Answered Prayers!

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. ” (Ephesians 3:20–21, NIV84)

This morning, as I consider the incredibly awesome God who answers prayer more abundantly than I could ever imagine, the events of the last twenty four hours reveal a number of answered prayers:

1.       During the time the power was off at our house, we remained warm!

2.       Next door to our home lives a young couple with a 2 month old.  They had the same power issues and chose to go to a hotel.  I spent time praying for them, their family's  well being, and their child last night.  This morning I received a text from them that they were doing great, and that the power to their home was restored. 

3.   During the night, while our power was still off, we stayed with some dear friends who cared for us and even fed us!  A big thank you to the Christophel family!  Thank you for showing the kindness of our Lord in all you do!

4.       Yesterday evening, I heard word of several families having pipes burst.  I prayed fervently that ours would remain intact, even in a cold house.  God did not disappoint!  This morning, when we returned to the house, all our plumbing was still intact!

5.       When we returned to our house this morning, Eleanor got out of the car and smiled as she said, "I hear the heater working away!"  Sure enough, the power was on at our place as well!

6.       Our family had a great adventure yesterday, and God was the one steering the ship!  That is a wonderful blessing and incredible answer to a lifetime of prayers!

All of those answered prayers are wonderful, and there are many others which i am overlooking, but there is one in particular which is dear to me, the answered prayer which has poured God's fatherly love into this preacher boy's heart!  When we first felt god call us to move to Texas, I was excited, but there was a part of my heart which worried about what kind of relationships awaited us outside of Missouri.  Many nights I spent praying for God to surround us with deep and meaningful friendships and a loving Church family whom we could experience life with in Texas. 

Although we were already aware that many cared for us her in McKinney, TX, the last twenty four hours has been a blessed crescendo of answered prayer!  So many folks have reached out to us, offering a place to stay, a warm meal, called to check on us, prayed for us, anything they could do to help!  The Bradley family thanks each of you for loving us so much!  I praise God for such good friends, and  I urge you to keep showing the love of Christ to all you encounter!  You never know what kind of prayers God might be using you to answer!