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Does God Answer Prayer?
By Andrew McChesney
Somsak first heard about praying to the God of heaven when he was a little boy in kindergarten at the Seventh-day Adventist school in Korat, Thailand. Like most people in Thailand, he came from a non-Christian family and didn’t know anything about the God of heaven.
At the start of kindergarten every morning, Thailand’s flag was raised high on a flagpole in the yard of Korat Adventist International School. Then all the children from kindergarten and the higher grades stood near the flag for the playing of the Thai national anthem. After all, the teachers led the children in singing “The Prayer Song” — a beautiful song that asks the God of heaven to bless their day.
When Somsak grew a little older, he learned to pray all by himself. His second-grade teacher taught him how. At the beginning of class every day, the teacher started a prayer and invited Somsak and the other children to add to it. The teacher would say, “Dear God.” Then one child would say, “Please make me smart.” Another would say, “Please keep me safe.” And a third would add, “Please help me to be good.” The teacher would end the prayer by saying, “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
After learning how to pray at school, Somsak began to pray on his own in the second grade. But he didn’t pray every day. He didn’t even pray every month. He only prayed as a last resort. Usually, he felt smart. Usually, he felt safe. But sometimes he worried that he wasn’t smart or that he wasn’t safe. Then he prayed, “Dear God, Please make me smart. Please keep me safe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
Somsak also prayed on his own as a last resort in the third grade and in the fourth grade. After that, he prayed in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth grades.
Today, he is a strong 16-year-old teenager in the tenth grade. He may not have prayed every day, but he has prayed for many years. How many of his prayers do you think God has answered? One hundred? Fifty? Perhaps 10 or 15? If you ask Somsak, he will tell you none. Zero. Zilch.
“I haven’t felt that God has answered my prayers,” he said. “I trust more in myself.”
Somsak may not have prayed every day. He may only pray as a last resort. But do think that it’s possible that God hasn’t answered even one of his prayers? What do you think? If you said that God surely has answered at least one of his prayers, then you are right. In the Bible, God says that He answers people even before they pray. He says, “It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear” (Isaiah 65:24, NKJV).
So, why does Somsak think that God hasn’t answered his prayers? Could it be that God has answered and Somsak simply hasn’t noticed? Could it be that we also pray and have not noticed that God has answered?
Teachers at Somsak’s school are praying that he knows the God of heaven who hears and answers prayer. It can be difficult for a boy or a girl to believe in the God of heaven when no one else in their family does. The teachers are praying that Somsak and all the other children at Korat Adventist International School see that God really does hear and answer prayers.
Would you like to join the teachers in praying for Somsak and the other children? Let’s pray.
Dear God, Thank You for the Korat Adventist International School where Somsak studies in Korat, Thailand. Thank You for the many children around the world who gave generously to a Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that helped build the school. Now, please help Somsak and the other children at the school who don’t know You to see that You love them and do indeed hear and answer prayers. Help them — and us — to notice Your answers to prayer. Please also bless this quarter’s Thirteenth Sabbath Offering that will help other children in Asia learn about You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Andrew McChesneyEditor, Mission Quarterly
Email: mcchesneya@gc.adventist.org | Twitter: @armcchesney