Does God Really Answer My Prayers?

This week we resumed our regular Family House of Prayer routine, and one of our studies was this:  "Does God Really Answer My Prayers?"   That same day we lifted up an urgent prayer for a young man in the Army - Jesse.   Jesse had experienced a severe rotator cuff injury during one of his basic training drills, and the Army had scheduled surgery for Monday.  With this injury, there was some question whether Jesse would recover quickly enough to remain in the service, and he was very nervous about the possibility of a medical discharge.  All of his future plans were hanging on a speedy and complete recovery.  

So that day we prayed together for Jesse in the mix of all our other prayers for miracles, healing, wisdom, and provision.  "Lord, please heal Jesse so that he can stay in Army." 

The very next day we received the news.  "Praise the Lord!  Jesse's surgery has been canceled.  They checked his shoulder again and there are only bruised muscles!  In fact, he has already started some training." 

When I shared this awesome report with my children, they were quite happy to hear it ... and yet, it didn't surprise them too much.  After all, there have been so many answered prayers over the past three years.  And, besides, we had just finished our lesson that God always hears our prayers.  And He always answers.  Sometimes theses answers are not ones we wanted - such as, "wait patiently" and "later" and "I have something bigger in mind."   But we serve a trustworthy and loving God whose perspective is far beyond our own.

We look forward to a year of answered prayers in our humble little den, where we gather to worship and lift our prayers to our Faithful Father ... where we drop our small stones and glass gems and coins into our small bronze bucket, sometimes more aware than other times that each prayer ascends to the throne of the Most High God where His ear is always attentive to our cries, and His heart is always longing to pour forth Love.