Ok, I promised I would make a prayer request for
a friend who says there is a house reasonably priced in a state near to hers, a
house that she wants to buy. She has good credit but no money. Her mother told
her that I'd tell her that prayers didn't work like that.
Well, I just asked you, and regarding her mom's comment,
"yes" and "no." And I will give 2 examples in just a
moment.
Having lived on this earth much longer than this friend, I
have learned a lot about prayers. First and foremost, there is ALWAYS hope. So
we should never think any request is too trivial or too ridiculous or too
costly/extravagant and we can always ask him.
That said, I have found that often when we are so dead set
on a particular request, we might find out later that the Lord was working in
the background on something even better for us and we need patience while he
gets all the ducks in a row.
Example 1, from my own life. Back in '01, my government
contract job had ended, I had put the 6-yr. 401K proceeds aside so my friend,
her son and I could get a mobile home. We gave notice to the apartment complex
we existed in. We had been there 7 years and that last year was frightening
because of drug dealers, violence and other issues in that complex. We thought
we found a perfect little mobile home and the fellow who was handling it for us
wanted $2000 less than I had available and I was thrilled, thinking I'd even
have moving money. We gave notice at the complex, breaking a lease but that was
okay because managers had ignored our repeated notices of the violence and
drugs in there. But at this point we still had
two weeks to get out. The day before we gave this fellow the money, Jane
and I, against this fellow's advice, stopped at that mobile home park's office to
see if we needed to sign papers and found to our horror that this fellow had
been forbidden to sell in that park because he was not brokered, we could only
have 2 residents which would have left Frank out, we could not add on a room
and a 2nd bath which this fellow told us we could. This fellow would have walked with the money. Stunned, while we were
grateful that we had dodged the bullet, we only had 2 weeks to either find
another home or go into a different apartment complex. Needless to say, before
that 2 weeks were up, we found the home I am in now, costing more but the
sellers carried back the difference, and Jane was happy here for 7 years before
she passed, and Frank was happy here for 12 years before he passed, and I've
been happy here for 18 years. 'Nuf said -
Example 2, from someone else's experience. I remember once
learning that Rev. Robert Schuller who built/established the Crystal Cathedral
and his TV ministry in Orange Grove, CA, had a similar situation. The ministry
had outgrown its then-current location and was seeking a new spot. Schuller was
sure he had found the perfect new site and prayed fervently for the deal to go
through. He was devastated when it failed and was sure his congregation would
end up folding. Suddenly, a new location opened up, at the junction of two
freeways in a budding and upcoming and newly flourishing location - and he made
history with that move and location.
So, my friend, if you are reading this, we definitely all
pray for your dream home, but please remember that if this doesn't go through, do not
give up. The best might yet come to be.
Sweet Lord Jesus, I apologize for being long-winded here,
but I didn't want my friend to give up hope and we needed to give her some
examples. Meanwhile, please continue to work with the Father to help her either
finance this one or to have patience while you are all working on what is best
for her. We trust in you!
