No Expiration Date On Prayer

It would be nice if when we pray, we would see immediate answers but that is not usually how it works. So, being the impatient humans that we are, we think something did not work or somehow, we did not get it right or maybe our request was not important after all.

We have owned our home here in Michigan for fifty years. It was just a cottage when we bought it, but we liked the location. There were fields and woods all around us and we thought it was better for our children as they grew up. It gave them space to be kids and explore a little. Plus, it was next to the Township Fire Hall and back then my husband, Bob, was continually active in the Volunteer Fire Department. It was a win-win!

I got in the habit of going for prayer walks while the children were at school. I would walk up and down my street and ask God to move in this area and to bring Christians into the community. Our end of the street did not have many houses. Across the street was an open field and behind and beside us was a wooded area.

Fast forward about ten years and our family was preparing to move to the Philippines. A Christian developer bought the acreage across the street from us and began selling off lots. He sold the majority of them to his Christian friends, and they all began building homes. Some of them rented our home while they were building across the street. The lot next to us was also having a home built on it. Our neighborhood was undergoing a drastic change!

Now, many more years later, I have all these Christian neighbors at my end of the street. The street that I would walk up and down and ask God to send in Christians to our community. Granted it has been more than a few decades. But God heard and had a plan that was more than I could have envisioned. Behind my house is now a township park where people can walk, picnic, and there are nature trails and a children’s playscape.

It definitely makes me realize that there is no expiration date on our prayers. Whether we are praying for a loved one, our community, our church, or our nation. No prayer goes unheard or ignored. God’s timing is perfect!

Are there prayers that you have almost forgotten that you prayed?

Can you look back and see where God moved in situations that you prayed about long ago?