Email Brenda

Her knees bore the imprint of the weave of the handwoven rug by her bed. “Oh Father God, have mercy on me and my husband. Please send help and provide for our needs.”

The phone rang. It was Marcy from church.

“We know things are tight since your husband’s accident, and we were wondering if we could do anything to help,” Marcy said.

The woman was glad her blush couldn’t be seen over the phone. “No, we’re fine. But thanks for thinking of us.” 

The young father paced back and forth outside his son’s hospital room. “Dear Lord, I don’t have any medical insurance. How will I ever pay for this operation? Help me, Father.”

Soon his Sunday School teacher, Bob Smith, arrived with a handshake and a shoulder squeeze.

“Listen, the class would like to help out with Junior’s bills by organizing a fund-raiser.”

The father sucked in his breath before shaking his head. “You don’t need to do that. We’ll manage all right. God will take care of us.” 

Christmas was nearing, and there was no money to spare for gifts. The single mother had cried herself to sleep many nights, begging God to make a way for her to have gifts to put under the tree. On Sunday she was approached by one of the deacons.

“Every year the church adopts a family for Christmas and buys gifts for the children. I know things are hard since your husband left, so would it be okay if we adopted your family for the holidays?”

The mother stood a little straighter. She wanted to say, I can provide for my own children, thank you. It’s not like I’m on welfare! Instead she said, “Please don’t. I’m sure there are families worse off than mine.” 

In each of these three scenarios, God’s plan to answer prayer was rejected by the ones who were asking for His help. Sadly, they didn’t even realize what they were doing.

Have you thwarted God’s efforts to answer your prayers? I know I have. I remember one very lean summer. We were newlyweds. I had lost my job, and money was so tight we once ran out of gas on the way to church and had to walk home. I experimented with all sorts of pancake and hot dog recipes in a desperate attempt for dinnertime variety. We were praying for help, and then a lady from church called to see what we needed. What was it that made me turn down the offer?

Pride. We may have been bad off, but that was between us and God. And so, God’s attempt to answer our prayer was thwarted. It took me only a couple months to wish that the food pounding that another family received had also been done for us, but it took me years to realize that I had (gasp) rejected the help that God had chosen to send! Lord, forgive me.

Pride made me turn down my deacon’s offer of Christmas, too. That time it only took me 2 days to see that God was offering an answer to my prayer, and He gave me the strength to call that deacon back and accept the gifts. What a thrill when along with the gifts came 5 boxes of groceries!

Pride nearly kept me from receiving a home cooked turkey dinner with all the trimmings. After all, I did have plans, I wasn’t helpless, and I could certainly cook for my family. But by the time this offer came, I was catching on to How God Answers Prayer. Several hours after receiving the call, I picked up the phone and told the woman that I would be delighted to accept her offer. It freed me from hours in the kitchen, so I could spend more time with my children and my visiting mother, and it made mealtime easier for several more days as we dined on leftovers! Furthermore, it was such a wonderful testimony of God’s love and provision that my mother was joyfully telling friends and family about it.

The message here is simple: if you need and ask for God’s help, be prepared to receive it in the form God chooses to send.

Think of it this way: if you ever delivered a meal to a family in need, if you ever picked a child’s name from a “Giving Tree” at Christmas time, if you ever gave money in a love offering, then you know the joy of giving. Don’t deny that joy to others who have seen your needs and offer to meet them. If you let go of pride and forget your shame or embarrassment, you will discover that just as there is joy in giving, there is joy in receiving -- especially when you realize that you are receiving from the Lord your God.

Don’t thwart God; thank Him!

Copyright Brenda Covert