🙏 PRAYER WORKS
I Have Seen Too Much to Believe Otherwise
I'm going to say something today without hesitation:
PRAYER WORKS.
I don't care what anybody says.
I don't care how unpopular prayer becomes.
I don't care how sophisticated our world gets.
I don't care how many people dismiss prayer as wishful thinking, coincidence, emotional comfort, or something people do when they don't know what else to do.
PRAYER WORKS.
How do I know?
Because I've seen God move too many times in my own life to start doubting Him simply because something doesn't happen the way I asked—or when I expected.
Have all my prayers been answered exactly the way I wanted?
No.
Have I ever prayed and waited?
Absolutely.
Have there been times when I couldn't understand what God was doing?
More times than I can count.
But after walking with the Lord for more than half a century, I've learned something:
GOD'S DELAYS ARE NOT NECESSARILY HIS DENIALS.
And sometimes the answer arrives when there is absolutely no question about Who sent it.
Let me tell you about one of those times.
🚨 WE HAD A GENUINE “911”
It was many years ago.
Cecilia and I were still in the early years of our marriage.
We had a family to take care of.
Children depended upon us.
And somehow we reached one of those moments young families sometimes face but don't always talk about.
We didn't have food for the family that night.
Not:
“We don't know what we'd like for dinner.”
Not:
“We forgot to stop by the grocery store.”
Not:
“The refrigerator doesn't have anything we're in the mood for.”
I'm talking about:
WE DIDN'T HAVE FOOD.
There wasn't enough money hiding somewhere.
There wasn't an emergency grocery stash.
There wasn't a backup plan waiting in another room.
We had reached the end of what we could do.
But thankfully, we still had enough sense to do one thing.
WE PRAYED.
Folks, I've learned something over the years.
God knows when it's a real, genuine, bona fide—
911.
You don't have to dress it up for Him.
You don't need theological language.
You don't need an hour-long prayer.
You don't have to impress God.
Sometimes all you have left is:
“Lord, we need You.”
And that was about where we were.
So Cecilia and I prayed.
We told God what we needed.
And then we said:
Amen.
🚗 AND THEN SOMEBODY DROVE UP
I'm telling you what happened.
Right after our Amen, a vehicle pulled up.
It was my niece and her husband.
And they had brought—
ENOUGH COOKED FOOD FOR A FAMILY OF EIGHT!
Think about that.
We had a need.
We didn't know what to do.
We prayed.
We said Amen.
And food came up the driveway.
Somebody can call that coincidence if they want to.
I CALL IT AN ANSWER TO PRAYER.
Because I was there.
I knew what was in the cupboards.
I knew what was in our pockets.
I knew what we had prayed.
And I knew what happened next.
Nobody has to convince me that God hears prayer.
BUT THAT WASN'T THE ONLY TIME
If that were the only story I had, it would still be worth telling.
But it isn't.
Not even close.
I could tell you about the time God healed my wife, Cecilia, from cancer.
I could tell you about God healing me of a heart murmur.
I could tell you about my son and the day a valve on a steam-powered hot-water heater burst—and how God protected him.
I could tell you about the time my wife fell asleep behind the wheel while our family was in the van—and how God intervened.
I could keep going.
There are moments scattered across our family's history when I can look backward and say:
“GOD, THAT WAS YOU.”
Some were dramatic.
Some were quiet.
Some answers came immediately.
Some came later.
Some didn't look anything like what I expected.
And yes, there have also been prayers where God's answer wasn't the answer I wanted.
That matters too.
Because genuine faith doesn't say:
“God is faithful only when God does what I tell Him.”
Genuine faith says:
“GOD IS FAITHFUL EVEN WHEN I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS DOING.”
PRAYER IS NOT A MAGIC FORMULA
We need to understand this.
Prayer isn't rubbing a spiritual lamp and expecting God to appear and grant three wishes.
God isn't our servant.
We are His.
Prayer doesn't mean:
“I asked for it, therefore God is obligated to give it to me.”
The Bible says:
“And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.” — 1 John 5:14
Notice those words:
ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.
Sometimes God says:
Yes.
Sometimes God says:
Wait.
Sometimes God's answer is different from what we requested.
And sometimes the answer is:
No.
But don't confuse an answer you don't understand with a God who didn't hear you.
GOD'S DELAYS ARE NOT NECESSARILY HIS DENIALS
Somebody needs that sentence today.
You have prayed.
And prayed.
And prayed some more.
Nothing seems to be happening.
You're beginning to wonder:
“God, did You hear me?”
Yes, He heard you.
Maybe you're praying for a child who has wandered away from God.
Keep praying.
Maybe you're praying for your marriage.
Keep praying.
Maybe you're asking God for provision.
Keep praying.
Maybe you're praying about your health.
Keep praying.
Maybe you're asking God to open a door.
Keep praying.
Maybe you've been praying for somebody's salvation for twenty years.
KEEP PRAYING.
Jesus said:
“Men ought always to pray, and not to faint.” — Luke 18:1
Don't quit just because heaven didn't operate according to your timetable.
REMEMBER LAZARUS
Mary and Martha knew something about waiting.
Their brother Lazarus was sick.
They sent word to Jesus.
Surely Jesus would come immediately.
Surely He would heal Lazarus.
But Jesus didn't arrive according to their timetable.
Lazarus died.
By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been in the grave four days.
From Mary and Martha's perspective, Jesus was late.
But Jesus wasn't late.
They wanted a healing.
Jesus was about to demonstrate a resurrection.
Sometimes we ask God for one thing without realizing He sees something we cannot see.
That's why faith is necessary.
Faith trusts God when we understand.
And faith trusts God when we don't.
DON'T CONFUSE SILENCE WITH ABSENCE
This is where many people struggle.
You pray.
Nothing happens.
You pray again.
Still nothing.
Days become weeks.
Weeks become months.
And sometimes months become years.
Then the enemy begins whispering:
“God isn't listening.”
“God doesn't care.”
“Prayer doesn't work.”
“Why bother?”
Don't believe it.
God's silence does not mean God's absence.
There are things happening that you cannot see.
There are doors being positioned.
There are people being moved.
There are circumstances being arranged.
There are dangers from which God may be protecting you.
There are things God may be changing inside you while you're waiting for Him to change something around you.
You don't see the entire picture.
GOD DOES.
SOMETIMES THE MIRACLE IS ALREADY ON THE ROAD
I think back to that night when Cecilia and I needed food.
While we were praying, my niece and her husband had to already be somewhere.
The food had already been prepared.
It had already been packaged.
They had already made a decision to bring it.
They had to get into their vehicle.
They had to drive toward us.
Think about this:
WHILE WE WERE PRAYING, THE ANSWER WAS ALREADY ON THE ROAD.
We couldn't see it.
We didn't know it.
There was no notification on my phone saying:
“Your miracle is five minutes away.”
All we knew was:
We had a need.
And:
We had a God.
That was enough.
Somebody reading this may be praying right now while God's answer is already “on the road.”
You just can't see it yet.
AND SOMETIMES GOD SENDS YOU
Here's another side of prayer we shouldn't overlook.
My niece and her husband became the answer to somebody else's prayer that night.
Think about that.
God could have provided food any way He chose.
But He used people.
That means when somebody suddenly comes to your heart—
pray for them.
When you feel impressed to call somebody—
call them.
When you feel led to buy somebody groceries—
don't brush it aside.
When God places someone on your heart to bless—
bless them.
You may have no idea what they prayed five minutes earlier.
You might be carrying somebody's answer in your hands.
“BUT PASTOR, I PRAYED AND IT DIDN'T HAPPEN”
I understand.
And I won't insult your pain with an easy answer.
There are prayers I've prayed that weren't answered the way I wanted either.
There are things we won't fully understand on this side of eternity.
Faith doesn't require pretending disappointment doesn't hurt.
Jesus Himself prayed in Gethsemane:
“Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” — Luke 22:42
There is tremendous faith in those words.
Jesus brought His request to the Father.
But He surrendered the outcome to the Father.
That's prayer.
ASK BOLDLY.
BELIEVE COMPLETELY.
TRUST ABSOLUTELY.
AND SURRENDER THE OUTCOME TO GOD.
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS—AND PRAYER CHANGES US
Sometimes prayer changes the circumstance.
Sometimes prayer changes the person.
Sometimes prayer opens the door.
Sometimes prayer gives you strength to stand in front of a door that remains closed.
Sometimes prayer removes the mountain.
Sometimes prayer gives you enough faith to keep walking while the mountain is still there.
But prayer always brings us into the presence of God.
And that alone changes everything.
I HAVE SEEN TOO MUCH
At this point in my life, you would have a difficult time convincing me that prayer doesn't work.
I've seen too much.
I've experienced too much.
I've watched God provide.
I've watched God heal.
I've watched God protect.
I've watched God intervene.
I've watched God make ways where there seemed to be no way.
I've watched Him answer before the Amen had hardly left our lips.
And I've watched Him make us wait.
Through all of it, I've learned:
GOD SAYS WHAT HE MEANS—AND MEANS WHAT HE SAYS.
Jeremiah 33:3 says:
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”
So I'm going to keep calling.
I'm going to keep believing.
I'm going to keep trusting.
I'm going to keep praying.
🚨 DO YOU HAVE A “911” TODAY?
Maybe yours isn't an empty cupboard.
Maybe it's a doctor's report.
Maybe your marriage is hanging by a thread.
Maybe your child is in trouble.
Maybe you lost your job.
Maybe the bills are stacked on the table.
Maybe you're lonely.
Maybe you're afraid.
Maybe nobody else even knows what you're facing.
But God does.
You don't need fancy words.
Go somewhere quiet.
Close the door if you can.
And tell Him.
“FATHER, I NEED YOU.”
Then pray.
And keep praying.
Don't tell God how big your problem is without reminding yourself how big your God is.
And when you've said everything you know to say—
trust Him.
Because whether the answer comes immediately...
tomorrow...
next month...
or in a completely different form than you expected—
GOD IS STILL GOD.
🙏 PRAYER WORKS
I'm not telling you something I read in somebody else's testimony.
I'm telling you something Cecilia and I have lived.
An empty cupboard taught us.
A driveway taught us.
A vehicle pulling up taught us.
Enough cooked food for eight people taught us.
Sickness taught us.
Danger taught us.
Waiting taught us.
Deliverance taught us.
And decades of walking with Jesus Christ have taught us:
PRAYER WORKS.
So don't quit because the answer hasn't come yet.
Don't throw away your faith because today doesn't look like you expected.
Don't interpret God's delay as proof that God doesn't care.
And don't wait until your “911” before learning how to pray.
Talk to Him today.
Talk to Him tonight.
Talk to Him tomorrow morning.
Pray when you're hurting.
Pray when you're celebrating.
Pray when you understand.
Pray when absolutely nothing makes sense.
And after you have prayed—
TRUST GOD WITH WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
🙏 LET'S PRAY
Heavenly Father,
Somebody reading this needs You right now.
Their situation may be desperate.
Their cupboard may be empty.
Their heart may be broken.
Their body may be hurting.
Their family may be struggling.
Their answer may seem nowhere in sight.
Father, remind them that You see them.
You hear them.
You know exactly where they are.
Give them faith when they're afraid.
Give them strength while they wait.
Provide according to Your will.
Heal according to Your will.
Protect according to Your will.
Open doors according to Your will.
And when Your answer looks different from what we expected, give us grace to trust Your wisdom above our own.
Thank You for every prayer You've answered in our family.
Thank You for every time You protected us when we didn't even know danger was near.
Thank You for every provision.
Thank You for every healing.
Thank You for every miracle.
And thank You for the answers that may already be on the road.
We trust You.
We believe You.
And we will keep praying.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
PRAYER WORKS.
DON'T QUIT.
DON'T GIVE UP.
KEEP PRAYING.
YOUR ANSWER MAY ALREADY BE ON THE ROAD.
HELP US HELP THEM—ONE SOUL AT A TIME.
Pilgrim Outreach Ministries International
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