Oh Fire1, may I join with you in praying for just the right

situation for you? It sounds like you could use a dose of hope about now. God is a god of hope, and it makes Him smile to know that we look to Him for guidance.

May I share something with you that always fills me with hope, each time I read it? It is found in Deuteronomy 32:10, and tells us 4 things the Lord does for us when we feel that we are in a 'desert' or 'wilderness'. I've put your name in certain spaces, so that you will see how much He cares about you and your situation....

"He (God) found Fire1 in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled Fire1, He cared for Fire1, He guarded Fire1 as the pupil of His eye. Like an eagle that stirs up his nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. The Lord alone guided Fire1."

God has blessings in store for you. You may not see them right now, but they will come. He will not disappoint you. They will come to you at exactly the right time. I will be praying for you and ask that He lead you in just the right direction, and that you will find a good job.

Sending you lots of these: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: