Ask, Seek, Knock- A Testimony of Answered Prayers

Ask, Seek, Knock- A Testimony of Answered Prayers

At the beginning of the year, my family had a “Family Meeting.” Daddy asked my mom and I what we would like to see happen this year- whether that be us, as a family, going somewhere or maybe something around the house that needed to be fixed. We compiled a list and have prayed for those items ever since. Here are a few things on the list:

That I would qualify for Junior Olympics
That Mom and Dad would be selected as volunteers for Junior Olympics
A new TV
Replacing the fuse box in our house with a circuit box
Going to at least one Cardinals Game
Competing in Nationals
A new vehicle
A new DVD player

I received my letter from USA Shooting that I qualified for Junior Olympics in not only one event, but both smallbore and air rifle. This is very exciting. 2009 is my final year of competing in Junior Olympics (you’re no longer a “junior” after you turn 20), and to qualify in both events is a huge accomplishment for me and something I haven’t done since my first year at Junior Olympics (2003).We didn’t pray that I would qualify in both events, just that I would qualify- God threw both events in as a bonus, just because He can! How awesome is He? Pretty awesome.

This past week mom and dad received an email from USA Shooting saying they were both selected as volunteers for the entire week of Junior Olympics. This is a tremendous blessing. It means they will also get to stay on site at the Olympic Training Center and they won’t have to spend the huge chunk of money on a hotel room for a week. Praise God!

Last Friday, while mom and I were riding to a Bible Study with our friends, Tina and Chandra, we were bragging on how God had answered our prayers concerning Junior Olympics. Tina asked what else we were praying for. Mom told them a TV and a DVD player. Chandra said, “You’re praying for a TV?” We said yes, and explained how our TV was over 50 years old and that the color was almost completely gone. She said, “If you really need a TV we have one that is sitting on our bedroom floor you can have. Jeff just bought me a new flat screen TV.” Mom and I were flabbergasted. Chandra called her husband, Jeff, to make sure it was alright and the next day he delivered this amazingly large TV with perfect sound and color. God is awesome!

The day after that, Tina and her husband, Bobby, gave us a new DVD player they weren’t using. I’m telling you guys- God is amazing!

When we lost power for so long during the ice storm, we had to get our meter replaced (a limb ripped it out of our house). After the electricians fixed our meter, they spent the next day and a half replacing our fuse box with a circuit box. We hadn’t expected our prayers to be answered so soon, but God just opened the door (to the fuse box…) and made everything happen. Amazing!

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!” –Matthew 7:7-11

This has built my confidence in God so much. He does hear me. God has also shown me through this, why we are to tell our church family our needs. Spiritual needs and material needs. They might be able to help. I feel like this goes right back to taking off the mask and being real with one another. Letting ourselves become vulnerable, exposing our weaknesses, and trusting God to take care of us.

God answers prayers. Take encouragement from this. If there is something you’ve been praying about and have not seen answered- keep on praying! God is hearing you. He tells us to ask, seek, knock. So, ask Him until you can ask no more. Seek until you have been found. Knock until you beat down the door. But don’t give up. Take off your mask and become real with your brothers and sisters in the Lord. Tell them where you’re struggling, tell them what you need, and tell them how to pray for you. God can use them to help you.

Who knows, maybe they’ll have a TV or a DVD player laying around waiting for you.

“Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the LORD, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” –Psalm 37:3-5