A little while ago my daughter’s scooter was stolen. It was a weird crime. It was taken off of our front porch, in the middle of the day, while she stepped into the house for a moment. We assume it was just a neighbor kid who was walking down the sidewalk who took the opportunity to steal the scooter. Of course we don’t know for sure — but a dumb kid is far easier to live with then thoughts of a harden criminal prowling outside your home.
My daughter was obviously upset by it — particularly when we told her we didn’t have money to replace it immediately. Instead, I suggested that we pray about it and she agreed. So during our evening, dinner prayer, after I had given thanks for our food, I asked God that we would be able locate her scooter or whoever had taken it might return it. We left it at that.
Weeks past and her scooter didn’t turn up, nor did a remorseful neighborhood kid apologetically return it. However, I wasn’t willing to give up hope and occasionally I would make mention of it in prayer, while I held out to faith that we would see it again. We haven’t yet seen it; but, recently, her grandparents, knowing of her loss, brought over a new scooter one night. It might be easy to dismiss our prayer, as not answered. After all, we had prayed for the return of her old scooter and not a replacement. But, I considered the grandparent’s unexpected gift as the answer to our prayer, and rested that her old scooter was in a “better place” and that we could just enjoy the blessing of the new one.
This experience got me thinking about how our expectations may color our outlook when it comes to answered prayers. When we have a need, concern, or problem it is quite proper to take it to our Heavenly Father in prayer. However, as people, we tend to already have a solution to the problem in mind, and in praying, we ask God to work things out as we expect. In this case, we prayed that we would find the scooter or it would be returned. Might it have been better simply to pray about the need and leave it to Father to fulfill it as He wishes it to be?
There is another story in my life where I believe this is the case. A couple winters ago we bought a new computer and sent in for a rebate. As these things tend to go, our rebate check never arrived in the mail. Rather than pursue it, I decided to leave the check out there in USPS limbo and thought perhaps it would arrive at a later date when we would really need it. Well such a time came later that year, when, in the fall, we were having major plumbing problems, as our sewer pipe had collapsed and waste water was backing up into our basement. It came at a bad time financially, as we didn’t have much money to pay for such an expense.
We took the situation to our Father in prayer, and I tried to walk by faith, as best I could. I didn’t even ask the plumber for an estimate before he did the work, assuming that we would have provision no matter what the amount might be. Be that as it may, I was quite shaken when I got the bill and it was so much more than I could have ever had anticipated.
I gave the plumber what money I had and told him that I would have to get him the rest, though I did not exactly know where it would come from. My thoughts turned toward that missing rebate check, as I figured, surely this was an opportune time for it to pop up in the mailbox. It wouldn’t pay my plumbing bill but it would certainly help out. My wife thought so too and took the initiative to contact the computer vendor and ask about our missing rebate check. They confirmed that it was never sent and told us that they would put it in the mail. I was happy about that and felt that surely this would be in answer to the prayer. Another thing, I thought was an answer to our situation, was a rebate from the electric company that we were expecting. I thought that both would also would help toward meeting our need and looked forward to receiving them.
Well as I was busy problem solving on my end and still coming up short, our Heavenly Father was working things out in amazing and unexpected ways. The first came from friend, with a cleaning business, who while praying about our need, was lead by the Holy Spirit to discover an accounting error that meant that she had neglected to bill a client for a couple of months worth of work some months previous. She inquired about it and her client said that they would pay the missing amount. Our friend sent us this large amount of money and told us that she wanted us to have it because if it wasn’t for God’s direction she would never had discovered the error.
That gift from Heaven helped up quite a bit but we were still short. The plumber, who was used to getting paid in full at the completion of the job, was, at first, a bit demanding for the rest of the money. I prayed that I might find favor with him and that he would be understanding of the situation. It happened after that, that each week when he came to my office and I gave him what I little I could pay toward the job, he just accepted thankfully and didn’t say anything about the balance or get as demanding as he had. After a couple weeks of collecting toward the bill, he did something completely unexpected, and called off the rest of the debt. It was a really amazing change from his initial attitude! As it was, by the time we received those rebate checks in the mail we didn’t up needing them.
At the beginning of our plumbing problems, I had prayed to Father for help but at the same time held expectations about how He could answer. As He showed me, He provides in ways that I could never think of. These experiences have inspired me to look at simply bringing my needs before my Heavenly Father without expectations of how he will answer; secure that he will answer in His own surprising, loving, extraordinary way. As for those rebate checks, I was moved to pass them on to another couple, and perhaps surprised them, by helping them with a need in an unexpected way.
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That’s a wonderful account bro and so true to life. This really had me thinking on how our Father answers our prayers in ways that we can’t fathom. I have experienced that certain losses turn out to be the best turning points in life. Praise to Jesus. May He keep your loving family always blessed and make your family a blessing to others.
Anthony,
As someone who has known you since you were 15 years old, it is unbeiveable that you have been gripped by Satan. You think you are sincere, but you are on your own in your thinking. Rebekah has been a partner joined only by marriage but she has given in to such horrible thinking due to your warped nature. I have spoken to your father and moter in Rolla who are absoluteley TORN up. Rebekah’s parents are upset horribly. The rest of her family has come to grips with the fact that you have drifted her off into destruction. To watch you at the convention years ago and try no to clap at the truth (which you know is correct understandin), it was horrific. Seeing her stop you from clapping was even worse. Please come to grips and reconcile yourself with God. Humble yourself. Get control of yourself. Don’t let you, Rebekah and Mina die at Armageddon from your haughty attitude.
As a sinner you are not alone. (you have no idea — just want you to wake up too)
This has come from a true servant of the true god Jehovah
Truthful believer,
Thank you for having the concern to look me up and also write this message.
I love the Truth and really believe that the Truth is worth seeking after and if necessary losing everything for. I know that as Witnesses we would often refer to the organization or religion as “the Truth” but in the Bible there is only one — that is Jesus who says of himself, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” I don’t claim to have all the answers or make all the right decisions. I’ve had my struggles inside the Organization and outside of it. But I do believe that I’m a better person now having come to know Jesus in a way that I wasn’t able to as a Witness. It is only through him that we can truly come to know Jehovah, as Jesus himself testifies, “No one comes to the Father except through me.”
I appreciate your concern about me and my family dying at Armageddon. I have placed my faith and confidence in Christ and my life in his hands. Again the Word of God, Jesus, says, “I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life; and everyone that is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all.”
We all make decisions in life according to our conscience. As for this, there is something that Paul writes in Romans, that “each of us will render an account for himself to God.” I’m confident that we will all have that moment and I just hope to have a good answer when that time comes.
I don’t expect to you to take my word for any of this. If you want to know the Truth you can read what Jesus has to say for yourself in your copy of God’ Word. Set aside the Watchtower publications temporarily and read in the Bible what Jesus has to say and believe his word. As he says, “you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.”
If you wish to continue this conversation you can e-mail me at anthony.mathenia@gmail.com — I’m also willing and able to talk by telephone if you would desire.
Also as much as I’ve tried to figure out your identity from your brief message I haven’t been able to — but I’m sure you are someone I know and love. I wish you the best and will pray on your behalf tonight.
–Anthony
Hi,
I’ve just stumbled upon your blog and have spent a few minutes here. I’ve added your blog to my feed reader as I’d like to read a little more one day, when I have a little more time.
From the comment above I can see you need upholding in prayer! So, I shall pray for you and your family today…and as the Lord brings you to mind.
oh yeah, I’m with you! Jesus is the Truth… Way, the Truth, and the Life!
Hallelujah Father!
Regards,
Susan
Susan,
Thank you for the encouraging e-mail and prayer. It also good to meet someone new, even on the Internet!
I’m currently on vacation; but I took a brief look at your web-site this morning. I too will bookmark your site and take a closer look later.
I’ve been doing some other writing lately so my Blog has kind of fallen — but I really hope to begin again soon. I started writing a letter to someone on the Gospel and am thinking about expanding it for this Site.
With love,
Anthony
My wife had an interesting experience with answered prayer as well.
Several years ago, my wife surrendered her life to Jesus and within a couple of days, some members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses came to our door while I was out. She took this as a sign that they were sent by God and from there began her three year journey with the Jehovah’s Witnesses.
I was raised in a S.E.C. Lutheran family (Sunday, Easter, Christmas only). By the time I was a teenager I had no interest in “Christianity” because of a lack of exposure to the true Gospel, only exposure to hypocrisy after hypocrisy. My wife, soon after beginning her walk with the Watchtower Society started praying for my conversion. She had no idea how God was planning on answering this prayer.
When the pressure from the Kingdom Hall on my wife began sending our marriage to the breaking point, I began intense studies of the history of the Watchtower Society and began teaching myself Koine Greek in order to look into the changes the Watchtower Society made to the NT texts to support their doctrine. In the process of submersing myself in God’s Word, He changed my heart, and I heard and understood His voice.
The change in me was extreme and overnight. My wife had no idea what was going on. After getting off of work for the weekend I sat her down and began telling her about the change in my heart and all of the research I had been doing on the Watchtower Society. The majority of what I said I do not think I could ever reproduce at will because they were not my words, I could never be that truthful and eloquent on my own (it really was a Mark 13:11 moment).
God used my conversion to bring her out of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Her prayer for my conversion was answered, she just never realized that God would act upon that prayer to deliver her as well.
Peace to you and your wife. May the Prize set before you strengthen you in the days when trials come your way.
Your brother in Christ,
–Eric
Eric,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing that. I was just talking with a Sister in Christ about experiences where folk feel like they were “directed” to the JW’s. I don’t disagree that this happens. I think your family’s experience in this matter illustrates sometimes there is a reason other than, it is “the Truth”, and this is where God wants me to worship him.
It sounds like you have a real good wife and certainly you praise God that she was willing to pray for you during that season of trouble. I went through something similar. My wife continued to pray for my spirituality when I couldn’t pray myself. Of course with her JW upbringing she was praying that I might progress in the Organization and go to the meetings. I do believe that Heaven heard and answered, but not in the way that might be “expected”.
The Good Lord often puts us through trials that we often interpret as “unfair”. Thankfully, for those who are His children, he holds on to us tightly as we go through the trials until we see those things we were grasping instead of Him for our comfort and leave them by the wayside and embrace only Him.
As it is seen often in the Old Testament, God used the trials my wife and I went through to strengthen us and so that we might offer what He did in our lives to others as proof that there is nothing so far gone that His power and love cannot redeem. Ours is one of those stories where redemption did not seem to be the expected outcome. Just further proof that we have no right to give up hope for anyone in this world.
As the saying goes… the Lord moves in mysterious ways. But thanks and praise be to Him that His ways are Perfect.
Your brother in Christ,
–Eric