Answers to Prayer
What was this? I looked at my oldest son, Chris, when he came out of his room dressed for church. His pants were three inches up his leg. Had he grown overnight?! What was I going to do? There wasn’t enough hem to let them out. I scrabbled through his closet to see if there might be another pair that would work, but there was nothing. I had no choice but to let him go as he was. I felt shame and hurt in my heart.
It wasn’t easy to raise our four children, but God always came through for us. Back then, there were no thrift stores, we were on a tight budget, and clothes were very expensive. I didn’t have the money to purchase more pants, so I began to pray about this. I had learned some Promises in the Bible. Jesus promised me in John 16:23, “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” I asked the Father for pants for Chris. I saw in my Bible in Philippians 4:6&7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” I had requested our need for pants to the Father, so now I knew that I must offer thanksgiving to the Father for the pants that I had asked for. Every day, I thanked the Father for Chris’ pants. I didn’t have them in my hands, but I knew by faith that they were mine. Why? …Because our God doesn’t lie. He is Truth.
Notice, we saw above in the scripture, “Be careful for nothing.” That means don’t be worried or anxious about anything. I had c
ertainly been struggling with worry over our need for clothes for Chris. I knew that the Lord would not tell me not to worry or be anxious if that wasn’t possible. I saw in this passage that if I would ask and thank the Father for it, a peace would come to me. I determined that I would continue to do these things.
Jesus said in Mark 11:23b & 24, “…but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore, I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.” I saw the need to speak what the Word said and allow faith to arise in my heart (Rom 10:17). I must believe that what I asked for was mine, even though I could not see or touch it YET. Now, if pants fell from heaven into my living room, would I not start shouting with joy, praising the Lord, and declaring my thanks to Him? Yes, I would! So, in order to believe that I receive by faith what I could not yet see with my eyes, I shout out for joy; I praise the Lord; and I declare my thanks to the Father, in Jesus’ name. That may seem strange but scripture tells us that “through faith and patience (we) inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12). What is faith? Hebrews 11:1 says,“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is knowing that the Promise is yours even when you can’t see it. “Patience” is laying hold of the Promise, remaining single-minded that the Word IS true, and guarding our minds and hearts from double-mindedness, like doubt and unbelief (James 1:3-8).
I declared these Promises daily concerning Chris’ pants. As I was thanking the Lord for pants one day, I heard the Lord say, “You have a blue dress in your closet. Give it to Susie.” I knew which dress the Lord was talking about, and this dress was so pretty. I even thought to myself, “Oh, not that dress, Lord.” The dress was an empire design. Susie was pregnant and beginning to show, so this dress would be perfect for her. I knew that I had to obey the Lord. I immediately went to my closet and got the dress, placing it in a garment bag. The following Sunday, I handed Susie the bag. Later, she told me that she had asked the Lord for a dress that would work for her at this stage of her pregnancy.
Susie and I stood in the hallway at church talking, and someone tapped me on the shoulder. The woman said, “When you get through, I have something in my trunk that I want to give to you.” I went to her car and looked inside. There were two huge trash bags. I could hardly wait to get them home to open them. The first bag was filled with pants that fit Chris perfectly. The next bag was filled with pants a size larger! The Lord dressed Chris with pants for two years! To God be the glory. Praise His Holy Name!!!