Do prayers get answered?

Do prayers get answered? We talk about it, we hear every Sunday, we want it to be true. Is it? I must give this a firm YES. I have seen this many times in my life, as many of you have, so I just blows my mind that I, we, don't commit more time to prayer. I guess we truly think we can do it all and we don't need Gods help.

I spent most of last week sweating today's Angel Food distribution. I had lots of people lined up and one after another they fell out for one reason or another. I'd say " no problem, there's always next month" when in fact I was freaking out with the fact that I was not going to have enough people. I worked, called. e-mailed and set up things all day Friday. At 11:00 pm I was at the car wash cleaning dirt out of the church van so I could put food in it the next morning. As I feel into bed at around mid-night I said "OK Lord, it is in your hands, I can't do it with out you."

Saturday morning at 6:30am I was at the church doing my final check and unlocking the door for a few faithfuls and folks that I hoped could make it. I drove to Highland and was expecting to see the usual crowd of monthly vols. but it just me, Laura Taylor (the lead person for HPUMC), the truck driver and 2 older gentleman with the unloading equipment. Oh Lord, i thought, she has staff issues too. We didn't know exactly what we were going to do.

Then it happened, I saw Aaron Chainey and Christian. Then David and Jimmy Daniel. Before long Robbie Roof, Tory Brown, Brad Kempson, Tim Jordan, Scott Rainer and my nephew Blake Lee were there. A couple of other guys showed up and we could unload the truck. As we were working our cell phones started to ring and it was the group at the church checking on our status. I couldn't believe it, but I should. God always gets things done that should be done if we just get out of the way.

When we got every thing off the truck and I got all of the EBC stuff together the guys got it loaded in the van and we raced to the church. When I turned the corner I saw people standing in the parking lot waiting to help unload. My "Odd Couple" friend Philip Kennedy, Mike Hill, Jimmy Cox and some boys (young men) from my Sunday afternoon book study, Dustin Hayes, O'Neal Kennedy and Thomas Miller. My buddy Scott Taylor, my niece Jill Huggins ( who like my nephew drove from Bennettsville to help) the ladies who help me take orders during the week Melissa Miller (who's daughter was running the welcome desk), Debra Wadell, Linda Jordan, Denise Rainwater and Ms. Anita Shivley.

In minutes the food was off loaded and staged for distribution and we started giving it out. It was running like a watch made by a master craftsman and that wasn't me. We had a couple of shorts that my beautiful wife Wendy ran and picked up for us, but other than that it was smooth. My prayers had been heard and answered, but not just my prayers.

Ms. Betty Moore-Bell buys these boxes and she divides them up and takes the to Creekside Apts. and hands them out to the needed handicapped residents. She had asked to come at the end and if we had any unclaimed could she have it for these folks. I said certainly but I didn't expect any to be unclaimed. When she came in she said she prayed for me and this distribution last night, that it would be a success. Her prayers were answered too, and guess what. At the end after everything was handed out and boxed up we had 1 lonely grill special left. I didn't think to much about it until my good friend and head ram rod Amy Daniel came and said lets give it to Betty. I picked it up and took it over to her and she was over come with emotion. I wasn't expecting that. You see, where I only saw 1 little grill special, she saw several meals for people who really have nothing. She knew what that 1 box could do. As I looked around I noticed that she and her friend were literally counting cookies and putting them into zip lock bags. They were stretching those boxes as far as they possibly could.

So yes, prayers do get answered, YES, YES, YES. Not only do they get answered, they get connected and twisted in ways that we never see. When a plan is Gods plan and it does his work. There is no limit to the awesome power of PRAYER.