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Since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for (1 John 5:15, NLT).
There isn’t anything more exciting than God answering a specific prayer.
Recently, I was asked to speak on the power of prayer at the weekend services of the church where I had pastored for 49 years.
“Amen,” I thought when asked to speak, “I love to talk about prayer.”
Knowing there’s nothing more exciting than God answering a specific request, I prayed, “God, do something exciting in the next day or two that gives me an example of Your power in prayer so that I can share it with the church.”
And I added, “This will make the sermon have a greater impact.” There can’t be a better helper for sermon development than God Himself.
Twenty years ago, during my teaching at a disciplemaking conference in the Philippines, God answered the prayer of a new Filipino believer in such a dramatic fashion that it stunned everyone who saw it.
I haven’t heard from this believer since, but after I requested God for something spectacular to illustrate my sermon, guess who texted me? Yes, the young man! His name is Jerry Caingoy.
Now, let’s go back to what happened to him 20 years ago.
He had been a Christian for about three months. His family wasn’t happy with his newfound faith in Jesus, and his once-prosperous business was floundering. So, some friends invited him to the discipling conference to get a foundation for his Christian faith.
He was staying in a hotel close to the conference site, and just before leaving for the conference, his mother called to remind him that she needed him to give her $100 for medical bills and medicine.
He didn’t have the money, so he asked God, “Please give me $100.”
Arriving late because of the conversation with his mother, Jerry stood at the back of the conference room and noticed only one chair available in the entire auditorium—a front-row seat directly in front of me—he walked down and sat in it.
I was teaching about God answering specific prayers, and for some reason, right after he sat down, I asked him, “Have you ever asked God specifically for $100?”
He answered, “Yes, this morning before I came to the conference.”
The entire room grew quiet, and I asked him to explain his request for the money. Hearing his story, a Christian businessman from America, who was traveling with me, walked up and handed Jerry $100.
Everyone was amazed at this example of God’s provision in answering Jerry’s prayer.
I hadn’t communicated with Jerry Caingoy since then until I received his e-message (an answer to my request). This is what Jerry said:
You probably don’t know what happened after God provided the $100.
I kept telling this story all over the Philippines. I was only three months old in the Lord then, but after I left the conference, I couldn’t help but keep telling the story to others.
Many people were touched, many churches revived, and many lives have changed.
This is how one simple answered prayer has impacted the lives of hundreds, if not thousands.
Amen, there is nothing more exciting than God answering specific prayers.