Are you surprised when God answers prayer quickly?
The other night as I sat through a bitter cold lacrosse game bundled up–my toes frozen despite my preparation, my heart sank farther down to the pit of my stomach with each minute as I watched my son stand on the sidelines with no coat or cold weather clothes under his uniform. He dressed out to play. He always plays. Sometimes he even starts. But not on this night.
It was a great game. We won. But our hearts struggled. Why didn’t the coach put him in?
He hadn’t played much the week before either, but we assumed that was punishment for missing a practice and game due to illness.
I urged my son to talk to the coach. It never hurts to ask.
And I prayed.
I asked several friends to pray.
I didn’t pray that he would get to play. I prayed for his heart. I prayed that he would seek God in this, and that God would grow him in this struggle. I know hard things can be good. But I couldn’t imagine what God would do with my son’s heart, something much better than getting to play.
God is funny, you know. Irony is one of his favorite tools in His heavenly toolbox. And the lacrosse story becomes even more interesting when I explain that the boy taking my son’s place on the field is a boy I’ve watch stand on the sidelines for two years. I’ve sat by his mom and dad who watched each game for the last two years discouraged that their son didn’t get to play.
I’ve prayed for Jake to get to play!
And now he is. But he’s playing my son’s position.
When Drew came home from practice the next day I couldn’t wait to hear if he’d spoken to the coach. The look on his face told me something good had happened. His words were balm to a worried momma’s heart.
“Mom, when I got into the locker room I felt myself being angry at Jake and wanting to treat him bad, but then I thought, ‘Why am I doing this? Jake’s a good guy. He’s my friend. Maybe he’s better than me. Maybe that’s why he’s getting to play. It’s okay. Maybe he should take my place.”
Humility.
Something I’ve always prayed for my kids. Humble confidence. And there it was.
[tweetability]You just never know how your prayers will be answered.[/tweetability]
Sometimes you even forget what you’ve prayed for years earlier.
But God never does. He hears every prayer and He answers them with perfect timing.
Has God answered a prayer for you lately? Was His answer better than what you’d prayed?
“Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgements, and His paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor?” (Romans 11:33,34).
Oh yes, we’ll never know when God will answer our prayers but it’s reassuring to know that He does listen. We have such an awesome God! =D
Hi Viviene! Thanks for reading and commenting. I love sharing our faith and encouraging others. Sometimes I do wonder if I’m a little crazy until someone else knows what I’ve experienced. Blessings!
I agree. Not too long ago I prayed avery honest prayer admitting that I didn’t even know what I wanted or whether what I was in the process of doing was the right thing. It didn’t take long for things to become clear about the situation and a way out appeared. God answers the prayers that we don’t even know how to pray.
I’m so happy for you Samantha! Thanks for sharing what God has done. Many blessings!
Andy, years ago my husband, David was in a very stressful job. I was worried for him and his health. I prayed daily for God to change the situation. He was let go — not quite the answer to prayer I wanted! A new job, or the right job didn’t come instantly, but we’ve both grown in our faith and in our marriage, and He is now in a position where God is using him to impact the lives of his coworkers!
I love how He works! Praise Him! Thanks for sharing Valerie. I’ll keep this in mind as I pray for my husbands job! :)
Thank you for sharing this…. Praying for our sons is a huge responsibility. I have prayed for my son to have humility as well. His freshman year, he was to play varsity (baseball – he catches) due to the the varsity catcher having knee surgery the week before baseball began. The very first game, he broke his thumb within the first couple of innings. He was heart broken, he just couldn’t understand “why?” I wrote about this here – http://mercysavedme.blogspot.com/2012/02/disappointment.html and
here http://mercysavedme.blogspot.com/2012/03/this-is-for-bub.html
Now, two years later, he is back on Varsity and is the starting catcher….. sad thing is, the other catcher that took his place after his thumb was broken, had a mountain bike accident just days before baseball started, and has a spinal cord injury…. and is still in a rehab hospital. My grandmother always said, everything happens for a reason. What we thought was used to humble our son, also gave this young man an opportunity to play then.
Just last week our son made some decisions that I was stressing over. He chose a youth retreat over a rescheduled ball game. HUGE. Most days, I learn more from my children than they could ever learn from me. I told my husband…….my children are so much better and so much wiser than me. Praise the Lord for answered prayers….. and for this post! Have a great weekend!
Wow! You really know what I’m experiencing! Isn’t it amazing? Thanks so much for reading and sharing. Many prayers for your son and your momma’s heart.
praying for out children!
Thanks Janice!
Thank you Andy for reminding us that God is in all situations and how to find joy in other’s success. The success of our children being humble with God’s wisdom is priceless.
Thanks Lisa! So excited to hear from you. Thanks for sharing on FB too. Yep, when they find peaceful humility you know it’s God! Miss you.