Very recently my best friend Katie reminded me of something that the hustle and bustle of the mundane made me forget. That God STILL answers prayers.
When Katie and I were younger we talked about what all young girls do. In between Harry Potter movies and playing endless games of mafia, we would talk about what we wanted our lives to look like once we were older. Married to men of God, with rambunctious children, and still being very best friends. 15 years later we are living in the days we prayed for. She’s married to the most amazing man of God, has an amazingly beautiful home, and two children with one on the way! I recently married the man of my prayers and live in the sweetest house filled with so much love. God is GOOD. And He is incredibly kind.
When Joshua and I were preparing for marriage the only thing we couldn’t seem to agree on was which church we would make our home. Joshua was at a church in Detroit and I was at another in Ypsilanti. Although I wanted to follow Joshua’s lead, I could feel the Holy Spirit urging me to stay at my home church. There would be a place for the both of us and I knew that together we would be on mission there. We had a little fight about it that I never ever want to relive and after I felt awful and hopeless. But then I remembered I could pray. So simple, but effective. If I couldn’t change my husband’s heart and get him to see things through the same spiritual lens I knew that I could pray to my heavenly Father. I may not have been able to change his heart but He could confirm to Joshua what He had shown me. I prayed and prayed. Sometimes I didn’t even feel like anything was happening but that didn’t stop me. I poured my heart out to the Lord through hopelessness. I needed His wisdom and strength to stand on what I knew He had shown me all while trying my hardest to respect my future husband. You may be in a situation where you need hope that the Lord does indeed answer the prayers of the righteous. There is a story in the bible that proves this about the character of God. He surely has a listening ear.
King Hezekiah, like David, was a sweet and gentle king after God’s own heart. It was in his latter years that Hezekiah became very ill and the prophet Isaiah visited him to deliver the news that it wasn’t long until he was to die. Although the prophet was sent by God to give this news, the bible says that immediately the king turned his face and began to cry out in prayer to the Lord. The bible says,
“Please, LORD, remember how I have walked before you faithfully and wholeheartedly and have done what pleases you.”
This is the best part, the bible then says,
“Isaiah had not yet gone out of the inner courtyard when the word of the Lord came to him: “Go back and tell Hezekiah, the leader of my people, ‘This is what the Lord God of your ancestor David says: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Look, I will heal you. On the third day from now you will go up to the Lord’s temple. I will add fifteen years to your life. I will rescue you and this city from the grasp of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.”
2 Kings 20:1-6
Sister, He hears your prayer and moves on your behalf. You may not see the immediate answer like King Hezekiah did but sis does God show up right on time! Stay faithful in your prayer knowing that He will do what it is that you asked according to HIS will! The bible says,
"And we are confident that He hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases Him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that He will give us what we ask for."
1 John 5:14-15
Speeding up about a couple weeks before we got married, the decision still hadn’t been made. I was heartbroken at the thought of continuing to eat from different plates on Sunday’s. We had only spent a couple times at church together for the whole year and half of our dating/engagement season. I was upset to say the least. This did not match up with my dream of what my life would look like when I was a little girl. We finally had another “check-in” conversation about where we both were at with this decision. To my astonishment, Joshua told me the date of his last Sunday playing at his church. I was relieved but felt sad for him because I know how hard of a decision that was for him. I didn’t even think he was happy about the decision. To me it felt like he just sacrificed for the sake of us being together so I didn’t know whether to rejoice or to be afraid that he might resent me for it.
We got married and Joshua began coming to my home church. Now that he was there, I prayed that the Lord would not allow bitterness to fester in his heart. That he wouldn’t fight the will and hand of the Lord but that he would feel God impress on His heart to use his gift as a musician there. I didn’t nag Joshua or manipulate the result I wanted. I just prayed and remained obedient to the word the Lord had given me 6 months prior. We would worship leading Pineview Church into encounters with the Lord that had not happened yet.
Sister, before I knew it Joshua looked at me after church one day and told me he was ready to play and that he could not sit and just be a church goer anymore. He said, “I can be used by God no matter the place.” I was taken back and just thanked God for what He did. I prayed and stayed faithful while the Lord moved and changed the heart of my husband.
On July 11th, 2024, I wrote this,
“God bless Joshua as he settles in from his church to mine. I pray that pride and stubbornness won’t get in the way but that no matter the building or the pastor that he would seek and be used by you. That he would dust off that organ and play using melodies and notes that you given him. After he sits for a while and gets filled, I pray that you’d minister to him. I pray that he’ll hear your voice. I pray that he’ll allow you and you alone to lead his movements and decisions. Anoint and appoint Joshua for such a time as this.”
About a month into my sweet husband playing the organ at my church, my beautiful best friend sent me the sweetest text. She sent me a picture of Joshua and I on stage ministering together and she said,
“I’m completely proud to see you two on stage together, this is absolutely beautiful. I still can’t believe that we are in a place in life that we used to talk about. It’s incredible to see God carrying out promises and seeing the duo that you and Josh are for God’s glory. It excites me and encourages me. You’ll only continue to grow and learn, there’s so much more with God.”
I read this message and was amazed all over again at what the Lord had done. With the busyness of Sunday’s and the holidays, I hadn’t taken a moment to soak in what the Lord had done. The picture was a literal depiction of the goodness and loving kindness of the Lord! Sometimes we forget the prayers and sometimes we may think that they are insignificant because they aren’t life and death prayers. We may not be praying for healing but praying that God softens the heart of your husband is just as important. We may not be praying for food on the table but praying that the Will of the Lord be done in your household is still just as important. Praise should always be our response to even the smallest prayer being answered.
Never stop praying.
Never believe that any prayer is insignificant.
Never graze over an answered prayer.
An answered prayer means that the God of the universe heard you and moved on your behalf.
That requires praise and remembrance!
Don’t forget the prayers. Don’t forget what you are believing for.
God is kind. He is gracious. He is gentle. He loves you. He hears you.
