Answered Prayers

[roman2819]

Some of my experiences where God manifested His care, love and power by answering prayers. Adapted from Understanding Prayer , Faith and God's Will

"Like all Christians, not all my prayer requests are granted. However, I have seen His answers, grace and deliverance on many occasions. One of my earliest answered prayers happened when I was a young convert and still in high school. During the midterm examinations, I received a poor grade in economics, which affected my overall average score. I prayed that God would move the teacher to modify the grade for this subject. A day later, she came to class and announced her decision to raise the borderline passes by one grade, with the intent of motivating us to study hard. And she added that she had never done that before in her twelve-year teaching career; she was the most strict and demanding teacher that our class had ever known, by the way. If she had habitually modified grades to encourage students, I might think that it would have happened anyway without prayer. In this exceptional case, however, it left me with no doubts that God was at work. It was real and encouraging to me at that time. Later, I would see that examinations were the easier tests when compared with other tough crisis along life journey....

....
In 1996, my mum had a slight inflammation on the neck area. To determine whether it was malignant, she had to go for a series of medical tests. Not one to fret before bad news arrived, I was not worried initially. But two weeks later, when I brought her to hospital, my optimism evaporated; if the result was not good, I knew that there would be a very difficult time ahead for her. I started to feel troubled that it might not turn out well.

Occupied by work, I did not pray (which sounds familiar, I believe), and only found time a day later. It was about 10:45 in the morning, at a fast-food restaurant, which was very quiet at that hour. I started to pray, and soon, a soft but sufficiently distinct “voice” said to me, “She will be all right.” I said “voice” because I didn’t hear it, but I felt it instead. And at the very moment, I received an inner peace – calm and still – like being in the eye of a hurricane. Amazed, I wondered if God had spoken to me. While I could not be sure, however, I knew for certain that it was not me trying to be positive. The next day, I prayed again, and felt the same peaceful assurance, “She will be all right”; I distinctly sensed that the Spirit was telling me this. I was between awe and doubt. Was it really God, I wondered? When I prayed a day later, however, I did not hear from Him again. I supposed that even repeated occurrences would not have assured me fully, and I could only wait for the test results. A month later, the final diagnosis showed that the inflammation was harmless, as what the Lord had revealed earlier. That was a revelation that I would remember – to hear from God was not something that one could forget easily. At that time, it was not my first encounter as such, and neither was it the last. In time to come, He would continue to answer prayers convincingly. Some of them became milestones in my faith, which will be narrated in the chapter, “Does Prayer make a difference?”

Continued next post ...

 

[roman2819]

Continued from post 1

On a few occasions, the Spirit has called me to pray. In early 2009, my uncle was terminally ill from cancer. His home was in Malaysia, and on weekends, I would take a long-distance coach from Singapore to his hometown to visit him. My aunt, cousins, and the next generation children have been Christians for many years. They were not Christians by birth, but in the 1990s, the youngest daughter believed. At that time, her conversion was met with consternation within the family, but over the years, her mum and siblings gradually turned to God too. My uncle was not religious, but when he was ill, he appeared to believe. However, the family was not really certain about it and it was difficult to ask him. Even though he was lucid, he spoke very little and it was not easy for him to articulate what he was thinking. While redemption upon confession of sins is a familiar theology in Europe and America, however, it was not a common belief among people in Asia, where many either worship pluralistic gods or claim to be free thinkers. The pre-war generation, especially, still regards Christianity as western influence. They are aware of two main denominations of churches, but that is as much as they know. Incidentally, when I was praying for my uncle, he asked whether I was a Catholic or Protestant.

At that time, I would feel empowered by the Holy Spirit whenever I prayed. Because I had experienced such manifestation before, I could recognize the Spirit’s presence again (even though I was not praying in tongue). As this went on, I began to wonder whether God was going to send a miracle. Perhaps my uncle might recover, I thought. With this hope, I persevered in prayer. This went on for almost a month, and during this time, I was travelling between Singapore and Malaysia on weekends to visit him.

One Sunday morning, in March, I asked my uncle whether he would say “amen” with me, and he nodded. I prayed for a while, and at the end, when I said “amen”, he repeated it as well. It was the clearest indication that he had turned to God. Soon after that, I gradually stopped feeling the presence of the Spirit. A couple of weeks later, on an afternoon, while his wife and daughter were standing beside him, my uncle pointed to the ceiling and said that the door was opening, and it was very bright. My cousin asked whether it was the door of heaven, and he nodded. Two days later, he passed away. It was sad, but not unexpected, given the fact that he was ill and advanced in years. And he went to begin eternal life in heaven, which was comforting.

For some time after that, I continued to wonder why there was no miracle healing even though the Holy Spirit had manifested His presence. Several months later, it dawned upon me that His purpose was to allow my uncle to see God’s love. During the visits, as the Spirit gave me the strength and endurance to pray, he felt that God’s people cared for him. This might have added to His conviction gradually, hence he said “amen” on the final occasion when I prayed with him. Later, when he saw the door of heaven opened, he knew that he would journey on to heaven.

Another call to prayer happened a year after that. It was on the first Saturday of May in 2010, which was still very stark in my memory. Feeling an unusually strong motivation to call on God, I started to pray, and a couple of hours passed quickly; I remembered it was slightly over noon time when I concluded. At that time, I thought it was just me feeling highly motivated. Soon after, a situation that had been stalemate for the past two years started to see progress. Gathering momentum, it moved along briskly, and by year end, the prayer was answered. Someone who was familiar with the developments said that the outcome was highly unusual and unique; and to me, it was undoubtedly a miracle.

 

[dqhall]

Some of my experiences where God manifested His care, love and power by answering prayers. AdAPTED FROM Understanding Prayer , Faith and God's Will

"Like all Christians, not all my prayer requests are granted. However, I have seen His answers, grace and deliverance on many occasions. One of my earliest answered prayers happened when I was a young convert and still in high school. During the midterm examinations, I received a poor grade in economics, which affected my overall average score. I prayed that God would move the teacher to modify the grade for this subject. A day later, she came to class and announced her decision to raise the borderline passes by one grade, with the intent of motivating us to study hard. And she added that she had never done that before in her twelve-year teaching career; she was the most strict and demanding teacher that our class had ever known, by the way. If she had habitually modified grades to encourage students, I might think that it would have happened anyway without prayer. In this exceptional case, however, it left me with no doubts that God was at work. It was real and encouraging to me at that time. Later, I would see that examinations were the easier tests when compared with other tough crisis along life journey....

....
In 1996, my mum had a slight inflammation on the neck area. To determine whether it was malignant, she had to go for a series of medical tests. Not one to fret before bad news arrived, I was not worried initially. But two weeks later, when I brought her to hospital, my optimism evaporated; if the result was not good, I knew that there would be a very difficult time ahead for her. I started to feel troubled that it might not turn out well.

Occupied by work, I did not pray (which sounds familiar, I believe), and only found time a day later. It was about 10:45 in the morning, at a fast-food restaurant, which was very quiet at that hour. I started to pray, and soon, a soft but sufficiently distinct “voice” said to me, “She will be all right.” I said “voice” because I didn’t hear it, but I felt it instead. And at the very moment, I received an inner peace – calm and still – like being in the eye of a hurricane. Amazed, I wondered if God had spoken to me. While I could not be sure, however, I knew for certain that it was not me trying to be positive. The next day, I prayed again, and felt the same peaceful assurance, “She will be all right”; I distinctly sensed that the Spirit was telling me this. I was between awe and doubt. Was it really God, I wondered? When I prayed a day later, however, I did not hear from Him again. I supposed that even repeated occurrences would not have assured me fully, and I could only wait for the test results. A month later, the final diagnosis showed that the inflammation was harmless, as what the Lord had revealed earlier. That was a revelation that I would remember – to hear from God was not something that one could forget easily. At that time, it was not my first encounter as such, and neither was it the last. In time to come, He would continue to answer prayers convincingly. Some of them became milestones in my faith, which will be narrated in the chapter, “Does Prayer make a difference?”


Continued next post ...

My lower back has caused me much pain and grief off and on for years. Recently I was praying as I was worried about my weakness. I instantly remembered back stretching exercises I used successfully years ago. Somehow I forgot them in a time of little pain. My back is stronger now after a daily routine of using bending - stretching exercises and a back inversion table.

My mother is 82 and has dementia. She can no longer walk. I prayed for her healing. I got an answer to my prayer that she is terminally ill and God can not restore her. When I was a boy she told me about monks in the Swiss Alps who used to go into the snowy passes and look for stranded travelers to rescue. Sometimes when I talked about people wanting revenge she told me, “Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

 

[roman2819]

Continued from post.
On a few occasions, the Spirit has called me to pray. In early 2009, my uncle was terminally ill from cancer. His home was in Malaysia, and on weekends, I would take a long-distance coach from Singapore to his hometown to visit him. My aunt, cousins, and the next generation children have been Christians for many years. They were not Christians by birth, but in the 1990s, the youngest daughter believed. At that time, her conversion was met with consternation within the family, but over the years, her mum and siblings gradually turned to God too. My uncle was not religious, but when he was ill, he appeared to believe. However, the family was not really certain about it and it was difficult to ask him. Even though he was lucid, he spoke very little and it was not easy for him to articulate what he was thinking. While redemption upon confession of sins is a familiar theology in Europe and America, however, it was not a common belief among people in Asia, where many either worship pluralistic gods or claim to be free thinkers. The pre-war generation, especially, still regards Christianity as western influence. They are aware of two main denominations of churches, but that is as much as they know. Incidentally, when I was praying for my uncle, he asked whether I was a Catholic or Protestant.

At that time, I would feel empowered by the Holy Spirit whenever I prayed. Because I had experienced such manifestation before, I could recognize the Spirit’s presence again (even though I was not praying in tongue). As this went on, I began to wonder whether God was going to send a miracle. Perhaps my uncle might recover, I thought. With this hope, I persevered in prayer. This went on for almost a month, and during this time, I was travelling between Singapore and Malaysia on weekends to visit him.

One Sunday morning, in March, I asked my uncle whether he would say “amen” with me, and he nodded. I prayed for a while, and at the end, when I said “amen”, he repeated it as well. It was the clearest indication that he had turned to God. Soon after that, I gradually stopped feeling the presence of the Spirit. A couple of weeks later, on an afternoon, while his wife and daughter were standing beside him, my uncle pointed to the ceiling and said that the door was opening, and it was very bright. My cousin asked whether it was the door of heaven, and he nodded. Two days later, he passed away. It was sad, but not unexpected, given the fact that he was ill and advanced in years. And he went to begin eternal life in heaven, which was comforting.

For some time after that, I continued to wonder why there was no miracle healing even though the Holy Spirit had manifested His presence. Several months later, it dawned upon me that His purpose was to allow my uncle to see God’s love. During the visits, as the Spirit gave me the strength and endurance to pray, he felt that God’s people cared for him. This might have added to His conviction gradually, hence he said “amen” on the final occasion when I prayed with him. Later, when he saw the door of heaven opened, he knew that he would journey on to heaven.

Another call to prayer happened a year after that. It was on the first Saturday of May in 2010, which was still very stark in my memory. Feeling an unusually strong motivation to call on God, I started to pray, and a couple of hours passed quickly; I remembered it was slightly over noon time when I concluded. At that time, I thought it was just me feeling highly motivated. Soon after, a situation that had been stalemate for the past two years started to see progress. Gathering momentum, it moved along briskly, and by year end, the prayer was answered. Someone who was familiar with the developments said that the outcome was highly unusual and unique; and to me, it was undoubtedly a miracle.

Thank you for sharing.

Reality demonstrates that God does not answer every prayer. So what did Jesus mean by saying 'pray and you will receive' and 'if you believe you will receive' mean?

I used to stare at prayer verses wondering what they mean. Finally i realized that they are words of encouragement, not words of guarantee.

Knowing the truth is helpful for prayer and faith.

 

[splish- splash]

Some of my experiences where God manifested His care, love and power by answering prayers. Adapted from Understanding Prayer , Faith and God's Will

"Like all Christians, not all my prayer requests are granted. However, I have seen His answers, grace and deliverance on many occasions. One of my earliest answered prayers happened when I was a young convert and still in high school. During the midterm examinations, I received a poor grade in economics, which affected my overall average score. I prayed that God would move the teacher to modify the grade for this subject. A day later, she came to class and announced her decision to raise the borderline passes by one grade, with the intent of motivating us to study hard. And she added that she had never done that before in her twelve-year teaching career; she was the most strict and demanding teacher that our class had ever known, by the way. If she had habitually modified grades to encourage students, I might think that it would have happened anyway without prayer. In this exceptional case, however, it left me with no doubts that God was at work. It was real and encouraging to me at that time. Later, I would see that examinations were the easier tests when compared with other tough crisis along life journey....

....
In 1996, my mum had a slight inflammation on the neck area. To determine whether it was malignant, she had to go for a series of medical tests. Not one to fret before bad news arrived, I was not worried initially. But two weeks later, when I brought her to hospital, my optimism evaporated; if the result was not good, I knew that there would be a very difficult time ahead for her. I started to feel troubled that it might not turn out well.

Occupied by work, I did not pray (which sounds familiar, I believe), and only found time a day later. It was about 10:45 in the morning, at a fast-food restaurant, which was very quiet at that hour. I started to pray, and soon, a soft but sufficiently distinct “voice” said to me, “She will be all right.” I said “voice” because I didn’t hear it, but I felt it instead. And at the very moment, I received an inner peace – calm and still – like being in the eye of a hurricane. Amazed, I wondered if God had spoken to me. While I could not be sure, however, I knew for certain that it was not me trying to be positive. The next day, I prayed again, and felt the same peaceful assurance, “She will be all right”; I distinctly sensed that the Spirit was telling me this. I was between awe and doubt. Was it really God, I wondered? When I prayed a day later, however, I did not hear from Him again. I supposed that even repeated occurrences would not have assured me fully, and I could only wait for the test results. A month later, the final diagnosis showed that the inflammation was harmless, as what the Lord had revealed earlier. That was a revelation that I would remember – to hear from God was not something that one could forget easily. At that time, it was not my first encounter as such, and neither was it the last. In time to come, He would continue to answer prayers convincingly. Some of them became milestones in my faith, which will be narrated in the chapter, “Does Prayer make a difference?”

Continued next post ...

Awesome Awesome is Our Lord!! I went through a storm in my health in 2016 and gave my life to Christ in the process. In that storm, I asked The Lord to speak to me and soon after praying, I slept off and heard a voice say to me, "Behold I make all things new". Since then my life has been full of one testimony after another. I was completely healed and set free in my health from a condition that doctors couldn't find a name for. The Lord is transforming literally every area of my life, just as he promised as he is Faithful.

 

[Martyr's Crown]

Very powerful to read.

About your uncle's situation; What's most important is that humans get saved. God worked out what was for the best for your uncle at that time, and now he is having the best time of his life in heaven.

Healings, miracles, signs and wonders, casting out demons... all of these are great experiences as well. But they are meant to show people of God's greatness as well as leading them toward salvation! Restoration here on earth without salvation, would be just pointless for a human being. As the real life which awaits us is when we are saved through Jesus Christ, and will then spend eternity together with Him and God the Father.