When You Pray, God May Send You
By Carol Madison
My neighbor Jean and I shared a courtyard area between the front doors of our two townhomes. We each had our own sidewalk with several stairs leading up to our garages. We shared the daily newspaper—an arrangement she loved because I did all the recycling!
As Jean grew older, it became more difficult for her to climb the stairs. Minnesota winter was a treacherous time with the snowy, and sometimes icy, patches. I always made it a point to shovel and salt Jean’s sidewalk wen I shoveled mine—which was quite often because our townhome association’s snow removal service was usually slow in getting it done.
One day Jean commented on the great job our snow removal service was doing. “Really?” I said. “I guess I haven’t been that impressed.” I felt embarrassed that I had been so judgmental. It wasn’t until a couple of days later that I realized, Hey, wait a minute. I’m her snow removal service! She has no idea that it’s me.
She also had no idea about the time one summer when I noticed a large snake sunning itself on Jean’s stairs. I knew Jean was probably coming home soon—and she was deathly afraid of them. (I also hate snakes. But when you pray for someone, you may have no choice but to act!) So I grabbed a snow shovel and grappled with the snake to remove it, shuddering the whole time. Jean never knew about it, but she was my assignment from the Lord in all circumstances.
I may have been the only person in Jean’s life who prayed for her. I prayed often for her salvation. I also stopped by to visit her regularly, took care of her cat when she was gone, and in general kept an eye on her. I frequently spoke of Jesus and prayed with her whenever she expressed a concern.
When I told her I was moving, she was disappointed. “Please pray that God sends someone just like you to buy your townhome,” she said.
Here I Am
When we pray for people, we may be setting ourselves up to be the answer. As we pray, God softens our hearts, tunes our ears to the voice of His Spirit—and sometimes directs our course to include acts of obedience, risk, kindness, and compassion.
We asked our Prayer Connect readers to share stories of ways God made them the answers to their prayers. We thought some real-life examples might encourage us all to be more attentive to God’s leading and more willing to take risks to get involved in people’s lives. Isaiah was willing to be the answer to the Lord’s request by responding, “Here I am. Send me!” (Is. 6:8). Perhaps all our prayers should include, “Here I am. Let me be the answer!” Here are some ways our readers found themselves as the answer to their own prayers:
Send a Teacher—Me!
In 2002 my wife and I led a missions trip from our local church to Bolivia, South America. Bolivia had been our home ten years prior as we served, short term, at an MK school in Cochabamba. Our Bolivian missions group was a blend of teenagers and adults assigned to lead a local church’s VBS ministry and help with construction projects at a Christian camp and the MK school in which my wife and I had formerly taught. While working at the school, we learned of the need for a full-time Bible teacher. As we headed off to our next project in Bolivia, we told the school director we would specifically pray for a Bible teacher.
Fast-forward two years: We were back in Bolivia, this time with our whole family, teaching Bible classes at the school. God had used our prayers to touch our hearts to be that answer.
We are still missionaries with the same mission we served with in Bolivia. But now we are based in Charlotte, NC, leading the prayer ministry of SIM USA, helping to train and launch missionaries and supporting our missionaries by prayer. “By Prayer” is our mission’s motto.
– Charlie Thorsen is director of prayer and celebration for SIM (Serving In Mission) USA.
Now What, Lord?
Shortly after I was asked to become my church’s prayer team leader, I found myself joyfully pacing in my living room, praying and asking the Lord about what I should do next. What direction should I take to restart our prayer ministry?
He spoke to me: “Invite people in the congregation to pray before the service.”
I am not an outgoing person, so this was way outside of my box. I can be animated and comfortable around people I know, but not, by any means, the entire congregation! However, I stepped out in obedience at the first of our three services. Wow! God gave me emotional protection. We ended up with an average of 3–5 people per service for awhile—and now, less than a year later, we just set a record of 18–20 for each service! The people love it.
The obedience to take action—even though I was terrified—was part of the answered prayer!
– Johnette Shank is the prayer team leader, New Life Bible Fellowship, Tucson, AZ.
New Wine into New Wineskins
We had recently moved, and, as I prayed for my new neighbors, God spoke: “Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved” (Matt. 9:17).
God showed me that He wanted to pour new wine (His Spirit) into me so I could pour something new (a Bible study) into our neighborhood. In His grace, He brought a woman into my life to mentor me through the process. Honestly, I felt like I was going to throw up! But at this point, it was a matter of obedience, and saying no was not an option.
I held the Bible study in my home and four women attended. I don’t know that it was remarkable, but I believe something was preserved in it. And that woman who mentored me? She is now one of my best friends. I tell her, “If I had any idea that you were on the other side of my obedience to leading a Bible study, I would have done it years ago!”
— Joan Sherman is a freelance writer/editor from Plymouth, MN.
Give Them My Word!
I prayed often for John, who said he knew about God and hoped he was saved. I prayed that he would personally know Jesus as his Savior. On the other hand, Mary resisted any “religious” conversations at all, denying even the existence of God. I prayed for her heart to be stirred to ask questions and to be open to the truth. I also asked God to show her how much she is loved.
Many years passed. A couple of years ago at Christmas, the Lord told me to buy a Bible for John. I delayed in my obedience. I could not imagine a way I could give it to him. Shortly thereafter I discovered that he had nowhere to go on Christmas. So we invited him and he came! The Bible was his gift under the tree. When he opened it, he made it a point to say, “Thank you, I don’t have one!”
Recently I was chatting with Mary about how we spend our time. She asked me what I meant by “serving in ministry.” Then she started asking one question after another. After our conversation, the Lord prompted me to mail her a new Bible. I had recently purchased it—and it was sitting on my shelf. I had bought it for myself but could never bring myself to rip open the packaging. Now I knew why!
In both these lives God brought the Word of love and truth—and He used me to help do it.
– Katie Blomquist lives in Chanhassen, MN.
A New Thing
God gave me a love for children while I was still a child. I became a teacher and believed that my classroom was my mission field. I love music and was known as the singing teacher. I developed and directed three large children’s choirs in my church.
After teaching for many years I had a sudden hearing loss in one ear. Working with music and a classroom of children were the two things that I could no longer do. When I sing I can only hear myself. I can’t locate sound or hear low sounds. I cried for two weeks and then decided that God couldn’t be through with me. I chose to be excited about discovering the new thing God wanted me to do. I started praying for God’s guidance and told everyone that I was looking for a new direction.
My principal suggested that I go into computers and work in the county office because I knew what would be helpful for the teachers. At that time, computers were so new that I didn’t even know what one was. I signed up for a class just in time, as there was only one opening left. I eventually earned a master’s degree in computer education and education research.
I am now retired and a widow. I have used my computer in so many ways with different organizations and church groups, helping in ways I never thought possible. God took my hearing loss and led me into computers—and I just love what I’m doing!
– Joan Holmes is from Thomasville, GA.
For the Sake of the Kids
When my husband was called to minister in a country church in Indiana, I soon became burdened for the growing number of children who needed to become lifelong followers of Jesus. God put it on my heart to pray for them.
Prior to this, we met Dave and Kim Butts and supported their work with Harvest Prayer Ministries (HPM). Then one day I read an article by Jonathan Graf of HPM in Prayer Connect magazine about a prayer program in his church. He had chosen a young boy from his congregation to pray for on a regular basis. Jon mentioned that he still carries that young man’s name in his Bible and continues to intercede for him.
The Holy Spirit convicted me: We need to reach out to our youth in this way! So I took the obedience step to develop the “Adopt-A-Kid for Prayer” initiative in my church. We had adults sponsor 56 youth that first year; our numbers have since grown to 74 young people bathed in prayer by caring adults.
Through this act of both prayer and obedience, we have seen relationships develop, prayers answered, love demonstrated, and much spiritual growth exhibited in both the youth and the pray-ers. I thank God for my prayer team who has helped in this powerful outreach.
– Becky Gommel lives in Vallonia, IN, where her husband Steve pastors Driftwood Christian Church.
Your Own Stories
You have your own stories about how God has used you to bless others as His answer to the prayers of His people. Maybe you have prayed and prayed for God to send someone to share the truth of Christ with your loved one—but perhaps He is actually preparing you to be His voice. And when you see the broken-down neighborhoods in your community, chances are that God is calling you to both pray and go!
Prayer combined with action is a powerful testimony to the love of Jesus. The next time you pray about a situation that touches your heart, be sure also to ask the Lord if you might be the answer.
CAROL MADISON is editor of Prayer Connect magazine and director of prayer ministries at Hillside Church, Bloomington, MN.
