Power of Prayer

This summer, Carathy went to VBS for a week and she came home from there with a new understanding of prayer. Since then, whenever she feels like she needs help with something or she thinks someone else needs help, she will pray about it. I was especially proud of her when we were visiting my parents in Gem right before Deb's wedding. My dad had been trying to get some haying done for a few days already but had been forced to wait because of evening thunder showers making the hay too wet to bale. One evening, we were talking about an approaching storm that was looking like it could deliver some hail as well as a large amount of water. As the storm came and the large drops of water began to fall, we all stood at the window and watched. As the storm started to fade and we knew that the worst was over, Dad made a comment that although we did get a lot of rain, he was thankful that there was no hail that came with it. After being silent for the majority of the time, Carathy said, "I know, Grandpa. That is because that I prayed and asked Jesus to not send the hail. He answered my prayer!" I was so proud of her for taking the concerns of someone else to God!

The next evening, we watched as yet another storm approached and with this storm, the hail did come. It wasn't severe but during that time of the year, even a little bit can make a difference with the quality of a crop. As we all stood at the window that evening and watched the white pellets bounce off the ground, Carathy looked so sad. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "I prayed again for Grandpa's field and that Jesus wouldn't send the hail but this time He did. He didn't answer my prayer. That makes me sad."

This was a great time for me to be able to explain that God doesn't always give us what we ask for but we should still ask because we never know what will happen until we do. My answer seemed to make sense to her and she still doesn't hesitate to stop what she is doing and pray for the rain to stop so we can go outside, for Steven to get home safe, or just to thank Him for giving us a fun day.