God Answers Prayers

I don’t know why God answers some prayers immediately when we ask and others may take years... and we may not even see the answers. If, however, we stop praying, then I am certain that many things we might otherwise have prayed for will not happen. Someone was sharing with me about an answered prayer. They had gone to the hospital and so instead of leaving valuables, including the phone, on the counter, it was handed to the spouse. Partway through the stay, it became obvious that the phone was nowhere to be found. They back tracked everywhere, searching rooms they were in, bedding, etc. They continued to pray about it on the way home. The one that had been sick stayed at home that Sunday while the spouse went to church alone. On the way, she prayed once again for the phone to appear. At that point, she hears a ding. Her first thought was that a message came in. Her second thought was that her phone didn’t chime. She decided to call the missing phone and there it was. We might be quick to think that maybe they just didn’t remember and had forgotten it was still in the car. Well, right after sharing that experience, another member made the comment that he had lost his phone the day before. The last time he remembered it was when he went through the checkout at Walmart. I know there were several people that were praying for God to help locate the wallet. Right after the second service, we heard that he went back into the woods and, you guessed it, the wallet was right there on the ground. Praise God for answered prayers. It was great to hear of those two answers, and I know God cares for our whole life, but there are prayers that are even more important to lift before the Lord. We need to be praying for the lost and those searching for the truth that they may find the truth in Jesus Christ. We need to be praying for families that they may teach their children what God’s plan and desire is for their lives. We need to be praying for churches and all the members that God would fill each with the Holy Spirit and transform each according to His will. We need to be prying for leaders that they may faithfully serve, accomplishing what God desires. God indeed answers our prayers. O Lord our God, raise up prayer warriors to dedicate themselves to lifting the needs of the community to You, spiritual and other. Amen