Prayers You've Made that God Answered

[Kurieuo]

Just thought it'd be interesting to hear about prayers you have made (that includes non-Christians if any) where you strongly believe God did in fact answer it in some way. Please give some background to them, what you prayed and how you believe God answered?

I don't want this to be a bashing thread. You don't have to convince others that God did in fact answer, but you do for-what-ever reason simply believe in your heart God did.

[Kurieuo]

I'll start off with one from many years ago, when I was 10 years old.

At that time I struggled with OCD, often felt dirty and the like. This one night, I was trapped in the shower. Due to my OCD I'd often take hour long showers, would always need a fresh towel from the cupboard each time, and then I'd come out of the shower, dry off, run down the hallway naked and into my bedroom where I'd dress.

Well, this one night, I'd come out of the bathroom and then bumped into my Dad in the hallway which was a big problem! I threw a fit, got angry "why!?" He's the main one I saw as having germs and the like, and I was angry ran back into the shower and was just sobbing and crying. I didn't want to go through the ritual again of the showering myself... it's hard to describe to someone who hasn't been trapped by such mental problems, but those who have been through something similar no doubt have some idea of what it is like.

So then crying and sobbing I prayed to Jesus for help. Please give me strength, help me to beat my problem just this once, not feel dirty and get out of the shower. Then I felt peace and impressioned into me, "I'm sending you a "legend" of angels to help you." I didn't know what "legend" was, but knew it must have been lots and I just felt such strength, like the cage was entirely broken, and I just finished up in the shower in a few minutes, dried off and got dressed -- like a whole new person I was. It was kind of amazing, and I think Mum must have been puzzled how I was happy. I don't remember if she asked the question which prompted my asking her, but in any case the topic of this showering incident came up soon after. I asked her what "legend" means? I can't remember really how the discussion went, but after I told her what happened, she must have made the connection to "legion." She seemed to go a little quiet or was taken back, remained kind of silent and didn't explain such to me that I can recall.

You know, now I obviously know, and Jesus talks of being sent 12 legions of angels if He were to request such. (Matthew 26:53) Such to me, is kind of a verification of sorts that this event must have been more true than not. The fact I was able to "win" (even it be considered a small win) against my OCD in that moment, and then words were given to me that I didn't fully understand. I'm not going to try justify such to anyone, nor do I know why God doesn't answer all prayers with such immediacy (e.g., I still had OCD thereafter despite many prayers), but I do know something spiritually real happened that night with me in the shower.

[Jac3510]

I'll share two, both are related to physical healings.

I was in my chaplain residency when a man came to our LTAC who I believe had had a serious stroke. Regardless the cause, he had a major case of encephalopathy--hardly an incurable illness--but in his case, it was complicated by several other debilitating factors. Further, he had become pretty much comatose.Now, the LTAC I was stationed at has an extremely high acuity rate (given the fact that it was a specialty hospital), with 80% of our patients dying within a year of discharge. Point being, we got very, very sick people. This guy was no exception. So when the nurse practitioner told me the family wanted me to pray for the patient and that, at this point, that was pretty much the only hope they had (we were preparing for hospice discussions), I thought I knew were this was all going. I asked the family specifically what they wanted to pray for. Healing, sure, but what did they need? They said that, for the time being, all they needed was for him to wake up and be able to talk to them. I prayed for healing as well as for peace and for God's will (expecting the prayer to really be answered in terms of the family being able to accept that they were going to lose him). The next day, the NP grabbed me as I walked in the door and said, verbatim, "I don't know what you did yesterday, but you need to get back in there, right now." I walked in the patient's room and he was sitting upright. Still a little confused and not able to speak clearly, but he was awake and responsive. Family was, of course, overjoyed. The doctor and NP had completely switched gears and were now talking about discharging to a skilled nursing facility for rehab. They had cautioned the family, though, that they didn't know how much of his functionality he would get back, and that they ought to expect he would never be much more than he was at that moment. The family asked for prayer again, this time, for a restoration of his mental status. I prayed again, this time more out of curiosity at what God was doing than anything else. When I came to work the next day, I found discharge orders to the nursing home I was stationed at (I worked both units, in addition to other responsibilities at another hospital). On this day, the man was sitting up and speaking normally. The family told me that the day before that had him in a wheelchair going up and down the hallways of the hospital looking at paintings of individuals we had hung up, when the man saw one particularly famous figure and immediately identified him. After that, he got his cognitive functions back rather rapidly.

He transferred not long after to the SNF, and as it turned out, he was on one of the floors I was assigned to. Again, the family asked me to pray, this time for a restoration of his mobility. I have to admit I felt a bit like Abraham asking God for more and more in the Sodom incident. Already this man was going to be able to spend his life in real fellowship with his family, but hey, God was doing alot, so fine! We prayed, and you should know where this is going. A few weeks later, I escorted the man and his family as he walked completely under his own power to his car as he went home. I was completely floored at his recovery. And I completely attribute it to God.

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Second story is shorter and is from my own life. For over ten years I suffered from a condition called sleep paralysis, which is where you become conscious of the fact that you are sleeping, but at this particular part of your sleep cycle, your brain has released a paralytic agent so that you don't act out your dreams and hurt yourself or others. The result is that you lay there completely unable to move or do anything except look around the room, and if you are dreaming, you get to watch them play out in your room--usually that's in the form of a nightmare (e.g., something holding you down) as your mind is trying to make sense of what is happening.

This was happening to me at least once a week, sometimes multiple times a night. It was a terrifying experience each time. It got so bad that I remember one night in particular that I had an episode. When my body woke up, I was of course a bit distressed. I feel back asleep and the stress caused me to have a nightmare about having another episode. The nightmare, though, caused me to "wake up" to another real episode.

So that was my life for somewhere north of ten years when one night my wife asked me if I had prayed about it. I was genuinely shocked to realize I had never done so. So I did. And she did. She prayed for me, and the following Sunday, I went to church and asked the church elders to anoint me with oil and pray for me per James 5 (actually, my wife asked them to, in front of the whole church--I was sort of obligated then. ). They did.

That was may of last year, so as of today, about 14 months. I haven't had a single case since then. Full disclosure, I did have a nightmare about having an episode several months back, but it wasn't a real episode. Again, I absolutely attribute that to prayer.

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I could tell a lot, lot, lot more stories . . . many related to physical healing, many not. But these are the two that immediately popped into my mind, and I thought I'd share. Thanks for giving me the chance. God is good!

[neo-x]

Jac, you know, I have had the problem of sleep paralysis for many years and I have never prayed about it. Your story has given me conviction that I should. It's a terrible, terrible experience and one that has given me plenty of nightmares.

[B. W.]

Like Jac, I could write of many...

One that sticks out the most is the old man (WWII Vet) who even with hearing aids was barely able to hear. Through prayer, his hearing aids literally, without anyone touching them, popped out of his ears. He could hear - really hear!

Next Sunday he came to church and wanted more prayer. So we asked him what did he want prayer for. He responded rather frustrated so his family could hear, "Make my wife and family stop yelling at me, I can't stand all their noise!"

You see his family had gotten so used to speaking by yelling and repeating themselves so he could hear that they continued to do this forgetting that he could hear perfectly. It was funny! His wife and daughter laughed. Yes the old man never wore hearing aids again. Doctors verified healing too which they could not explain.

Another is this: I like to help folks learn to move in their gifts of the Spirit so group praying is best. One meeting, I was talking with someone. Another member of the team was praying for a lady with diabetic feet who lost her little toe viva amputation. I heard the woman praying shriek and the lady being prayed for gasp out a sigh of amazement. Her little toe literally grew back and the sores left her feet too. You would think that would have packed the house out next night. It did not, instead, mostly her kinfolks came and were ministered too. I was more shocked at this healing and still am.

Seen many things through prayer happen that cannot be explained by science or reason. Like when: Tornado barreling down on a small town. We were in the hotel conference room. No shelter there. Sirens going off. Outside you felt the air pressure drop and hear the roar. It was night. Wind picking up. The little kids were in much fear. Nothing we could do. So we went out side and prayed and asked the storm to stop - little kids here people scared - no place to shelter.

We found out next day, that for no explanation the twister moved off course, opposite direction of upper atmospheric winds (something twisters do not do) and missed the town. It did knock out power to several communities and many homes in the area but no one hurt. Outside town, there was about a 200 yard wide swath of pulled up grass marking where it was heading, right toward us and the town. The terrain there is flat with nothing in the way to stop it or make it jump over a town or actually divert away from town against the atmospheric direction of the the course of these storms that hit that night.

Yes God answers prayers. On three separate occasions I prayed for three cancer patients by asking them what the wanted. They simply asked to go home and be with Jesus as they seen him and were ready. They were more concerned for their families faith and desired that their family members faith remain strong as they were seeking their healing. So I prayed that they could go home and that their request be answered. They passed away withing 12 hours. Now that may seem odd to some but that is what they wanted, to go quickly and not linger around. The part about the families faith remaining intact, I have to say, I do not know. I know two families were involved in the Word of Faith movement so I can imagine their dismay. May their families faith in Jesus remain intact...

I learned to ask what a person wants first then pray for that. This seems the biblical approach. Often when the Lord answers, he answers in ways we don't expect. Sometimes he says no, wait, my grace is sufficient, time to grow, what are you learning now, or simply trust me (the Lord) on this or that.

Through whatever the answer midst the storms he often reveal the wounds of the heart and our issues that keep sabotaging our lives. From that, he brings healing and we move on better than when we first prayed. I have seen this too numerous times to list here on this thread.

Blessings
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[IceMobster]

Well, this is the topic I've been looking for.

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I remember having sleep paralysis and yeah it was the most terrifying experience in my life so I decided to pray Our Father. Ironically, I couldn't remember the words after the 3rd verse despite knowing them after I woke up or before I went to sleep.
Satan's work definitely! Or is it? Tn tn tnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

[Nessa]

The only prayer I feel God has instantly answered for me is when I was once sleeping. I was having a nightmare and I called out for Jesus to save me. I immediately felt this rushing sensation like I was being transported to another place. Exactly like I once felt when given anesthetic to knock me out for an operation. I then suddenly woke up.

I find often I try to rationize answers to prayer. For example, God healed me from some stuff to do with marriage. But then I often think...Did He though? Maybe it was really that.....

I feel quite hopeless sometimes cos I wonder if I could have been walking through the Red Sea and still be thinking Is this really God? Maybe the water is just being a little weird today

There were people who saw Jesus do miracles before their eyes in the NT and still they disbelieved. They even attributed His works to be of the devil....

I think alot of it comes down to both recognising and believing in the mighty hand of God.

And alot struggle with this, as do I.

[Nessa]

Sorry, I kind of went off track with miracles but it ties in with prayer.