God always gives the very best gifts.  In fact the Bible says that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” (James 1:17, NKJV)  This is no small truth.

It is also true that Jesus urges us to pray for the things we need or care about.  He says things like, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”  (Mark 11:24)

The Lord Jesus even told a story to illustrate how important it is to be determined in our praying.  Luke writes about it in his gospel account:

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.  Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’

“And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man,  yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’”

Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said.  And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them?  I tell you that He will avenge them speedily.   (Luke 18:1-8)

Often we find ourselves asking for things that we perceive as needs.  We may even ask directly for a miracle.  We may be praying for our own selves, for loved ones or even for strangers.  And sometimes we may not see the answer to these kinds of prayers.

If we fail to see the miracle arrive on time, should we assume that God did not answer?  If, for example, we need money to pay for some expense, and no money comes our way, should we assume that God has not responded to our prayers?  After all, there must be times when God simply chooses not to give us what we asked for.  A good parent might refuse to give a child candy or a toy but that doesn’t mean the parent has no feelings for the child.  On the contrary, to refuse a child’s every wish and whim is often better than trying to do everything they ask.

Sometimes, though, our needs are very real.  We need food and clothing and decent shelter.  We need some kind of transportation to get us to work, to school, to the market or to a hospital.  Certainly God would care about these kinds of needs.  Didn’t Jesus say that the Father already knows we need such things?  In fact, the Bible even says that God will answer us before we call out in prayer (in Isaiah 65:24), so we can expect God to answer when we pray about real needs.

How, then, can we explain prayers that seem to go unanswered?  Sometimes, we simply cannot understand what God is doing or why He seems to allow us to go on without help.

One thing, however, we need to remember:  Not every act of God is easy to see or understand when we are busy looking in the wrong direction.  Sometimes the answer we really need is already given and is with us as we pray.

Some of God’s greatest gifts are already ours, and we simply don’t see them for what they are.  A fresh stream of water, a healthy body, a good mind, a skill we learned long ago, gifts like these, and countless other gifts may already belong to us.

What good is a good mind, someone may ask, if my body is not able to do anything?  Others have proven that a mind cannot be held back by a broken body if the spirit is willing – and determined.  Even the “average” human mind is an awesome gift of God.  The human mind has been used of men and of God to change the entire world.

For that matter, God may even use a stick to work wonders.  The Lord asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”  (Exodus 4:2)  And the Lord began to show Moses what could be done with a rod, which is a shepherd’s staff, a long stick.  He turned it into a serpent right before Moses’ eyes.  It must have been convincing because Moses ran from it.  Later on (Exodus 7:9), the Lord did the same with Aaron’s staff.  And then the Lord told Moses (Exodus 7:15) to use the same stick to turn the waters into blood.  Sometime later, God again had Moses use raise stick in his hand in order to part the waters of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16).  That was a significant act of God.

So is bringing water out of a rock in the desert (Numbers 20:8).  Out in the middle of a dry desert, the Lord had Moses use the stick to strike the rock, providing all Israel with water for drinking.

Like the mind, and like a common stick, God can and will use the skills and life experiences He has already given us to do great things.  David knew how to fight and kill Goliath because he had already seen how the Lord gave wild beasts into his hand (as told in 1 Samuel 17:33-37).

Now it took faith in the living God for David to be able to see how childhood experience could serve him in battling a giant.  Just as it took faith in God for Moses to raise a stick in order to part the Red Sea.  It will take faith in God’s goodness and faithfulness for us to see how our hands and minds and skills can be used to accomplish what is needed today.

When Moses stood waiting on the Lord, to see what God would do, the Lord asked him, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.”  (Exodus 14:15)  And there will be times in our own lives when the Lord will simply urge us to go with what we already have.

I have seen God at work in my own life.  I remember a time in San Diego, California when I faced a great dilemma. I needed to go to the Denver area in Colorado.  I was out of money and I had a car with a blown engine.  The engine would barely start and had almost no power to move the car.  I consulted with mechanics and the diagnosis was simple: A blown head, either replace or rebuild the engine.

I prayed every day for some kind of miracle.  I prayed for money, for a job I could do, for any kind of help.  I needed about $2,000.  I looked for all kinds of alternatives, but could not get the answer I needed.  Finally, after praying for weeks, the answer came.  The Lord moved on my heart to make the trip.  I was to take the very car and the very engine I already had, and simply go.

I am a very cautious person by nature.  I struggled with this one.  No matter how I drove to Denver I would have to cross the Continental Divide.  I would need to go up and over high mountain passes.  By the time I was to leave, I only had enough money to buy gasoline for a regular trip.  So I chose to go over Raton Pass, from New Mexico into Colorado – if I even made it out of town.

To make a long story short, I made the journey.  The car did make it out onto the street.  And then I was able to make it down to the freeway.  I got on the highway and headed east.  Very soon I was climbing mountains.  I made it all the way into Arizona, which was a real miracle.  Finally I made it into New Mexico.  I was terrified of trying to make it up and over Raton Pass.  But the old car made it.  After driving several days, I pulled into my destination in Greeley Colorado.

Later I took the car to a mechanic there.  He was a good mechanic who knew his stuff.  I had him look at the engine.  He told me the same thing: the engine is blown.  I asked him if he though the car would be able to climb any of the mountain passes between Greeley and San Diego.  “No way,” he said.  That’s when I told him about the trip I had just made.

It is seldom fun to be in some kind of fix where we believe that we need a miracle from God.  No one enjoys waiting for an answer to prayer that seems never to arrive.  Yet even in such circumstances we need not fear.  God is able to take what He has already given to us and use it to accomplish all that we need and more.  He can use our minds, our bodies, our time, our resources and skills.

The Writer to the Hebrews says: Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’  So we may boldly say: ‘The LORD is my helper; I will not fear.’”  (Hebrews 13:5,6a)

I’ve seen God work such wonders many times in my own life and in the lives of others.  God is good and faithful to help us.  God is all-powerful.  The Lord will never forsake His own.  Not even in death.

That old car, by the way, was still running under its own steam when I finally sold it to a young man who needed the body.  He drove it away with great joy.  And in the mean time, another car had been provided me.  As soon as I arrived in Greeley, my son told me that he just purchased a car for me.

Jim