"Ask and You Shall Receive"

Happy Friday, friends!  I have found myself looking back to the times Jesus has answered my prayers and requests.  I can't say He always gives me what I want.  But He has taught me that I don't always know what I want or what is really good for me.  He often answers me in surprising ways I never imagined and sometimes grants my request years later after I've forgotten I asked for it.

When I was in my 20's, I remember visiting a gas station and noticing the young female clerk was listening to a contemporary Christian music station.  I had never heard that genre before, only ancient hymns, we sang long ago in church. I made a remark about how nice it sounded.  She replied that was all she ever listened to.  I left the gas station with a kind of mental prayer about how nice that would be for me to switch to.  I made no effort to switch my desire then and continued to listen to the popular Pop music stations.  "To thine own self be true," and I tried to be, continuing with the top 40 bubble gum type music.

Some 20 years later, I found myself hungry for something more alive and hopeful, more positive than crying over lost loves in my life. Contemporary Christian music fit the bill. I fell hard in love with it. The songs made me hungry for more and for more knowledge of Jesus.  I realized later, Jesus had let me evolve into that long ago prayer, to immerse myself into more positive and hopeful music.

Somewhere in those 20 years, before Jesus was the love of my life, I fell in love with a man that was so totally wrong for me.  I kind of just overlooked all his outbursts of repressed anger, that he displayed time and time again.  He was a bully and an alcoholic.  I overlooked that as well.  Love really is blind.  I remember praying that we would be married one day.  I told Jesus how much I loved him and wanted him to be my husband.  Well, the man wound up leaving me for another woman.  I was totally heartbroken.  I hurt for a long time after that relationship.  Then a couple of years later, I was thanking God that He did not grant that prayer!  How miserable I would have been, married to that man.

A few years later, during the Christmas season, I was wishing I could feel the joy of Christmas all through the year and not just around December. That was a kind of silent prayer as well.  But God was listening!  I joined a little Apostolic country church, and was baptized in the lake in Ruther Glen, in Caroline Pines.

Pastor Childress said, directly after I came up out of the water, I laughed a little laugh of pure glee.  He said he had never experienced that reaction before in a baptism.  I really feel that God gave me the spirit of Glee that night.  Ever since then, I've felt the spirit of Christmas all the time, in loving and giving to others.

Jesus has granted me many of my prayer requests since then.  One last one I want to tell you about was a surprise, shocking and very scary incident.  I was driving to work, along a 4 lane divided highway, going 60 mph.  I saw the traffic stopped on the left side going the other way.  At first, I could not see why they were stopped. Then I saw the small herd of deer standing there on the side of the road, looking as if they wanted to cross over! My spirit frose for them.  I prayed out loud that they would certainly not cross in front of me, not really thinking they would.  But lo and behold, they did cross directly in front of my car!  I went into a type of shock and fear.  I couldn't stop my car, there was a line of traffic in back of me and I was afraid of causing an accident.  I slowly started pumping my brakes. All I could pray was "Jesus," that's all that would come out of my mouth.  I held tightly onto the steering wheel with both hands, while calling His name over and over, as the deer ran in front of my car, crossing over to the other side.  I remember watching their little hooves, so close to the front bumper of my car as they passed.  There was 5 or 6 deer, with lots of fragile feet, crossing in front of my moving tires.  Even after they were crossed over, I remained somewhat shocked.  I continued on my way to work, looking back in the rear-view mirror several times, as if to confirm that it really just happened.

When I arrived at work, I was still shaken.  I told my story to my client and he couldn't believe it either.  I felt that anxious feeling for a couple hours after that. Even now it amazes me when I remember those deer crossing in front of my moving car.

Jesus was there on the spot to my rescue and the deer, even before I called out His name.  He really is an "On time God."  Sometimes, He let's us figure things out a bit first.  Sometimes, He just takes the wheel!  He Knows the way and I am so thankful He loves us and helps in our day to day living.  So often these days, the times seem dark and uncertain.  We must remember to call on Jesus first and have faith He will be there for us.

Please enjoy the song I picked for you. He truly is the "Father of Lights." Every time I hear this song, I wish I was 10 years old again, because my spirit wants to flip cartwheels in praise to Jesus.  Whee!  Stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

Charlotte Ann