Isaiah 65:24 (NIV)
Before they call I will answer;
while they are
still speaking I will hear.
Helen Roseveare, a Doctor missionary from England to
Zaire Africa, told this as it happened to her in Africa. She told it in her
testimony on Wed night at Thomas Road Baptist Church. The next Wed night Jerry
Falwell, choked up, said,
"I almost feel guilty for standing in the pulpit
after the one who spoke here last week. READ it. You will have goose bumps and
weep with joy.
A LITTLE GIRLS PRAYER
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor
ward; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature
baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the
baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator)
and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights
were often chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the box
we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water
bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the
bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates.
"And it is our last hot water bottle!" She
exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central
Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do
not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
"All right," I said, "Put the baby as near
the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free
from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have
prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave
the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about
the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills.
I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had
died.
During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth,
prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please,
God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow,
God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer,
she added by way of corollary, "And while You are about it, would You
please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know You really love
her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot.
Could I honestly say, "Amen"? I just did not believe that God could
do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular
prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa
for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel
from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water
bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in
the nurses' training school, a message was sent that there was a car at my
front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the
veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I
could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each
knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was
mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large
cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys.
Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored.
Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas---that
would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in
again, I felt the.....could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out---yes,
a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it;
I had not truly believed that He could. Ruth was in the front row of the
children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle, He
must have sent the dolly, too!"
Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out
the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted.
Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this
dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her? "
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months.
Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed
God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the
girls had put in a dolly for an African child---five months before---in answer
to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon.
Do you believe when you pray for something?
Dear Lord, we thank You that You hear our prayers even before
we pray them. Have our faith be stronger. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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