Five Ways God Answers Prayer

By LUIS PALAU

Whatever the answer, your best interest is
always in mind.
Over the years, I've discovered from Scripture
and experience that God loves to answer our prayers.
Here are five of his most frequent answers:

"No, I love you too much."
The Lord of the universe isn't under obligation to
say "yes" to every prayer. That's a good thing,
considering some of the things we request!
But sometimes God says "no" to our most
heartfelt requests. Have you discovered this to be
true in your own life? I certainly have. When my
friend Diane started losing her hearing. When my
mother-in-law came down with polio. When my nephew
contracted aids.
I would be known as Luis Palau Jr. if it weren't
for the fact that God said "no" to my most earnest
childhood prayers. Shortly after my tenth birthday,
my father, Luis Palau Sr., contracted bronchial
pneumonia and died ten days later.
Death became, to me, the most undeniable reality
under heaven. Everything else can be rationalized
and wondered about and discussed, but death is
there, staring you in the face. It happens. Even
to the most godly people. No matter how hard we
pray. Why? Because we still live in a fallen world.
I've been reminded of this repeatedly since the
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America.
Tens of thousands of lives were spared. But God
said "no" to the prayers of thousands of others.
Will good come of their deaths? I believe so.
Without a doubt, the death of my father has had
more impact on my ministry than anything else in my
entire life, besides my own conversion to Jesus
Christ. My wish and desire is that people get right
with God, settle the big question, and die knowing
- like my father - that they will be with Jesus,
"which is better by far" (Phil. 1:23).
Does that mean we shouldn't bother to pray? Just
the opposite. Over the years, traveling throughout
the world, I've discovered four other ways God
frequently answers prayer. Believe me, He loves to
say "yes!"

"Yes, but you'll have to wait."
Immediate answers to prayer: You want them. I
want them. But God simply does not always work that
way. And to get his best, we must be patient. In
some cases, we must wait until the stroke of
midnight for his answer to come.
Phil Callaway didn't know what to say when his
young children asked if Mommy was going to die.
His wife, Ramona, suffered horrible seizures.
Hundreds of friends and relatives prayed, but
Ramona's weight eventually slipped to 90 pounds.
Medical specialists tried everything, but by the
fall of 1996, the seizures were occurring daily,
sometimes hourly.
Phil rarely left Ramona's side. He wondered if
she would even make it to her 30th birthday. One
evening, when things looked utterly hopeless, Phil
paced their dark back yard, then fell to his knees.
"God!" he cried out. "I can't take it anymore.
Please do something!"
Suddenly a doctor's name came to mind. Phil
called the doctor, who saw Ramona the next morning
and diagnosed a rare chemical deficiency.
Within a week, Ramona's seizures ended. Her eyes
sparkled again. The miracle was so incredible Phil
says, "God gave me back my wife."
"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and
you will find; knock and the door will be
opened to you" (Matt. 7:7).

"Yes, but not what you expected."
Have you ever asked God to use you? If so,
expect the unexpected!
National Football League running back Sherman
Smith, the "Sherman Tank," stood six feet four
inches tall and packed 225 pounds of the most
solid muscle you'd ever want to tackle. His
reputation for bowling over defensive linemen
raised his celebrity to near-cult status in the
Pacific Northwest, where he played for the
Seattle Seahawks.
Then, without warning, the Seahawks traded
their most popular player to the San Diego
Chargers. Everything changed overnight for this
running back, whose Christian faith was as rock
solid as his abs. He wasn't with the Chargers for
more than a few weeks when he seriously injured
his knee. While in rehabilitation, he wondered,
Lord, why did you ship me to San Diego?
But while his knee mended, Sherman had the
opportunity to lead one of his teammates to the
Lord. That converted party-guy, Miles McPherson,
has since become an outstanding youth evangelist
who reaches tens of thousands of people each year.
Why was Sherman traded to San Diego? God wanted
to use him, all right!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and He will make your paths straight"
(Prov. 3:5-6).

"Yes, and here's more!"
Ever wonder if the Lord really knows what you
want and need?
Australian David Smallbone felt God leading him
to promote Christian concerts in his homeland where
only 5 percent of the people believed in Christ.
When too few fans filled seats during one major
tour, however, David took a $250,000 bath in red
ink.
Creditors repossessed his home, and the father
of six looked for work elsewhere. A top artist
offered him a job in Nashville, so the Smallbones
sold their furniture and other possessions and
purchased tickets to the United States.
A few weeks after they arrived, however, David
was informed that his position was "no longer
available." He literally could not get out of bed
for several days. When he and his wife explained to
their children what happened, they all got on their
knees and asked God to help them.
Interesting things began to happen. God provided
bags of groceries, a minivan, and odd jobs. Then
he biggest surprise of all-a recording contract for
David's oldest daughter, Rebecca, age 15. She
recorded her first album using an old family name,
St. James.
Flash forward to today. David promotes his own
daughter's sold-out concerts. Rebecca St. James has
become one of the hottest Christian artists in
America. Christianity Today magazine has named her
one of the top 50 up-and-coming evangelical leaders
under age 40. We love asking her to sing at our
evangelistic festivals around the country.
All along - no surprise - God knew what He was
doing!
"'For I know the plans I have for you,'
declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you
and not to harm you, plans to give you
hope and a future'" (Jer. 29:11).

"Yes, I thought you'd never ask."
Many people think prayer is complicated.
Actually, the simplest prayer can bring you the
miracle you need, when you need it.
After a serious fall, an older gentleman named
Luke Mulder prayed to receive Jesus Christ. He
then prayed for his wife, Clara, who was visiting
her sister in California. That very same day Clara
heard a gospel presentation and trusted Christ.
Christian cartoonist Ron Wheeler dreamed of
creating evangelistic tracts, but he needed a new
computer. He found out what he needed and started
to pray. Two weeks later, a friend called Ron out
of the blue and offered him a new computer - the
exact model Ron had been praying about. Shortly
after setting up the computer, Ron received a
phone call from American Tract Society asking him
to design a whole series of evangelistic cartoon
tracts.
My friends Esteban and Carmela Tosoni were
driving one of the highest mountain passes in the
world when their car broke down. They were 20 miles
from the nearest town. The Tosoni family prayed for
God to send help. When they opened their eyes, a
mechanic appeared out of nowhere, asked if he could
help, fixed their gas filter, then departed.
Coincidences? Hardly!

"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful
and effective" (Jas. 5:16)

Editor's note:
Luis Palau is a world-renowned evangelist, radio
broadcaster, and author of It's a God Thing, Where
Is God When Bad Things Happen?, and God Is Relevant
(Doubleday).

I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. Romans 1:11-12

John Trevino