God Hears Our Prayers!

A long time ago, in college, I went through a really tough period in my life I felt like God had abandoned me. The enemy was doing a dance on my head. He was filling my mind with lies that God didn’t love me. God didn’t care. I was all alone in the world. None of those things are true, but in the state I was in, I believed them. Doubts and discouragement are hurled at the Christian, all the time. God says the enemy prowls the earth like a lion, looking to see who he can devour. That’s a pretty descriptive picture of the enemy.

When I went through this period, I honestly felt like my prayers were going no where. My brain was so clouded, I couldn’t remember that God hears everyone of my prayers. God knows exactly how each of his children feel. But the lies were coming at me like herculean game of dodge ball and I couldn’t escape. Even though I believed my prayers were bouncing of the ceiling, I prayed anyways. I had no other choice. I had no other safety net.

During this difficult time, I got to the place where I just felt numb. It was my protection. I had no joy in anything. I felt no feelings at all, just numbness. I had prayed and prayed and prayed, seemingly hopelessly. Feeling like the ugly step child, the wicked step parent hides in the basement. I wanted to feel joy. I wanted to be free from this oppressing cloud of doubt and depression that had invaded my life. God didn’t answer me. He just told me to wait.

In that waiting time, I felt like it was excruciating. Relief wasn’t coming and so, like a zombie, I went through the motions of living. I would go to class, come back to my room, go to classes, eat at the cafeteria, and then go to bed. That was my routine: get up, go to class, go eat at the cafeteria, then go to bed at night. I would do the same thing over and over again, feeling absolutely no joy.

Then God rescued me. He had heard every single one of my prayers. He never left me. He sent three people into my life to minister to me and lift me up. The third person he sent to me was someone I knew from our classes together, but that was it. We didn’t know each other very well, but he asked to speak to me one day at lunch. As he spoke, he brought up things I had only told God. At that moment, I realized God was speaking to me, through this guy. And when I realized that, I remembered that God said He would never leave us or forsake us. The cloud I had been living under, began to lift. We spoke for over an hour and I left with such encouragement. I could see clearly now.

When we’re stuck in the waiting time, we need to remember the truth of who God is. We can’t believe the lies the enemy whispers in our ears. We need to call up the promises God has told us. He says He loves us. He says He will never leave us or forsake us. God doesn’t lie. These are truths and promises. So if you’re going through a waiting time, be careful of the enemy. He’s seeking to destroy you with lies. Don’t believe them for a second. Believe God’s truths instead.

The two birdies pictured with this post are bee-eaters. They eat primarily bees and wasps. They get rid of the stingers by hitting the bee or wasp on a hard surface until it’s dislodged. They also get rid of most of the venom through this process. We as Christians, need to be tough like these bee eaters. We need to pray and read the Bible like the bee eater vigorously prepares the bee to eat.