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My wallet, a church lady, a police friend, and prayer

Last Friday, on our way back from Georgia, we had to travel to Ohio to perform a wedding. On the way through Ohio I lost my wallet. Apparently I placed it on the roof of the van and took off… a very “Un-Paulish” action. 😉 Once I realized it was gone I, of course, was…

Last Friday, on our way back from Georgia, we had to travel to Ohio to perform a wedding.

On the way through Ohio I lost my wallet. Apparently I placed it on the roof of the van and took off… a very “Un-Paulish” action. 😉

Once I realized it was gone I, of course, was anxious! Think about it… we’re moving! I don’t need to lose my credit card, debit card, driver’s license, etc! That would really complicate things eh?!

I begin to pray, “God please lead a person of integrity to my wallet.”

Yesterday I got a call from a lady… a secretary at a church… a church that is pastored by a friend of mine… a Free Methodist church! Someone in their congregation had found my wallet on the entrance ramp, discovered that I am an ordained elder in the Free Methodist church, and called her church to see if they could contact me!

I also got a call from a police friend of mine yesterday! Sometime ago he gave me a card with his name on it! When they found my wallet they apparently called the police who in turn called him, and he, in turn, called me!

I prayed that God would lead a person of integrity to my wallet and he put it in the hands of someone who goes to the church where my friend is pastor! He also, just in case the church dropped the ball 😉 had the police checking up on it!

How cool is that?!

So, here’s the question, if my wallet had not showed up, would I still believe in prayer?

I don’t always understand why and how God answers prayers. Why does He answer my prayer about my wallet but my friend dies of pancreatic cancer?

What does one do with this stuff?

So I’m feeling good about my wallet, and thinking out loud about prayer!

What do you think about prayer?

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Responses to “My wallet, a church lady, a police friend, and prayer”

  1. jim

    1john 5-14&15 niv
    this is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of Him.

    One of the verses committed to memory that gives me peace. God can act any way He chooses, and I may not see it if He does. I trust Him.

    Reply
  2. Bill Reichart

    Great news on the wallet. I too often see prayer as trying to get something or some desired outcome. One of my favorite books is O. Hallesby’s classic book on prayer. His words are good reminder to me.
    “Prayer is the breath of the soul, the organ by which we receive Christ into our parched and withered hearts.”

    I find that God gets me broken and helpless in order that I would come to him as his dear child and commune with him in prayer.

    Reply
  3. SAM

    I have witnessed the transformation that takes place when someone prays the Prayer of Salvation. I have heard the Lord’s answers to my questions. I have been on the receiving end of His promises, with still more coming. I have asked for encouragement, and gotten blessed beyond what I would have thought would have been encouragement enough.

    This is one of my favorite passages:

    Jeremiah 33:2-3

    “This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it—the LORD is his name: ‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’”

    Verse 3 speaks to prayer, but Verse2! Oh, Verse 2! It tells me that the God that I worship is the One who can take on my cares, concerns, & worries and suddenly they aren’t mine to have anymore. And yet, I find that I am even more blessed when I give Him my joy, hope, love & praise.

    What do I think about prayer? I am sad when I think that I have lived most of my life without truly knowing what it was all about, but now that I do know ( and I use that phrase loosely, I don’t think anyone will ever TRULY know, this side of Heaven), I can’t live without it. I won’t live without it. And I will continue to strive to learn and grow and become who the LORD wants me to be. Prayer is my classroom.

    Reply
  4. SAM

    Ugh! I should have proofread that one more time! He is not the “God that I worship”. He is “The God Whom I Worship”

    Reply
  5. NAyK

    Not to diminish the argument but in the “Matrix” (yes the movie), the Oracle tells Neo, “and don’t worry about the vase” and then Neo breaks the vase. The oracle tells Neo (and here’s my point) that what will bother Neo is not how did the Oracle know, but whether Neo would have broken the vase if the Oracle had not said anything about it. We see, in subsequent movies, that the Oracle actually orchestrates a lot of what’s happening in the Matrix so indeed she causes things to happen.

    A similar aspect happens in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (I’m sorry if I’m digressing). Where the three witches prophesy that Macbeth is going to be king, and then he kills Duncan to become king. Would Macbeth have killed Duncan if he had not heard the prophecy?

    Both examples show us that while prophecy is initially appealing in that is supposedly helps PREDICT the future, we see eventually that actually prophecy even helps DETERMINE/SHAPE it.

    I see your situation like that. But the ‘action’ lies not in your initiative to pray, but rather in God’s promise that he will act when you pray. God promises (prophesies) that he will be with us, and take care of us. (So, some people argue, we don’t need to pray). And yet, that promise, because it’s like a prophesy, it FORCES us to act, to take the course of life in our own hands, and in Christian terms the only way we can do that is to PRAY. And so, because of God’s promise, we act (we pray), and then God fulfills His promise (His prophecy) that He will take care of us. And then, often like Shakespearean scholars, or like Neo, we wonder, would God would have acted (taken care of us) if we hadn’t prayed, when we sometimes forget that he prophesier is actually more in control of the situation than we think and in effect, God has made us ACT (to pray) and that is actually the greater miracle (event) (for His work to be fulfilled in us).

    Reply
  6. A theology of prayer: from (The Matrix and Shakespeare’s Macbeth) to (beyond) « a (Indian) Tryst with Theology

    […] 30th, 2007 by NAyK Recently I was reading a blogpost of a person who experienced an amazing answer to prayer. He then asked the question whether he would still believe in prayer if he didn’t get the […]

    Reply
  7. SAM

    Paul said:

    I don’t always understand why and how God answers prayers. Why does He answer my prayer about my wallet but my friend dies of pancreatic cancer?

    But, you see, He DID answer both prayers: the first in the way you asked, and the second, well, that depends on the question. If you asked for your friend to live, the answer was “No”. If you asked for your friend’s life, but above all, His will, not yours, the answer was “His Will”. We get so wrapped up in equating “what we want” as “an answer to prayer”. They are not the same thing. We ALWAYS get an answer to prayer; our problem is that it isn’t always the answer we want.

    I wrestle with this one, especially when I know what the answer is, but it isn’t exactly to my liking. I am learning to start out with “Lord, I want your name glorified above all else. If my prayer is in line with that, then so be it. If it isn’t, show me where I need to be.”

    Reply
  8. Beth

    I will apologize in advance!!

    1) Is losing your wallet a pattern for you?

    2) If the answer is yes then you have two choices
    a) trust God or
    b) get one of the chains that hooks on to your wallet and your blue jeans.

    Hey I vote for prayer. It doesnt get all clanky when you get up from your chair and if you are not wearing blue jeans it could cause further problems.

    Reply
  9. pastordarlene

    I think prayer is an unbelievable trust God puts in us has humans. He works through our prayers. It would be like me trusting a two year old with my diamond ring. Amazing. Yet he has given me this gift. The gift of calling on the Creator of the Universe to draw near. He cares about the wallet as much as the pancreas. Sometimes his answer is “yes” sometimes, “no” and often times for me, “not yet”.
    God is good all the time!

    Reply
  10. Friday Favorites, and Some Speedlinking » Nathan’s Blog

    […] Paul Peterson had a great article on an answered prayer.  Conicidence?  Doubt it. […]

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  11. Experiencing the Journey… Proud Mom moment «

    […] losing his wallet this past week and how honesty and integrity (and prayer!) brought it back to him (check it out here). Perfect story to share with my guys…little did I know that our own story was unfolding and […]

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