It was 3 a.m. and I was wide awake, sensing the need for prayer!
There were no howling coyotes or barking dogs. There was no thunderstorm, but I was awakened from a sound sleep and a telephone number was as clear to me as if it were written in large, glow-in-the-dark numbers on the ceiling of our bedroom. 241-xxxx ( I won’t list the exact number, though I still remember it, years later)!
That’s strange, I thought. I don’t even recognize that number! I didn’t have a clue what it meant, but there was no denying its presence, indelibly etched in my mind.
I realized the Lord must have put this number on my heart prompting me to pray – it was truly “a God thing!” So, I did. Right then and there.
“Okay, Lord! I don’t know WHO I’m praying for, nor do I know WHY I’m praying for this person, but I believe YOU have a reason, and that’s good enough for me.”
So, I prayed…for an unknown person, at an unbelievably odd hour, for unknown circumstances! God knew, and I would surely investigate in the morning, but now, it was my job (and my honor) to pray!
I emailed a friend once I got to work that morning. She had a cross-referenced city directory, so I asked her to look up that number. Her response? It belonged to “S Smith” (fictitious name!) who lived in an apartment complex in our town.
Interesting, I thought. This was before cell phones were in the hands of nearly everyone, and quite often, single gals would use only initials in their listings in the phone books. It was quite possible ‘S Smith’ was a single gal, living alone in those apartments, and not wanting to identify herself as female in the listing.
I realized I knew a young single gal whose first name started with S. She was a bit older than my own daughter, and their family went to the same church we were now attending. The mom was a teacher and I knew the pattern for school district emails, so I sent her a quick email and asked if her daughter lived in that apartment complex, and if her phone number was 241-xxxx. She said yes, that was her daughter…and was curious why I had asked!
I wrote back and told her the whole story. Almost immediately, she replied, and my mind was blown!
Her daughter was engaged to be married very soon, and had decided to have her wisdom teeth pulled while still on her parent’s insurance. The dental surgery had not gone well, and resulted in emergency follow up visits to the dentist due to dry sockets which had caused her daughter to be in incredible pain – especially so the night before, in the middle of the night! The night I was awakened to pray!
This mom was so blessed to hear that God had awakened me and could not wait to tell her daughter!
The daughter was shocked, and in awe. She later emailed me, expressing how much the whole incident had strengthened her own faith. To think that God, knowing she was in such pain, would awaken a fellow-believer and prompt her to pray was unbelievable, and blessed her beyond anything she’d ever known.
In reality, though, I was the one who was richly blessed. To be used by God, in His work, is an honor. To know that He knew I would hear and answer His call to prayer – even though it was in the middle of the night – gives me great joy!
Are you feeling like He doesn’t know or doesn’t care what you’re facing this day? Do you question your value to God? Don’t! Ever!
Matthew 6 talks about how much God cares for us and knows our needs. Trust Him!
God’s orchestration of even the most seemingly insignificant details in the lives of His people continues to amaze me.
I’m trusting that He’s not only aware of our needs, but is also enlisting the support of another of His followers to pray, today.
Be encouraged today!
Powerful!!!
Thanks for reading my blog, Beth! I appreciate it! Glad you enjoyed it!