Did He Hear Me?

Do you ever wonder if God answers your prayers?  Or even if He hears them? I know there have been times that I have questioned just that, even though I know He does.  Sometimes I forget how God has worked in my life in the past so I doubt how He is working in my life now.  

My family has been on a journey for many years.  There is so much to this story. Let me start from the beginning.

When Little Bit was a baby, we started noticing some delays.  She wasn't on track for anything.  She would only speak one or two words at a time and couldn't actually express herself.  We would speak to doctors to no avail.  So we began praying.  We prayed for a miracle in Little Bit's life.  Since the doctors were not listening to us, we knew God would. We knew that in Psalm 37:4, we are told to Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Within the time we began praying, Little Bit was diagnosed with autism.  This made sense.  But we continued to pray for her sake. 

One year after we began praying, we found a chiropractor due to my migraines.  The chiropractor offered to also work on Little Bit.  Within one month she was a completely different child.  She was speaking complete sentences, was very social, and was doing things she couldn't do before.  God had answered our prayers.  

But that is not the end of the story.  And just to make it clear, our Little Bit still has autism.  She wasn't "cured".  We didn't ask God to take away the autism.  We asked God to help us understand her.  We asked God to help her be able to do things she couldn't. And He answered that prayer.  

By the time Little Bit was 8, she was doing well.  The one thing we were concerned about at the moment was her speaking.  She would interact and play with people but refuse to speak to them.  And when we moved, we saw a regression in that speaking ability.  She went from speaking to multiple people, to only speaking to four, not including family.  We were concerned.  She was eventually diagnosed with selective mutism.  Now we understood a little bit more of what she was going through and we worked with her.  But if there was an option to help her, we would seek it out.

So we turned back to God.  We want Little Bit to be able to talk to people so she could tell others about Jesus.  We want her to talk to people so she can ask for help.  We want her to talk to people so she can feel included.  We called over our elders and Pastor and we prayed over her and anointed her.  We prayed that He would touch her mouth like He did Isaiah to help him speak.  We prayed that God would use her voice for His glory.  We prayed that if it wasn't His will for her to speak to others, to allow her life to be a witness without words.  We asked God to help us accept His answer.  And we waited.

We saw Little Bit open up to a few people.  As of two weeks ago, she was speaking to about eight or nine people.  We were thankful for the answers.  We assumed God answered us according to His will.  She was doing great.  

But.  And this is a big but.  God wasn't done.  

It was a Monday.  Little Bit came to me asking if she could call some friends and she promised she would talk to them.  I doubted her.  But I let her call anyway.  When their mom answered the phone.  "Hi, Ms. Diana!"  I was almost in tears.  She spoke to her for about a minute and then spoke to her friends.  And then their dad.  Once she got off the phone with them, we began calling more people.  And more people.  And even more people!  By the end of the day, Little Bit spoke to 21 new people.  And it didn't stop there. The next day, Little Bit continued calling people and speaking to them face to face.  I have lost track with how many people she has spoken to since she began.  

Sometimes God answers immediately.  Sometimes God says no.  Sometimes God says Wait a minute.  You won't believe the miracle I have in store for you.  And boy did He show off!  

If you are waiting for God to answer your prayers, keep waiting.  Don't lose faith.  He has something in store for you.  If you are doubting that He is hearing your prayers, read 1 John 5:14-15.  And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.  And if we know hat he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests we have asked of him.  Remember to Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17.  So continue to pray.  He will answer according to HIS will.  Not ours.  Wait on the Lord.  

Little Bit is still amazing us each day.  She will continue to speak.  God heard us.  This is possible only By God's Amazing Grace.

Reflect His Image

When I look in the mirror, you know who I see?  I know, you'd never believe it, but I see my reflection.  I see me.  But that is the problem.  I don't want to see me when I look at my reflection.  I don't want to see my imperfections of character: my stubbornness, over sensitiveness, sarcasm, self-consciousness, insecurities.  I want to see my Father.  

No, not my earthly father, but my Father in Heaven.  I want to see His reflection in me.  I want to reflect His character, not mine.  

What is His character, you might ask?

God is good.  A rich young ruler called Jesus "Good master" in Luke 18:18.  Jesus responds with, "Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God."

God is love.  1 John 4:8, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." and 1 John 3:1, "Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God; therfore the world knoweth us not, becasue it knew Him not."

God is just. In Deuteronomy 32:4, Moses is speaking to the Israelites.  He tells them that God is "a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right He is."

God is pure.  1 John 3:3 states, "every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

God is righteous.  The psalmist tells us that The Lord is righteous in all His ways and holy in all His works.  Psalm 145:17

God is caring.  God even cares for the birds of the air.  Matthew 6:26

God is kind.  Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God."

God is gracious and merciful.  The psalmist tells us in Psalm 116:5 that God is gracious, righteous, and merciful.

God is forgiving.  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."1 John 1:9

God is faithful.  Lamentations 3:22-23, Jeremiah tells us, "it is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.  They are new every morning; great is they faithfulness."

God is compassionate.  Psalm 103:8 tells us that God is merciful and gracious, but also slow to anger and plentious mercy.

These are all characteristics I strive for.  I want to reflect His image.  I am made in His image according to Genesis 1:26. He got down on His hands and knees to create mankind.  He spoke everything else into existence, but He formed man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.  When my husband got down on his knee to ask me to marry him, I knew I was special.  But when I realized that God did that to create mankind, I knew we were all special.  He made us to reflect His image, His character. 

Today is a special day.  It is Father's day.  As you celebrate your fathers, husbands, neighbors, remember the Greatest Father Ever.  Remember the One whose image you are created in.  Remember God.  He is the best father anyone could ever ask for.  He is love, just, pure, righteous, caring, kind, gracious, merciful, forgiving, faithful, compassionate, and so much more.  

And fathers, follow the best example given.  Our Father in Heaven will lead you and guide you.  He will show you how to be a great father.  Reflect His image.  Look in the mirror.  Who do you see?  You can see Him.  It is possible only By God's Amazing Grace.