Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
As many who follow may know, I have had the privilege to know the Lord for over 40 years. During those decades, He has proved Himself to be a faithful, kind and loving Savior. And as I have learned to lean on Jesus, He has shown Himself to be a merciful Savior, never wavering, even in some very dark times.
This topical series will try to provide a snapshot of an ol’ fools prayers, the weakness and selfishness of his prayers, and the ever increasing goodness of God in His responses the those prayers.
I hope my witness to the goodness and faithfulness of God will be an encouragement to those reading, and will spur us all on to a deeper, more consistent time of being in the Lord’s presence.
Please visit with me as I tell the story of a faithful God and His care for an ol’ fool. Though David considered himself a poor man, I freely admit, I am just an “ol’ fool” looking to the Lord.
That Missing Piece
This prayer was jointly entered into with a young boy who really wanted to go a splashing. Something desperate!
Our family had just moved into a rental home in Kirkland Lake, and the day was a hot one. Little did we know at the time that the future for our family involved Texas. We would learn about hot soon enough!
Nevertheless, my son and I were in the process of setting up a small pool for a bit of splashing fun. Now it is important for the story that you understand the type of pool we are talking about. It wasn’t one of those fancy dancy pools like nowadays, where you simply blow them up. No, I think we got this from a friend who no longer needed it, and it came in three pieces. Very similar to what is considered a doggy pool nowadays, it consisted of an upright ring for a wall for the pool, the bladder, or the skin for the pool, and the crimped edge that would hold the bladder on the wall, so the water could be contained.
We had the bladder. We had the wall. But in the move to Kirkland Lake, we had lost the crimped edging! We looked and looked and you could see my son loosing heart. He had worked so hard to help us move, being such a strong six year old! It just broke my heart to see him so disappointed.
At some point where we crossed paths, I pulled him over and sat down with him on the stoop. I told him I was so sorry we couldn’t find it, and he said he understood, but I knew he was was carrying a load of disappointment. I think he wanted the pool to be ready for when his brother woke up from his nap. They were the best of friends and they would just go crazy in that pool!!!!
You know son, why don’t we ask Jesus to help us find it? Can we pray about that? We bowed our heads, and I asked the Lord to help us find an old crimped edge for an roughed up used pool. I don’t recall hearing my son utter any words, but I am sure the Lord heard that which he did not utter.
After an amen, and a pat on the shoulder, we both got up and ventured off in different directions. Honestly, I had not considered the speed at which a prayer could be answered, but lo and behold, seconds later my son was running towards me down the driveway with a crimped edge held high in his hands, yelling “Jesus answered our prayer. Jesus answered our prayer!”
I can still see him running down the driveway, so excited. He was so loud, yelling a witness out, letting the whole world know that God answered our prayer. But it wasn’t just that he found the crimped edge, so he could have the pool that afternoon. God showed himself to my boy that day. And God showed Himself to a dad in a most insignificant (but significant) way!
God hears the prayers of His children, and in His wisdom, He provides evidence of His attentiveness to His children. Although the Lord has proven Himself in massive answers over the years for my family, this small response over 30 years ago, from the hand of a loving God still lingers in my mind.
He rejoiced. I rejoiced. A whole bunch of rejoicing that day! To top it all off, we got the pool set up in record time, and he got to push his little brother into the pool after his nap!
A great day all around!
Thanks for joining and Considering The Bible with me. Your thoughts are always welcome, and I look forward to hearing of the faithfulness of God in your lives.
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