By Brenda Cannon Henley
Have you ever asked the Lord for something in prayer and then were so surprised when He chose to answer almost immediately? Well, better than immediately, in my book? I am a “word” person and I readily admit it. I love words. I find words interesting. I play word games and I look for new words. I have a special friend on the beach, Rusty Cluck, who is also a “word” person. From time to time, Rusty sends me interesting words and he always has a wonderful sentence in which to use the newfound word. I went to bed the other night with a phrase, or a group of words, on my mind, and I couldn’t shake it. Woke up the next morning still thinking about it, and that usually is a motivation for me to do further study and research.

In the corners and deep resources of my mind, I remembered an old sermon, very old, in fact, from my younger days as a Christian back in my home church in the Atlanta area. Curtis Hutson, my pastor and my boss, since I served on the church staff, spoke about God answering our prayers while we yet prayed them. I did not grasp the concept back then when I was younger and busier, but today, I think I have a little better handle on it after having lived these more than five decades.

The verse I was seeking is Isaiah 65:24 and it basically says that while God’s people are still praying, He will answer. The most interesting phrase to me is, “While they are still speaking, I will hear and answer.” That means to me that God already knows what we need, what we are going to ask Him for, how He is going to answer our plea, and that He is standing ready to grant our request in one way or another. He has the answer already from time immortal. We just have to learn to ask.

Another precious man of God, who was totally honest and completely yielded to serving others, often preached a sermon during my years on his team and the crux of the message was, “True prayer to our God is simply asking and receiving.” Many will note that the message is one of Dr. John R. Rice’s most blessed and most oft quoted. I looked up this verse in 13 different translations to see how they differed in their presentation of the matter of prayer. The old standard King James Version says, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” The New Living Translation reads, “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs (which, by the way, are super important to the person doing the praying), I will go ahead and answer their prayers.

I have stated publicly that I will not be sharing any more grief articles or making anyone feel sad and sorry for me. I have done a great deal of grieving since my husband died in August, and I so much better understand what folks have gone through for years. I had a tough four months, but thank the Lord, and the people that did not give up on me during that time, I am better now. One dear lady who loved me deeply simply shook me up one morning when she declared to me, “Brenda, get your act together. Ted died. You didn’t. And, God certainly did not die. He loves you and wants you to be happy in this life until He determines it is time for you to die and move on to Heaven. So I got up, I got dressed nicely, I put on makeup, and I started moving around. Now, here is the surprise on my part. I prayed night and day. I was up early. I stayed up late. I made an effort to meet new people. I made some new friends. I had people in to eat in my home, and lo and behold, much to my complete shock, I made a new friend.

This doesn’t mean I love Ted any less or that I will ever forget him in this life or the next. But I am living again. I am laughing most of the time. I have a bright and happy future, and guess what, God knew what I needed and He already had the answer for me and for my friend. I was so shocked when He answered me while I was still praying. Without being too personal in a public forum, I thank the God of Heaven and Earth, He loves us and He has a plan for our life. We just must learn to trust that plan and to claim it when it comes into our lives.

Whatever you are praying for today let me assure you that God knows about it, and He cares and the answer is most likely on the way. Keep believing.

(This article published 1/19/2015)

Brenda Cannon Henley can be reached at (409) 781-8788, at
[email protected], or by using the contact form below.

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