Slightly Complicated Little Prayer Request for a Friend

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!