Well over a year ago, I asked God to give me a mission to pray for. And by mission, I mean a place where missionaries do stuff, not just a worthy goal. A couple days later, I ran across a story about a mission in Tchad, where the tiny son of a doctor couple was facing a mysterious illness, and the family was asking for prayer.
It took several days of praying for the little boy before realizing that I had also been given exactly what I asked for...a mission. I've prayed for the folks there ever since, sometimes in more general terms, and sometimes in ways that are oddly specific.
Usually, I have no idea how my prayers are answered. It's not like random missionaries across the world always post on their blogs, "In case some random person in a random place like, say, Montana, was praying for x, y, and z to happen, it just did." I'm ok with that. I don't have to know HOW my prayers are being answered to know THAT they are.
For some time now, one of my specific prayers has been that, if anyone needs to get to the mission hospital, that they will get here. And that if need be, someone will pick them up and carry them there. My happy little mental images included a critically wounded or ill person in the bush, determinedly pushing on toward help, only to fall, helpless, to the ground. All hope seemed gone, when someone, maybe even angels, showed up to gently carry them to life. In answer to prayer. (Insert organ music, and maybe some chimes.)
My happy little mental images did NOT include this: Crazy Pants
Yep, those patients needed to be there. And yep, other people picked them up and carried them right to where they needed to go. God must have smiled as He provided this particular answer. Maybe someday angels will carry someone to the mission just because I asked, but for today, it's just Crazy Pants. Hopefully Olen and Danae are as thankful as I am for this beautiful and funny answer to prayer.
Or maybe they will want me to be more specific next time.
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
give ear to my supplications:
in thy faithfulness answer me,
and in thy righteousness.
Psalm 143:1
