Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. Mark 11:24

Sometimes when we pray, it seems like God is silent.  Do you ever wonder if some of your prayers will ever be answered?

In his book, Surprise Endings, Ron Mehl told an amazing story about answered prayer. Roger Simms had finished his military service and was hitchhiking home. An expensive car driven by an older man stopped and picked him up.

As they talked, Roger felt a strong compulsion to talk with the man about his faith in Jesus. He shared a simple plan of salvation, telling the man how he could surrender his life to Christ.  To his shock, the man stopped the car and began to sob.  He prayed with Roger right then, saying, “This is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

When he dropped Roger off, the man gave him his business card. Five years later, Roger came across that business card as he was packing for a trip to Chicago.  Tucking it into his bag, he decided to visit the man whose business was in Chicago.

Arriving at the business, when he explained he was a friend, the receptionist said that he couldn’t see the man, but he could see his wife.

“You knew my husband?” she said. “When was that?”  Roger explained that her husband had given him a ride on the day he was discharged from the army, five years ago. As Roger recounted the story, she burst into tears.

Moments after the man had dropped Roger off, he was killed in a head-on collision. For years his wife had prayed for his salvation, but only then did she learn that God had indeed answered her fervent prayers.[1]

 

Resource reading: Mark 11:20-26

[1] Mehl, R. (2006). Surprise Endings: Ten Good Things about Bad Things. Multnomah Books.