Remember this story?
We traveled to a new state, secured a new home, then headed back home — a hundred of miles and a dozen-hours . . . only to find out the owner of the house changed her mind. Only to find out that she wasn’t going to move after all. And that we had no home.
I want to give all of you an update. . .
Weeks went on and I kept searching for a new place. I found one house: way too small. Another: way too big. Something popped up the next day: too far.
Nothing was working. We were down to the wire.
So much so, one day, I burst out in tears, saying, “God, I am upset we don’t have a home. I don’t know what to do. We are moving in a few days. We need your help.” Then, I prayed a bold prayer, “God bring back that first house. Let her call me. Make it still work out.”
It wasn’t but a couple hours later that my phone rang. It was the original owner; she changed her mind. Within days we settled in.
“In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’
“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’” (Lu. 18:2-5)
Do not give up on prayer. Sometimes, it is not the first prayer that is answered, but the 5th. Sometimes, it is your raw heart that touches God. Sometimes, it is the relentless nature of you pursuing what you know is right. Sometimes, it is just asking — that changes everything.
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Amen. Thank you for the encouragement not to give up.
Kelly, any thoughts on when your 2,000th prayer hasn’t been answered? Particularly when you are talking about your child’s health or something similarly dire. I love your story (for you and your family), but I hate your story because I keep praying and praying and God doesn’t answer — there are no calls with good news two hours after I pray -or ever. It makes me feel like I am doing it wrong. What is the secret? In my Christian circles, I keep hearing wonderful stories such as yours but my prayers seem to fall on deaf ears. What then?
Keep praying. God never gave us a timeframe, but it’s through our praying and communicating with Him that he is doing his divine work. This work may be in us and through us. It may never make sense here on earth but it doesn’t negate the fact that He is God not a genie but God. Maybe things aren’t going the way you would expect but that does not mean he doesn’t hear you or things aren’t changing. I’m praying that your faith is strengthened even in this difficult time.
I need to leave an update on my comment about unanswered prayer. At church tonight a total stranger came up to my husband and me and told us that God had instructed him to tell us that God sees our faith and that HE is with us. This guy had a vision of God with his arms around us as we worshiped. He didn’t know if we were going through anything (we are going through painful life circumstances we could have never imagined) but he sensed that we were and God wanted to know that HE sees us. Wow. That kind of stuff just never happens to me, until tonight. Amen! God is faithful even when we aren’t. His ways are not our ways. Tonight I will sleep well.
Wow, Michelle. I am so thankful for this.
I am still so blessed to hear how God showed up for you. He truly heard your heart-cry.
I do continue to pray that my husband will accept the Lord, but it seems after 20+ years, there is no movement in his heart. If anything, he has hardened his against the Lord and view Jesus as a competitor and holds His name in ridicule. I have been trying to walk by faith and to continue attending church, but there is no sign this makes a difference. I do love him, but it is difficult when I see how the years go by without any change. I’ve asked others to pray as well. I see the verses you’ve referred to and continue to pray that something will bring a change in my husband’s heart. Thanks for your helpful reference to how the Lord worked in your life. It gives me hope that this situation will build my patience and faith in the Lord.
I am praying with you, Kathy.
Possibly, his job is in us, as well as through us. The fact that He is God, not a genie, but God, may never make sense to us on this planet, but it does not invalidate the fact that He is. However, just because things aren’t going exactly as you would anticipate doesn’t imply he isn’t listening to you or that nothing will change. Although you are going through a tough period, I am praying for you that your faith will be reinforced. Hemp Skin Care