A Happy Ending: Answered Prayer

Do you believe in the power of prayer? I would definitely tell you that I do.

But I'm also still learning, and have many questions about it.

What are the conditions to God answering prayer? Why pray if he already knows what will happen? Are there some prayers that are considered selfish? If he doesn't answer yes, did I pray wrong? Why does he answer some of my prayers and not others? How long should I keep on praying for something? Is anything too small to pray for?

Oh yes, these and so many more are the questions that I ask.

And yet, I still pray. Because God's Word tells me to...over and over again. Even if I'm not sure I'm praying the right thing, I go ahead and pray, in hopes that when he answers, I'll get to give him glory and honor for it.

That is my utmost desire today.

I sure didn't expect to be standing in this train station today.

Oh I'd prayed that I would! Well, not for this particular spot, but I prayed with faith for days and days that God would hear my prayers for something very specific. I didn't know if he would choose to answer, so I kept on praying, even when the situation looked pretty bleak.

But now I'm here today to tell you that he graciously and mercifully answered!

Sam, the daughter of JV missionaries who live here in Czech, arrived to visit her parents today:

CARRYING MY LAPTOP THAT I LOST A FEW WEEKS AGO!!

In exchange, I'm holding a bag of gluten free goodies to trade her for my computer! Yes, I'm happy to generously reward her for going to pick it up from Claire in Chicago, and for bringing it in her carry-on so it would stay safe. THANK YOU SAM!

The rental agency wrote a personal letter to me last week saying that the next renters of the car that I'd left the computer in, found it, kept it the whole week they had the car, and then turned it in when they brought the car back.

PRAISE GOD!!! I give him the glory and honor for sending honest people to rent the car after me! I had prayed so specifically that he would keep his eye on it for me, and bring it back to me somehow.

That was a hard prayer to pray when I knew that it was my mistake that brought about this situation. Oh praise God for his grace! Giving me what I don't deserve. How many, many times he has done that. I am so grateful for his kind and loving care for me.

I wish all my prayers had such a happy ending. I always tell him that I'd give him all the praise for his answers! But I know he knows better than me what the best answers are.

So for the many, many prayers still on my heart, I'll keep praying and hoping for his best answers, the happy endings of his choosing.