Why Would God Answer My Prayers?

PRAYERS REWARDED

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

What makes you feel God will answer your prayer? Who do you think you are?

These thoughts came recently as I prayed specifically for something I urgently needed. Immediately I was humbled. I knew I wasn’t worthy of the wonderful things God already had given me, let alone more. A great heaviness covered me.

Only a few days later I noticed the latter part of the verse of Scripture with which I was familiar. Formerly I’d always paid most attention to the first part: “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is …” But now the rest of the verse caught my attention: “…and that he is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Those words came alive to me that day. I realized when we pray, believing God for the answer, we are pleasing Him—not imposing on Him! To please God we must believe that He will reward all who diligently seek Him, and we do that when we pray in faith.

Because I am from a family that believes in prayer, I saw the rewards of diligent prayer early in life. We saw one relative after another surrender his life to God in answer to prayer.

We also saw physical healings. Years ago my mother had a growth come on her eye, and it rapidly increased in size. Two of my aunts, Marge Weekley and Dorothy Howard, fasted and prayed 3 days. At the end of the week the growth fell off.

My mom’s brother, Willie Shepherd, became blind after his one good eye hemorrhaged following cataract surgery. He went to one of the best eye doctors in Colorado and was told nothing could be done for him.

“You might try prayer,” his hometown doctor finally told Willie’s wife.

When we went to see Uncle Willie, he chatted with us awhile and in the course of the conversation he wanted to show us something someone had given him. He felt around on the table in front of him, then in exasperation cried, “I can’t see!”

We sent word to the family to pray. The progress seemed slow, but one day Uncle Willie called me on the phone. The doctor had just taken the bandages off and Willie was crying.

“I can see my coffee cup,” he choked out.

Only a few months later his vision was completely restored, and he got his driver’s license back.

Prayer has brought me through many crises. My sister Erma Sparks found her daughter Pam had numerous lumps under her arms. Doctors said the lumps could indicate any one of several diseases, most of them fatal.

But God answer prayer, and no serious trouble developed.

My sister, Joan, had a large mole removed from her body which was identified as being a malignancy of the worst kind. Surgeons expected the cancer to spread and take her life. God rewarded diligent prayer. Today (2017) she still lives, about 40 years later.

THE PENTECOSTAL EVANGEL, December 26, 1976