Do not let an encounter with God leave you untouched.
If there is something in life that I regret most, it is those encounters with God that I did not notice - and if there is something I really appreciate, it is those prayers of mine he never answered.
Today I wish to testify as to my/our latest encounter with (so called) unanswered prayer.
We had everything organised for a ski trip to Whistler from 31 January 2001 to 7 February 2011 and at Sun Peaks from 7 February to 12 February - hotels booked, leave arranged and what not.
Then on 27 January, my son in law, DJ, gets home and says we cannot go to Whistler, as the weather has turned very warm, and the forecast is for even warmer weather when we get there, and no skiing will be possible. BIG problem - but God is always BIGGER than our problem - and knows BETTER than we do.
The biggest problem (for us) however, is that they will not refund our prepaid accommodation - which for Whistler is considerable.
The second one is that it is very far and we cannot go to Sun Peaks alone - it does not, on its own, warrant the distance and cost of travelling.
The third one is, if we rebook our accommodation, nothing might be available, as the accommodation we have was the last/only we could get.
And then there are problems of rescheduling leave.
DJ then said despondently : I have now prayed for months that we have good skiing weather, and now this !!! Why does God not answer prayer.
I will always come up (defend) for God, regardless of what happens, although he does not need my help or support - He fights His own battles without my interference. As proof I can vouch for the fact that He made heaven and earth without my help.
So I say to DJ : You know, there are thousands of people praying for different things in that area - some for rain, some for snow, some for warm weather, some for wind - If you were God - which of these would you answer ?
Little did I know that it was our need that God wanted to answer. If the forecast was good, as we prayed for, we would have missed Nicola's Citizenship ceremony.
So we have to work through this one step for step:
Firstly we have to take a chance and see whether the Hotel in Whistler can refund us or move our reservation - a request they are known never to accede to. So we phone - and yes - they can move it forward two weeks !
Next we have to check the weather for that week. Yes it will be snowing in Whistler in that week ! So it is arranged that we leave on 7 February 2011 - firstly to Sun Peaks, thereby switching the sequence.
The next thing, Nicola, my daughter, gets a letter in the post. She gets her Canadian citizenship on 7 February 2011, and if she is not there, she has to do the whole application all over again !!!
So we have to cancel only the first day at Sun Peaks - Yes they will refund us for that day as well !!! If we were bound by our first arrangments, we could not have been present at her Citizenship ceremony - one of the main reasons we planned to stay for so long.
So God has not answered our prayers, but diligently re-arranged our lives in our best interest - THANK YOU GOD.
What embraces my soul, however, is the subtle way in which He works (with me), not condescending, manipulating or overbearing, but respecting my free will, my thoughts and wishes and my feelings. Praise His Name.
That is what makes it so difficult to discern or notice His Wonder Working Power in our lives.
If there is something in life that I regret most, it is those encounters with God that I did not notice - and if there is something I really appreciate, it is those prayers of mine he never answered.
Today I wish to testify as to my/our latest encounter with (so called) unanswered prayer.
We had everything organised for a ski trip to Whistler from 31 January 2001 to 7 February 2011 and at Sun Peaks from 7 February to 12 February - hotels booked, leave arranged and what not.
Then on 27 January, my son in law, DJ, gets home and says we cannot go to Whistler, as the weather has turned very warm, and the forecast is for even warmer weather when we get there, and no skiing will be possible. BIG problem - but God is always BIGGER than our problem - and knows BETTER than we do.
The biggest problem (for us) however, is that they will not refund our prepaid accommodation - which for Whistler is considerable.
The second one is that it is very far and we cannot go to Sun Peaks alone - it does not, on its own, warrant the distance and cost of travelling.
The third one is, if we rebook our accommodation, nothing might be available, as the accommodation we have was the last/only we could get.
And then there are problems of rescheduling leave.
DJ then said despondently : I have now prayed for months that we have good skiing weather, and now this !!! Why does God not answer prayer.
I will always come up (defend) for God, regardless of what happens, although he does not need my help or support - He fights His own battles without my interference. As proof I can vouch for the fact that He made heaven and earth without my help.
So I say to DJ : You know, there are thousands of people praying for different things in that area - some for rain, some for snow, some for warm weather, some for wind - If you were God - which of these would you answer ?
Little did I know that it was our need that God wanted to answer. If the forecast was good, as we prayed for, we would have missed Nicola's Citizenship ceremony.
So we have to work through this one step for step:
Firstly we have to take a chance and see whether the Hotel in Whistler can refund us or move our reservation - a request they are known never to accede to. So we phone - and yes - they can move it forward two weeks !
Next we have to check the weather for that week. Yes it will be snowing in Whistler in that week ! So it is arranged that we leave on 7 February 2011 - firstly to Sun Peaks, thereby switching the sequence.
The next thing, Nicola, my daughter, gets a letter in the post. She gets her Canadian citizenship on 7 February 2011, and if she is not there, she has to do the whole application all over again !!!
So we have to cancel only the first day at Sun Peaks - Yes they will refund us for that day as well !!! If we were bound by our first arrangments, we could not have been present at her Citizenship ceremony - one of the main reasons we planned to stay for so long.
So God has not answered our prayers, but diligently re-arranged our lives in our best interest - THANK YOU GOD.
What embraces my soul, however, is the subtle way in which He works (with me), not condescending, manipulating or overbearing, but respecting my free will, my thoughts and wishes and my feelings. Praise His Name.
That is what makes it so difficult to discern or notice His Wonder Working Power in our lives.
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