Tuesday, April 1, 2008

God answers prayer if you wait on him, even on the small things

Below is the latest God Thing that has happened to me ........

I had been driving the same car for 12 years. It had 201,000 miles and had been a good car, but I knew the time was coming when something would happen to it that we would question whether it was worth the cost to fix it. My wife and I tossed the idea around about getting a new car, but really couldn't afford a car payment at the time.

So, we prayed about it and prayed about it for quite a few months. I have only had a few spiritual dreams in my life, and I was about to have another. I sleep like a log, and one night last January I couldn't sleep, so I wondered, am I supposed to pray for someone or something, but no one or nothing really came to mind except the car, so I prayed about the car earnestly for quite a while. I gave it to God and just asked that he would tell me when it was time.

I drifted back to sleep. In my dream I was sitting in a room reading the Bible and as I was reading I read past the word "wait". I went back to that word and wondered why that word stuck out to me, then I said "God, are you saying I should wait?" In that second, the words rose up off the page and tripled in size WAIT. The next morning, I was relieved because I knew God was telling me to wait and I didn't have to worry anymore.

Well, my car needed new struts and the seat was shot and the door didn't close right and as I bounced down the freeway the next couple weeks, I was getting impatient..... I said "God, how long do I have to wait?" Even though it would be hard, I really felt like I needed a new car. Finally, after a couple more weeks, I said "God, I don't know how long I can wait. If I am supposed to get a new car, make it clear today, but without killing me."

I went to pick up my kids from school, and on the way home, close to home, I went around a turn and the car kind of slid but the wheels stayed on the ground, then it kind of bounced back and clunked. The engine still ran fine but something was very wrong with the axle or steering underneath. I was able to get home, but I called the mechanic and they recommended not driving it as it could be dangerous.

I was kind of excited as I had asked for God to make it clear that day and he did, but I was still nervous about making payments if we bought a different car.

Well, we started shopping around and drove some slightly used cars, then found a car that was a 2007, last one, only had 100 miles on it and it had been reduced because they said it had frame damage in transport and was repaired. It looked fine to us so we bought it.

The next day, my wife started getting nervous because she wondered if the frame or integrity of the car would be compromised. I got nervous too and started looking at lemon laws for our state on-line. I finally decided to take it to an auto body shop after talking with them on the phone. They said that they could look at it and tell me what work had been done on it and if it was okay, but that I probably shouldn't have bought it in the first place.

As I was driving there, I asked God why this was happening after all the confirmations were there. I knew he just wanted me to trust him. The auto body shop said the dealer should have paperwork or know exactly what was done and the damage that had happened. After a thorough under body check, the guy said he couldn't find anything on the car that would indicate there had ever been any bodywork done.....it was perfect. I was relieved but curious.

I called the dealer and they did some checking and then got back on the phone and said they wanted their car back because they think they put the frame damage paperwork with the wrong car and they wanted to re-sell it for full price. I don't think they would have taken it back, but I think they were concerned that another car they sold for full price had the damage. I thanked God for getting us such a good deal.

We bought the car on 2/14/08. The first payment was due on 3/31/08 and I knew we could make the payment, but we would'nt be paying down our debt real fast.

Today, it is 4/1/08. In the 6 weeks since we bought the car, I have had two raises and a promotion at work. God has not only provided the money for the payment, but has given us twice that. And we made our first payment knowing full well that God has blessed us and been taking care of us the whole way through.

That is my God Thing today. Won't you please share your story? God bless you !

Jeremiah 29:11
"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."

3 comments:

Ruthie said...

Welcome to blogging. It's great how the Lord works things out for us as we follow Him.
Blessings.

Dixie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jan Parrish said...

Hi Ben, Great post! Way to listen to God! Keep listening and God will continue to give you more dreams. I have 5 posts on dreams in my blog.

Congratulations on your raise! God is so good.I love it when God's plans come together - because we have listened, obeyed and waited for the right time.

God gave the kids an awesome deal on a house. They actually put earnest money on two others before they won this one and this is the best one ever. 4 bedrooms and a large yard! With some sweat equity it will really be great!Go check out the pictures. And they both got raises just before they bought too.

Love you!