A very meaningful story... How true it is too...
Isaiah 65:24 - 'Before they call, I will answer'
This story was written by a doctor who worked in South Africa .
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty
keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity
to run an incubator).
We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the
equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student
midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool
that the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She
came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle,
it had burst (rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). 'And it is
our last hot water bottle!' she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no
good crying over spilled milk so in Central Africa it might be
considered no
good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and
there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
'All right,' I said, 'put the baby as near the fire as you safely can,
and sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
Your job is to keep the baby warm.'
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with
any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the
youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them
about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby
warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby could
so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
sister, crying because her mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children. 'Please, God' she prayed,
'send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby
will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.' While I gasped
inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, 'And while You are
about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll
know You really love her?'
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say, 'Amen'? I just did not believe that God could do this.
Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from homeland. I had
been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never,
ever received a parcel from home.
Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway through the afternoon, while I
was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was sent that
there was a car at my front door.
By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the
veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my
eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each
knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly.
Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were
focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out
brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.
Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the
children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I
put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it
and pulled it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I
cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that
He could.. Ruth was in the front row of the children. She
rushed forward, crying out, 'If God has sent the bottle, He must have
sent the dolly too!' Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she
pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She
had never doubted! Looking up at me, she asked: 'Can I go over with
you and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus
really loves her?'
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of
the girls had put in a dolly for an African child - five month s
before, in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring
it 'that afternoon'.
'Before they call, I will answer' (Isaiah 65:24) This awesome prayer
takes less than a minute. When you receive this, say the prayer,
that's all you have to do. No strings attached. Just send it on to
whoever you want - but do send it on. Prayer is one of the best free
gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's
continue praying for one another !
'Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this right now.
I am asking You to minister to their spirit at this very moment.
Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy.
Where there is self doubting, release a renewed confidence to work
through them.
Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by
revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy
with You.
Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage.
Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders
and friends to support
and encourage them
Give each of them discernment to recognize the evil forces around
them, and reveal to them the power they have in You to defeat it.
I ask you to do these things in Jesus' name. '
