Do You Believe

Do You Believe in Answered Prayer?

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.—Matthew 21:22 (KJV)

W e have all had that moment. Whether you believe in God or not, something at some point has caused the innermost part of you to cry out to a force greater than you. We have all needed a miracle that we ourselves could not produce.

Since the beginning of creation, communication with God has always been in His plan. Adam was able to experience God as He walked in the cool of the day. God would speak with Adam and Adam would respond. This was not a mystical event. This was a part of the norm in the day and life of Adam.

We are His children. He wants us to be free to come to Him with our whole selves and confidently express our thoughts, needs, and desires. He loves you and wants to hear from you. Prayer is the key to unlocking this relationship with God.

Just think about it. When you become a child of God, you have unlimited access to the Creator of the universe. Our God, that created heaven and earth, the sea and land, and you and I, wants a personal relationship with us. He wants this relationship with you. Yes, you!

One of the greatest aspects of God is that He can be doing a million things and still give you His undivided attention. I know that this statement sounds silly, but it is true. The power of God stretches beyond our limited understanding and imagination.

God knows all, but He still wants to hear from us. He wants us to share every detail of our lives with Him. He wants you to pray about the small things as well as the great challenges in your life.

Through prayer, you gain direction. Through prayer, God can save your very life in the most desperate circumstances. My prayer is that your prayer life be rekindled. If you have never prayed to God, then my prayer is that this chapter sparks a dialogue between you and Him.

Within the next chapter, you will read stories about people who received their answers through prayer. Allow these stories to minister to your heart. Do you believe in answered prayer?

The Great Supplier of All Our Needs

T he kitchen was a barren wasteland. Cheryl’s stomach growled loudly in protest. With the exception of a few condiments, the fridge was empty. She smiled a little as she imagined tumbleweeds blowing through her ghost town of a refrigerator.

She looked over at the cupboards. Maybe I can scrape enough food together to make a stew. She pulled open the doors of the cupboards to find them in similar condition. Her eyes surveyed the shelves. There were only random canned goods and bits and pieces of this and that scattered among the shelves.

She looked at the labels on the canned goods. There was absolutely nothing there that could be mixed together to make a stew. She laughed as she thought of her son’s face if she tried to serve him kidney bean and cranberry sauce soup.

Cheryl sighed and opened the refrigerator once more. She rested on hope. She prayed that there was something there that perhaps she had overlooked. After a careful examination, she closed the door in disappointment.

She stood for a moment and pondered in the center of the kitchen. What was she to do? There was no money, and her son would be home soon. He seemed to be getting bigger every day. The young man had an equally large appetite. Something had to happen for her between now and dinnertime.

Resigned, Cheryl walked down the hall to her bedroom and fell to her knees. She nestled her head against her floral comforter and wept. Tears streamed down her face and saturated the bedding. She prayed to God, knowing that He was her only option.

God, I need You. I don’t have another side of the coin here. Either You are going to do it, or we go hungry. Lord, even if You send only enough food for my son that would be okay. Do it for him, Lord. You said that You would supply all our needs. I come to You, Father, standing on Your Word. Amen.

After some careful maneuvering, she slowly rose to her feet. She sat on her bedside and wiped the tears from her eyes. Cheryl braced herself with one hand on the nightstand and balanced herself to her feet. She smiled with expectancy. I told my Father, and He is going to come through. She dried the last tear from her eye and focused on believing.

Cheryl heard her screen door slam. Hey, Momma! hollered her son. She quickly gathered her tear-filled Kleenexes, threw them in her small bedside wastebasket, and walked out of her room to greet him. Hey, baby, how was school? She wrapped her arms around him. Jus’ fine, Momma, he said.

Before Cheryl could ask him any more questions, she heard her neighbor, Mrs. Mae Lee, hollering over to them. Every now and again, the neighbor would call over Cheryl’s son to help her with an odd job. He dropped his book bag on the kitchen floor. I’ll be right back, Momma. He kissed her cheek and walked over to the neighbor’s house.

Every so often, Mrs. Mae Lee would give him five or ten dollars in appreciation. Cheryl thought that maybe this was one of those times. Perhaps God was answering her prayers. With the money, she could get a couple packs of hotdogs and some oatmeal. This was far from five-star dining, but it would definitely stretch and meet the basic need.

Cheryl picked up her son’s backpack. She smiled as she shook her head. That boy thinks I’m his maid. With the bag in her hands, she started toward his bedroom. She stopped halfway down the hall as she heard her screen door pull open. That sure was a quick errand. What did Mae Lee need?

She turned around and faced the door. To her astonishment, her son walked into the house with three heaping bags of food on each arm and in each hand. Momma, Mrs. Mae Lee told me to bring these over here to you.

Cheryl stood in place as she absorbed the moment while waiting for the shock to pass. Her hands shook violently as she reached for the bags. Tears fell from her eyes as she placed her hands on them.

She opened each bag. Inside of them were choice cut steaks amongst all of the groceries. She never had a chance to make those for her son because she simply couldn’t afford it. She cried hysterically and praised God in the middle of the kitchen floor. She sank to the floor and wept uncontrollably. Between the cries, screams, and hallelujahs, she would look at her son in relief.

What’s the matter, Momma? he asked. Her words failed her. She outstretched one of her hands toward him and motioned for his assistance. He helped his mother to her feet. Sobbing, she opened all the cupboards and the fridge. He then discovered that there was no food left. She fell again to her knees and looked at him. God met the need, son.

And my God will liberally supply (fill to the full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.—Philippians 4:19

In my distress I called upon the Lord; I cried to my God, and He heard my voice from His temple; my cry came into His ears.—2 Samuel 22:7

Shut In

J asper Reedy was a God-fearing man. He came from a long line of believers. He was brought up in a Southern Pentecostal church that believed in miracles. He laughed as he remembered how restless he would be at church. It seemed like they were always there.

He could almost hear the tambourines and the church mothers singing. He could visualize the preacher in the heat of summer wearing a black robe and sweating bullets as he labored over the sermon. He could almost smell the oil that his mother applied to his forehead Sunday after Sunday and just before prayer.

Jasper’s mother always made sure that he was very well dressed. He would put on his freshly pressed Sunday’s best. His face would shine beneath a thin layer of Vaseline. His shoes were neatly tied. His hair was well groomed. Boy, you are sharp as a tack, she would say.

His mother would smile at him proudly next to her in the pew. She would loosen the clasps on her purse and reach inside to retrieve a peppermint. She would take off one of her white gloves and quietly unwrap it. Once he had his prize in his mouth, it would cause him to smile sheepishly and swing his dangling feet back and forth beneath the pew.

Jasper, now in his forties, smiled as he remembered the warmth and love from his mother. He now mirrored the same affection to his children. This love was what was now keeping him on his knees in a church without food. For over a week, Jasper had barricaded himself within the church walls for the sake of one of his sons.

A little more than a week prior, Jasper had received terrible news. A terminal disease was ravaging his young son’s body. The doctors did not expect him to live a long and full life. The staff did their best to comfort and prepare the family and told them that they should start making arrangements.

Jasper cried aloud after hearing the shattering news. He and his family all clung to each other for comfort at the devastation of the grim report. After talking with his family, he decided to do the one thing that he had seen results from in his Christian walk. He looked over at his wife with tears in his eyes. I need to fast.

Jasper shut himself within the walls of the church praying and fasting before God. He was adamant that the same loving healer could and would heal his son. He picked up his well-worn Bible and recited Scriptures that backed his belief that God would heal his son.

Jasper shut himself within the walls of the church for well over a week. He gave no caution to time. Tears ran down his face as he cried to God. He lay prostrate across the altar. He nestled his head within his folded arms and continued to intercede for his son’s healing.

He paced the church’s floor quoting Scripture. He let God know that he was in this for the long haul. Jasper knew that only God could go beyond the limitations of medicine. He lifted his Bible in the air. I’m believing in You, Lord! he shouted.

The ordinarily well-groomed man appeared very different from the Jasper that everyone was accustomed to seeing. His disheveled clothing and unkempt appearance testified to the fact that his commitment to seeing this through was solid. He again lay prostrate across the altar.

Suddenly, the church door swung open. Jasper rose from his position and looked in the direction of the noise. His wife ran toward him with her eyes filled with tears. Jasper, our baby has been healed! They are calling it a medical mystery!

Jasper looked up at heaven and wept. Lord, I thank You! What man calls a mystery was certainly no mystery to