Being Someone’s Answer To Prayer
When we pray, we have the assurance that God hears and is answering our prayers. But how does He answer our prayers? We may be praying for a new job, a financial miracle, the salvation of a loved one or the right person to marry and we are looking to God for the solution. Most of the time, the answer does not fall out of heaven, but comes through natural means to us. God uses people and circumstances to answer our prayers. It may come as a gift from an unexpected source, a simple conversation with someone, a chance contact, a favorable interview, a doctor deciding to try some new remedy; there are just so many ways answers to prayer may come.
Some people can interpret these occurrences as mere chance, but to those who have been praying, it is divine intervention. Shortly, after we had moved to Portugal, we were facing a financial crisis. Very few donations had come in to support our mission work and we were getting down to the end of our money. The rent was due the next day and there was very little food in the house. That morning we gathered our family of seven together to pray for our daily bread. We knew that God had sent us to Portugal and so we were confident that He would supply all our needs. That afternoon, I opened the mail box to find an envelope with no stamp. Enclosed was a check to cover our rent and food. We didn’t recognize the name on the check, but we praised the Lord for answering our prayer.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that some plant, others water, but it is God who brings the increase, (I Cor. 3:6). God uses people to bless people, as He uses people to answer the prayers of people. Have you ever thought about being the answer to someone´s prayer?
Recently, Helen and I were traveling from Tel Aviv to Athens and a young businessman sat next to us on the flight. He was listening to music on his I-pod, so we didn’t interfere. After the meal was served, we began to converse. One thing led to another and soon we were talking about God. He expressed his unbelief and negative experiences with church. As we shared with this young man, I noticed that he was being convicted by the Lord. Shortly before we landed in Athens, he told us that his mother-in-law had been praying for his salvation. God was using us to be the answer to this woman’s prayer.
As you develop a life style of doing good, being generous, naturally sharing your faith and just loving on people, you, too, will be an answer to someone’s prayer. Each day, pray that God will use you in someone’s life. God has His appointments for us to meet.
Scriptures to meditate on:
II Timothy 4:2; Romans 12:9-13; I Cor. 3:6; II Cor. 8:1-7; 9:8-15.