Once, an older gentleman asked me if God had ever answered any of my prayers.
Instead of some miraculous story, I shared a simple answer to a fear I had. Driving scares me, especially when I have to merge onto the highway–a fear that partly stems from the time I slid off the highway on snow and crashed into the guardrail.
After Holts Summit’s 3rd of July celebration a couple of years ago, I began driving home only to find Summit Drive blocked and traffic being directed toward the highway.
The highway. In the dark. On probably the busiest night of the year. As I gripped the steering wheel, I prayed aloud, “Lord, don’t let me die. Don’t let me wreck.”
Just before I turned to the on-ramp, a thought wisped through my mind: “The outer road—isn’t there an outer road on the other side of the highway?” I had never taken that road before, but I passed over the highway and found that outer road, making it home safely. My Heavenly Father had answered my cry.
The gentleman waved his hand dismissively. “That’s coincidence.”
But I knew that it wasn’t. When I pray to God my Father, He does not answer aloud. He gives me a true thought, He gives me answers through the Bible, and He sends people to share truth with me. And when He does, I know the message is from Him.
Whom are you praying to?
You see, many people say that they pray, but that does not mean that they are praying to God their Father. Some people pray to the universe or nature. Some people pray to statues that they have proclaimed to be gods. Some look to the stars for guidance. Some even pray directly to Satan, who is a liar and destroyer.
But the only One who can actually help us—the only One who truly cares about our deepest worries, fears, and pains—is the One who created us. He created us to have a relationship with Him. Then, when we broke off our relationship with Him through our sin, God sent His Son, Jesus, to bring us back together through His death on the cross.
It’s hard to explain the voice of God and how I know God was speaking to me on the road that night. You have to experience it for yourself. And to experience it, you have to get to know God, your Creator and Redeemer. Start with reading Psalm 139. There you will find just how big and thoughtful and caring the Heavenly Father is.
Originally published in the Holts Summit Community Newsletter.