An Answered Prayer

Dear Reader,

So many things have changed these last almost two months since the corona virus left China and spread all over the world in a very short time. Our way of doing things and our habits have changed dramatically. It's not that way just for us; however, but for our friends, coworkers, spouses, children, and families. It is affecting almost everyone, and it seems mostly in a very negative way. People are tired of being home and told what to do. Some are so depressed they feel like they have nothing worth living for. They may have lost their job, their best friend, a family member, or their own health. They can't leave an abusive home. They still have bills. They worry. Alot.

Warning* This blog post is very long, but I couldn't find a place where I could divide it into two blogs. With all that is going on, we seem to forget the constant in the change. That God really is with us, and He cares deeply. So dear Reader, please read through to the end and see Him in a way that maybe you hadn't before. Look for His glory! And may He bless you beyond your wildest imagination! I wrote this almost three years ago for a ladies Bible Study, but I think it's very applicable today.

An Answered Prayer

"Dear Heavenly Father,

I feel so lost today. I feel like I’m just one of the 7½ billion people living on the earth, unnoticed, and with no real value. I try so hard, and nobody seems to care. Others get promoted or get raises and I am still just filling a low position. I got my degree and really believed that it would help, but so far it doesn’t mean anything. I try talking to my friends, but it seems like whenever I have a problem, or need some encouragement no one is there.

Father, sometimes I feel like giving up. When my friend Agnes died it hurt so much I thought my heart would wither up and die too. I miss her so much, and I feel so lonely. She always made me feel like I was special. I don’t understand why she had to die. She was a good person, You know that! We prayed and we believed, but still she died. Why did you have to take her?

Lord, my faith is diminishing. Actually, I think it’s gone. Are You even there? Why don’t You answer me? Please help my unbelief! I don’t know what it is that You want me to do in this world, but more and more I feel like a failure.

And look at this place! The world is horrible! The crime and the terrorism and the human trafficking! There are people crashing into people with trucks and cars! I’m afraid to let Angie and Burt go to concerts anymore! Everywhere you look on TV or in the papers there are awful things going on. I’m afraid I’ll get beaten up because I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time or because of what I wear! I’m afraid to get in my car anymore and be driving down the road when someone texting comes over the line at 60 and crashes into me head-on. Oh God, I know You fill the earth with Your glory, but I just don’t see it anymore! What is happening to me?

Please, Father, help me! I don’t even know who I am anymore. I feel so alone and so lonely! Nobody cares about me. My whole life I was neglected and bullied and passed over. My life is a sham. I’m not pretty, I’m not smart, I’m not special to anyone, and I’m not happy. I don’t even remember what that feels like anymore, God. Sometimes I just want to die. What is it you want from me? Please help me!"

Haven’t we all at some time in our life felt that way? I know I have. But what does God have to say? If you can relate to anything in this prayer, this message is for you.

"My Darling Child,

I want you to listen to Me. Stop all the noise for a few minutes and just relax. I am right here. Be still and listen with your heart’s ears; there’s much I want you to hear. I love you. I love you more than you could possibly imagine, with a love so deep there is no way to measure it.

I want you to know that I hear each prayer you’ve ever prayed. You must believe that with everything you are. That, my child is faith, and right now yours is under assault. I have never closed my heart to your prayers. Whatever you ask for in prayer, just believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. When it doesn’t look like anything is changing, when all is lost, you must believe the opposite, because that is what is true. Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains, you know. But the thing is this, you can’t waver. So whatever you do, don’t doubt! When you do, you become like a wave on the ocean, tossed and blown by the wind with no stability. It takes diligence, and you must know with all your heart, mind, body and soul, with every fiber of your being, that I will do what I said I would.

Be confident in what you hope for, and be assured about what you don’t see. Trust Me, dear one, trust Me, and as you do, I will fill you with such joy and peace that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. My peace surpasses all understanding, and I left it within you. Wear it as a cloak around your weary shoulders.

And remember, if you don’t have faith you can’t please Me. Don’t you know that anyone who comes to Me must believe that I exist, and that I reward those who seek me with all their heart?

I have never left you, not for one moment from when I first thought of you before I even formed the earth. I saw you and I loved you, and I knew the time when I would bring you to this earth to carry out the plan I have for you. I am with you, my child, every minute of each day. I will not leave nor forsake you!

Let me tell you a little about Myself. Maybe you’ve forgotten in your despair just Who it is that you call out to. Don’t cry, my beloved, all is well. Just close your eyes and listen.

I am the Sovereign Lord, the Most High God, El Shaddai, Adonai. I am Jehovah, Yahweh, God Almighty, King of kings, and Prince of Peace. I am the Rose of Sharon, the Bright Morning Star, the Alpha and the Omega, the Ancient of Days. I am the Author of Life, the Beginning and the End, the Bread of Life, the Creator; I am the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I am the God of Truth, the One and Only. I am Abba, Jesus, and Friend. I am Love. I AM.

When I speak, things happen. I have power over death, and no one can challenge what I do. My child, My power to create all things from nothing is beyond what man can comprehend. Sure, some try to explain things off ‘scientifically’ by saying that two rocks happened to bump into each other and the fragments formed all the stars and planets. Science says that you, my beautiful daughter, evolved from an amoeba, then a shrimp, a fish, and a monkey. These theories are lies that some of my children believe. The perpetrators of those lies, those who have taken my children away from the truth will suffer greatly in the end times if they don’t confess and repent.

I am ever-present. I am always with you. My servant David put it this way, “Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to You; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to You.”

My beloved, you should take comfort in knowing that I watch with care over everything you do. There is nothing too big that I can’t fix, and nothing too small that it escapes Me. I know everything. I determine the course of world events; I remove kings and set others on the throne. I give wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars!

I remind my children constantly that I am with them, but they go on their way never stopping to realize they are alive, clothed, housed, and fed. They forget to notice the beauty around them. I don’t bring the sun up with a glorious sunrise and then go away until evening when it sets! Everything I create has a part of me in it. I am the cobalt blue in the sky, and the breeze in your hair. I am the ripple on the water, and the flower whose fragrance gathers your attention. I am the bark on the mighty oak tree shielding it from the battering elements. I am the sand beneath your toes on a warm beach, and I am each snowflake that glides down from the heavens. I am a sweet drizzle and a ferocious hurricane. I am a whisper on the wind and the howling gales. I am your smile because your heart is happy. I am each tear you shed. They are so precious to me that I collect them and keep them in a jar.

I am the cloud that gives you relief on that hot summer day. I am that little puppy that melts your heart. I am that rock outcropping where you can rest on your climb. I am the roar of the ocean’s waves. I am the mountain you moved close to so you could enjoy its beauty and majesty. I am the cool stream and the deep ocean. I am the sun and the moon, and the stars.

It’s all part of My design. All that I created is from a part of Me, and it’s no different with you. I am in you. But my purpose of being in you is even greater than the beauty you see around you.

I am always within you, holding you tight with My Holy Spirit. I promised I would never leave nor forsake you. I keep My promises, every last one of them. I wouldn’t want to leave you, you are valuable to Me and I want to protect you. So, I am not just sitting beside you when you are on death’s door, no, I am walking each step with you, dreaming each dream, resting, running, jumping, climbing, all of it. I am even in the gym with you!

I love you. Nothing can separate you from My love. Does it mean that I will stop loving you if you have troubles or trials or are persecuted? Will I stop loving you when you are hungry or cold, in danger, or threatened with death? No! NOTHING can ever separate you from Me! Death can’t and neither can life. The angels can’t, and neither can the demons. The things you worry about today and tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep My love for you away from My love. Nothing so high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate you from the love I have for you. I revealed that love to you through My Son, Jesus.

I enjoy being beside you, before you, behind you, above you, and within you. There are times you expect instant gratification in answer to your prayers. Some will have testimonies of instant rewards, yes. But don’t be concerned with other people’s business. You don’t know their situations or circumstances, their heart, or how Mine works. If you envy other’s prayers being answered, where is your heart? Be patient My darling. Pray for your heart to be changed. Pray for more of Me. Pray fervently and don’t lose hope. Then wait and see what happens.

No one else has the same physical attributes I gave you. It hurts me that you don’t think you’re pretty. I do! I think you’re more beautiful than you can imagine. I made you to look like Me, and I’m absolutely beautiful. Nothing compares to Me.

When I made you I took such care. I didn’t wave my hand and order another girl. No, I spoke you! I knew your face and your name before the earth was formed! I took special care with everything that makes you, you. While you were in your mother’s womb, I was in there with you. Each day I told you how much I loved you. I told your little heart to beat and how many beats each minute. I told your eyes to be green, and your hair to be brown. I told your legs how much to grow each day, and I told you how tall you would be. I breathed into your lungs just the right amount of air, and I delicately formed the inner workings of your ears. I gave you your own fingerprints, retinas, and lip prints. No two are alike, not even in identical twins. I made you unique, a one of a kind. Just the way I like you.

It was My finger that you held when your world was as small as just you and Me. I whispered the secrets of the universe in your ears, and told you that you were Mine, now and forever. I gave you unconditional love, and when it was time to be born, I lovingly guided you out of your mother’s body, and then placed you into the doctor’s hands.

When you came into this world, you forgot about Me. You were at first startled and then curious of all that was going on around you. As you grew, the world became ‘home’ to you. But I never forgot about you, or stopped watching over you with all the love in My heart. Even as you began to rebel and sin entered your life, I still held onto your hand, and still caught your tears. When you cried I felt it, when your heart was broken I held on to you so tight. I brushed your hair out of your eyes and helped you pass 10th grade. I gave My angels charge over you so that you would be safe. I told them to minister to you about My goodness and mercy. I watched over you like a mother hen watches over her chicks and guarded you under My wing.

When you came back to me, when your heart could no longer take the emptiness that was your soul, when you knew deep inside that something was missing in your life, I jumped out of My throne and threw a celestial party! I danced, and I sang, and I shouted for joy, because my beloved was finally home! There is nothing like a celebration in heaven, child, let Me tell you that! Each time you had a new revelation I smiled. I cried out for joy when you learned to forgive with all your heart! No, I never left you. I’ve never left any of my children.

I was there when Agnes died, and all those who have gone before. I walked beside her each day of her life. As with you, I had a very special relationship with Agnes. She lived by My Word and spread the Good News to all who would listen. She gave to the poor, and cared for the needy. She encouraged the downtrodden. She volunteered at church and after school because she had a servant’s heart. She did great things for the Kingdom, and she received her reward. She was not afraid to die to this world; she knew that I had made a house for her. But more importantly, she knew that to be with Me for eternity was the greatest reward anyone could have.

The paradox of Me being with those that are dying and then with them a moment later in heaven is something none of you will understand while you live on this earth. I am everywhere, always. I comfort the sick and the dying, and I bring rest to the weary.

They all know I am there at the end. There is such joy when someone leaves their physical life behind and becomes new. Yes, it is only in the twinkling of an eye that you all go from living and breathing to your eternal destiny. I am close by to all, and for those who believe, it is the reward for the good fight. Their faith has saved them, and now they are home in heaven.

My love, you are living in fear, and your soul has no peace. You live in a sin-infested world. Yes, there is crime, and my babies are being murdered, and terrorists are slaughtering innocent people. Many have prayed to Me to take their lives and bring them to eternal justice. They have asked me to smite them as King David had asked for his enemies. Child, there is something you need to understand. Saul, who later became Paul, was a terrorist too.

His main concern was to rid the world of Christians. There was terror in my follower’s eyes as he rode into town. Then I had a little talk with him, and clouded over his eyes. When three days had passed I sent my servant Ananias to meet with him. I told Ananias to go, because Saul is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. I told him that I would show Saul how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.

As difficult as it was for Ananias, he obeyed and went to where Saul was and laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once. He arose and was baptized. So you see Paul, who was once a terrorist named Saul, repented and gave his life to Me to spread the Gospel near and far. Paul suffered but never complained. He knew his reward would be great. Paul wrote 2/3 of the New Testament. Do you see how I am able to use people?

Until a person takes their last breath, whether they be a terrorist or anyone else, there is a chance that they will give their lives to Me. So you must not be afraid, you must pray for your enemies. Pray that they will come to know Me in the land of the living. Pray hard for them and no longer speak badly of them. I cause the sun to shine on the wicked as well as the righteous, and it rains on both of them. You must leave justice to Me.

You fear many things, daughter. There is great power in fear, but is only powerful against the one who submits to it. For those caught in the ‘grip of fear’ there is nothing like it. Fear comes directly from evil. It is tortuous to the mind, and can even cause the heart to die.

I don’t bring fear, I never meant for My children to even know fear. Satan is the king of fear. He enjoys seeing my children tormented. Fear is the opposite of faith. Fear, like most things, is something you can take or leave. I prefer you leave it. That defeats the enemy. If he can’t scare you, his powers are useless against you. I gave you the Spirit of love, power, and a sound mind. Those spirits are what you need. A sound mind shouldn’t bow to fear. Fear is always a lie. Always!

I have told you to fear not. I tell you that all the time. Just shut down your angst long enough to hear My voice. You can do it. Even in the ‘small’ fears you have, if you will just call on Me in praise and worship and apologize for your sins and repent, fear will have no choice but to flee. When you submit to Me and rebuke the devil, he must flee. By submitting you are rebuking. As you draw near to Me, I draw near to you.

My precious, you need to know that I have gone before you and made a path for you to walk. No one else who ever was, who is, or who will be, will have the same path. Everyone has their own path, plowed with each of them in mind. You can’t walk on theirs, and they can’t walk on yours. You may be able to see their path, but you won’t be able to reach it.

You will find that sometimes your path is pleasant, with birds singing and fragrant flowers bordering the edge. You will walk in sunshine and a breeze will cool you. Life will seem without a care and you will move along happily, forgetting all your problems. Then there will be days when the sky darkens and the flowers curl up and die. Days when the storm threatens to wash away even that which is beneath your feet. You will find the path leads you through thistles and thorns, and rocks that make you stumble. Tree roots will trip you, and the barrenness of the land will make you miserable. You will fall and scrape your knees and cry. You will see a mountain far off glistening in the sun, but the way there is hard and cruel. Yet you must go on.

As you journey through this life, you will have joy and heartache. There will be pleasure and there will be pain. You will search for answers and find none. But as I said, the plan I designed for your life is a good one, with hope and a future! I never promised that life was all fun and games and that everything was going to be perfect. No, I even said that those who follow Me will be hated and persecuted. I don’t expect you to do anything I didn’t.

Alas, you have forgotten My words. You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand. As you walk on your path, keep the peak of the mountain in your sight. The climb to the top will be a difficult one with narrow places and steep climbs. Once you reach the summit you will rest. You will be able to gaze down into the valley where you journeyed and see the trials you endured. From up here that path won’t look so terrible. You will realize that no matter what tried to prevent you from reaching this place; it wasn’t strong enough to defeat you because I was always by your side coaching you on.

You asked what it is that I want from you. I want to reach the unreachable. I gave you the right words to encourage the weary. How did I do that? I gave you a life and a past. It doesn’t matter if someone is 18 or 80, everyone has a past. Things have happened to you that have caused you great pain. Maybe friends did leave you when you needed them most. Others were bullied because they wore braces, or were heavy, or had acne, or weren’t as smart or as pretty as some. Others were verbally abused by older siblings. For some, their own parents put them down or berated or beat them out of their own inner madness. Some were cheated, and robbed, and assaulted, and raped. Maybe even left for dead. And maybe they didn’t feel like there was anyone in the world who would understand their loneliness or their sorrow.

But there is! There is your Savior, My Son, who knows exactly how you feel. He too was abused. He was ignored; He was dismissed as a nutcase, and accused of working for the devil. He was beaten, berated, cursed, cussed, and spat upon. He was slapped in the face, His ministry was being robbed by one of His own, His best friends abandoned Him, He was accused falsely, judged by the common man, tortured, and sent off to die the most horrible death, that of the cross.

His life had its share of being hated, misunderstood, and reviled, when all He wanted to do was lead the blind to know their Father. Everything He suffered, He suffered with love in His heart. He obeyed and endured because He knew it would lead others to salvation and they would come to know Me and bring Me glory. He reached the unreachable, the broken, the lonely, and despondent.

You are here for a mission to bring me glory as well. You suffered trials, and more will come. There is a young woman who you know that has terrible pain. She has gone through many of the same things you did, and like you, she doesn’t think anyone would understand or even care. She looks at you and thinks you have it all under control. Her best friend was killed in an accident, and she grieves like you do over Agnes. Her friend was also a good servant, achieving more in her 20 years than many others do in 50. She feels lost and alone.

You must open your eyes and understand that the horrors you go through in your life are actually gifts. Yes, daughter, gifts! You are meant to go through trials because it builds your faith; and once you are through them, you will see them with new eyes. You will realize that I didn’t leave you there to suffer, I gave you the strength and the courage to move forward, and you made it! You survived and grew stronger.

And now you can show compassion to this young lady because of the compassion you were shown. She will grow stronger because through Me, in your weakness is strength. Just as Jesus’ mission was to reveal Me to mankind so that they would know My love, so it is with you. You are more than a conqueror! Instead of fearing trials, expect them and know that if you stay in My word and meditate on Me, you will win! I have the victory! And once you have gone through each heartache and kept your eyes on Me despite the lies the enemy wants you to believe, you will become more impervious to the enemy’s weapons.

I gave you a coat of armor. Don’t keep it gathering dust in your spiritual closet, put it on and wear it every day. Draw your strength and might from Me. Put on the full armor I gave you to protect yourself from the devil and his evil schemes. You’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.

And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

I am your Father and I love you. When you sin, when you do something wrong, I don’t stop loving you. It pains Me, but I love you nonetheless. Would I be someone you’d want to go to if I was cruel and heartless? No! You keep coming to Me because I give you hope! I give you strength, but most importantly, I give you love. But you must repent, My daughter, and get back on track with the truth inside you glowing like a hot fire!

You must leave ‘self’ behind. You find that difficult sometimes. Do you know why? Because you don’t know who you are, nor Whose you are! You are Mine! Who am I? The Maker of all things. I am God! I am all the things I’ve told you about.

You don’t concentrate on who you are in God’s eyes. When you were young, you were Mr. and Mrs. (so and so’s) daughter. Then you were somebody’s girlfriend, and then somebody’s wife, and somebody’s mother. You were the person who sat in that desk or the one who was a stay at home mom. You were somebody’s best friend. None of this made you feel like you had an identity of your own. As you got older you struggled with your identity, or your lack of it. Really, who are you?

You are all those things, yes. So and so’s wife or mother, teacher, nurse, pastor, friend, and whatever else you claim.

But in all those labels, all those titles, what you were searching for are these: You are Daughter of the King, Ambassador to Christ, a ‘Saint’, Beloved of the One True God! Worthy! Capable! Loved to the death! Chosen! Confident! Prudent! Kind! Loving! Loyal! Tender! True! Virtuous! Diligent! Special! Apple of My eye! Precious and Dear!

These things are truth. You are the righteousness of God in Christ! You are first and not last! You are blessed and highly favored! And none of it is because of who you were, or the life you led, it’s because I chose you and called you My own. I gave you grace when you didn’t deserve it, and mercy in place of what you did deserve. You can’t do anything without Me, not even breathe. And so, every minute of every day, because I love you so much, I forgive your sins when you repent, and I kiss you goodnight and I sing and dance at each glorious revelation you have, and for each decision you make to move forward in the Kingdom.

I will speak through you into the hearts of many others; some just like you, who don’t know who they are anymore. I will use you for My divine will. You will go out and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ to the unreachable. You will do it in ways that they will understand. You will succeed where others have failed. Your words and actions will comfort many hearts. You will meet many people, and you will have to expand your tents. New beginnings are on the horizon.

For any of My plans to come to fruition, you must learn more about Me. Read the bible, finish your studies, meditate on the good things. Don’t be so easily distracted by the enemy. Swat him away like a dirty fly. That’s all he is, lord of the flies. He can’t hurt you, but you can, by believing his lies and being unprepared for his attacks. I am God Almighty and I have said so! I have blessed you, and what I have blessed, Satan cannot curse! You are on holy ground.

So remember Whose daughter you are - Mine! And there is no other father like Me. Run to Me in joy and sorrow. Sit at My feet and hear My heartbeat. Let Me love on you. I want to give you so many things! I want to show you things. When you are confident in Whose you really are, Mine, not the world’s, then you will advance on the fast track in the Kingdom of God.

You will be known and honored, but not until you change your heart. The enemy will work overtime on you as you accept the truth. You can beat him with my word. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. Remember that, concentrate, don’t walk out of here today and forget. Rely on Me. You will look back on these days as the beginning of the journey that brought you closer to Me.

And remember, faith can take you places where fear will never bring you; and courage is not the absence of fear, but the presence of faith. Love Me with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If you are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that you have not fully experienced My perfect love. Let that be your guideline, child.

Enjoy the beauty of the day, and know with all your heart that I am here, and I love you.