ANSWERED PRAYER

I doubt if this painting will be allowed in any public schools. According to diaries and stuff from the time period this could have been a photo.

I was speaking with Sarah and Ryan in the kitchen. We were talking about buying a Bible for a kid. I remembered a Bible God had provided in answer to prayer. I had not thought about it for a long time and my daughter said I ought to blog the story.

Normally I would not repeat it publicly, but have decided to use this format to record my failing memory. While I consider myself a very negligent person in the matters of prayer, God has allowed us to experience some amazing things. Bear with me for the following story and you may understand why I think people need to see how average folks should and do experience miracles in answer to prayer.

When my children were teen and preteen we were at a restaurant with another preacher. The kids were excited and my college was still fresh in their minds. They were sharing how God had answered prayer I mentioned how living by faith was exciting, and the kids heard the other preacher say. “I have never had to live by faith. I don’t bother God with my little problems.”

This bothered the kids and me more than a little. I think most Christians could dredge stories out of their memory that would showcase God’s love and care for them. This one happened as I was preparing to go to Bible College.

• I needed a new Bible and asked the Lord to provide me with a good study Bible I could afford. My economic depth was very shallow.
• I had a complete collection of Louis L'Amour westerns I did not have room for, so I bagged them and took them to a second hand bookstore. My thoughts were to trade them for cash or Christian books that might help me in school.
• I took the bags into the store and the owner unloaded them as I looked around. I found a small Cruden’s concordance for $2.00.
• The owner asked me if I was interested in a good Bible.
• He said he got a large box of books all jumbled together and in the exact middle of the bottom of the box was a brand new Thompson Chain reference Bible. There was no box and no note. He set it aside and wondered how he could sell it.
• I asked him how much he wanted for it.
• He answered, Is $5.00 too much?”
• I had a $7.00 credit for the westerns.
• He was very pleased when I shared my prayer about a new Bible with him.
• The Bible lasted me until my last year of school. I wish I had saved it but it fell apart.

On a side note, I asked the Lord to help me to remember this story accurately and I can even remember what the guy looked like. Cool.

HTOITA