GOD ANSWERS PRAYER

"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you."
(John 15:7)

Greetings! Each year seems to have its particular surprises, and even its particular theme as God moves in the sphere of human affairs. The year 1997 revealed an especial emphasis on answered prayer that had me truly amazed. The past few years have also revealed answers to prayer I had prayed many years ago, but then especially in the '80s as God brought me into contact not only with former high school acquaintances, but also with some I had known way back in grammar school! Through the Internet I became reacquainted with 2 former army buddies I had known in Munich, Germany back in the early '60s. The opportunity to witness which I had prayed for left me amazed.

In 1997, I spent some time with my sister and her husband in Ohio. I had not seen her in 8-9 years. The occasion was the wedding of her son, Donnie. At a church service after the wedding (they asked me to take the photos, which God really blessed - they turned out so well!), I contemplated God's wonderful answer to prayer. On my right was my sister, Sylvia, whose salvation I had prayed for 12 years till she gave her heart to the Lord in '81. Toward the end of that time, after her first husband had died, I had prayed for a godly man to come into her life and help lead her to God. Carl, the answer to that prayer and my sister's husband for the past 15 years or so, was sitting to her right. I had also prayed that they find a good church home, and the one whose service we were attending was the answer to that prayer. They have enthusiastically attended it for some years now. And of course, I had been praying for my sister's 3 children, and my nephew, Donny, sitting to my left (who had given his heart to Jesus the previous Thanksgiving) was an answer to that prayer that is still ongoing for his brother and sister. The woman he had just married - Gloria, a godly woman - was a member of my sister's church.

From 1992-99, I lived in Oakland, California where God answered prayer as well. I daily took the bus to work and had opportunities to share my faith in addition to leaving tracts on the bus. In the early part of '97, I met a Chinese lady I had not seen in many months. She recognized me and sat down next to me. To my surprise, she began sharing that she was attending a Chinese church, and added that it was good to meditate on Jesus Christ, for "He is the only way!", she said. My eyes got wide as I told her, "But I remember so many months ago I tried to tell you about that, but you told me you had rejected God and had decided to become an atheist." (She had told me that very loudly and heatedly, as a matter of fact.) "I know," she humbly replied, "I was wrong!" I told her, "I prayed for you." Just that one bit of testimony, though it does not stand alone, is certainly nevertheless by itself worth the 7 years I lived in Oakland. Oakland is not a place I would "choose" to live in, there is much turmoil and tragedy there and a spirit of anger that pervades the city, but God (those 2 little words have come to be very meaningful in my life) is doing a very good work there.

Many other answers to prayer are detailed in my testimnony.

The Bible declares in Job 22:28 - "You will also decree a thing, and it will be established for you; and light will shine on your ways." I declare/decree to you:

That the peace of God will enter into your mind and destroy all confusion sent by the enemy. (Phil. 4:7)
That the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Neh. 8:10)
That you will use wisdom when making decisions. (Prov. 4:7; James 1:5, 3:17)
That you will gain understanding of your God-ordained assignment. (Ps. 119:104)
That the plots of the enemy against you are canceled in the name of Jesus Christ. (John 10:10)
That the blessings of God will overtake you. (Deu. 28:1-2)
That you are a blessing to the nation. (Mal. 3:12)
That your children are purpose-filled by the Lord. (Matt. 21:16)
That no weapon formed against you will prosper. (Isa. 54:17)
That the healing hand of God will cancel every sickness or disease and replace it with wholeness. (Isa. 53:5)
That you are no longer a victim but a victor in Jesus' name. (1 John 4:4)
That He who has begun a good work in you will complete it in you. (Phil. 1:6)
That you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. (Phil. 4:13)
That your God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. (Phil. 4:19)
That the lies of man have no power over your life. (Ps. 110:1)
That the generational curses in your life are broken from your life. (Matt. 11:29)
That your finances are pressed, shaken together and running over with abundance. (Luke 6:38)
That you are blessed to be a blessing. (Hebr. 6:14)
That you are fearfully and wonderfully made by the hand of God. (Ps. 139:14)
That you are free to praise the Lord. (Ps. 150:6)
That you have the authority to bind every demon and ungodly spirit. (Matt. 16:19)

PRAISE THE LORD!

WAIT
Author Unknown

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried;
quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate,
and the Master so gently said, "Child you must wait."
Wait? You say, wait? my indignant reply.
Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a "yes," a go-ahead sign,
or even a "no" to which I can resign.

And Lord, you promised that if we believe
we need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry,
I'm weary of asking, I need a reply!

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
and grumbled to God, so I'm waiting....for what?
He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes wept with mine,
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun,
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want, but you would not know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint,
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair,
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me,
when darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love
as the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove.
You'd know that I give and I save...(for a start),
but you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night.
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.
You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that "My grace is sufficient for thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come
true, but, oh the loss, if I lost what I'm doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see,
that the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, Wait.