Have you prayed for months or even years for a certain desired outcome only to be met with silence from heaven?
Utter non-audible oblivion. Spiritual crickets.
You know the scriptures, and you believe in the promise that if we ask, seek, and knock the door will be opened. But what if that door remains stubbornly closed? Does that mean it’s not your door?
It was June, 2007. Still new at my Public Relations position, I had just concluded a call with an enthusiastic new author, the pastor of a church in an east Texas town so small it didn’t have a single stoplight. Just a few months prior, I’d been hired by a najor Christian publisher to book media interviews. Though I was in my mid-50’s, I still felt green around the gills. What skills did I have that would help writers gain a large audience in a crowded marketplace?
As our marketing team wrapped up the call, the author called out a faith-filled prayer. “Lord God,” the pastor proclaimed, “I believe a million people are gonna hear our story!”
I added a weak, “Amen,” and clicked off, my mind racing. Rev. Martin had tremendous faith, but I knew after just a few months in publishing that it would take a miracle to reach a readership like that.
The pastor did have an incredible story to tell: 22 families in his small church had adopted 77 hard-to-place children out of the Texas foster care system. But it seemed that one miracle – the one described in the book – was all we would get.
I wish I could tell you that W. C. Martin’s little book Small Town, Big Miracle sold hundreds of thousands of copies, but it did not. Not even close. Yet over the years I’ve never forgotten the deep faith of this man of God from Possum Trot, Texas.
In the first letter of this series two weeks ago, we talked about the words we’d use to describe what we want our lives to look like in the years to remain. Mine – borrowed from another writer – were curiosity (loving to learn), connectivity (what we do here), challenge (more on this), and contributing to the betterment of others’ lives.
I loved your responses.
Cynthia F: “I want to continue to be curious, content, and in continual motion!”
Judy A: “Community, contributing, and remaining open.”
Liz H: “Seeker, sharer, saturated, sufficient.”
Larry Q put it this way: “In a Bible study about heaven, one of the questions for our group was what the allure of heaven was for each of us. For me, it’s a forever long trek of learning. I realized that if the best of earth is the front porch of heaven, then learning was one of the activities that I would get to take with me from here to there.”
Yes! You’re speaking my language, friends.
But the #1 word many of you used in your comments?
FAITH.
Because without it, the rest just doesn’t work.
“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on the character of Christ, like putting on new clothes.” Gal. 3: 26-27
I’ve never forgotten the forged-in-fire faith of the small-town pastor from Possum Trot. Nor his voice, until I heard it again just last week as I sat in a darkened theatre wiping away tears.
Because nearly 20 years after Bishop W.C. Martin’s little book released, telling the powerful true story of how the members of his church of 200 souls adopted nearly 80 children, that same story has been brought to the big screen in theaters nationwide.
As I watched Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot, I realized that Rev. Martin’s powerful prayer – clothed in faith – had come true.
A million people and more have heard this story.
And as for that fervent prayer you keep sending skyward?
Don’t give up, friends. It may take weeks or months, years or even decades, but God has heard you. The answer is on its way.
“Pray with confidence. Our God is in the heavens, enthroned between the cherubim. He reigns. Nothing is impossible with him. He loves the sound of our prayers and the words from your pen. May he bless you with a strong sense of his ‘yes and amen’ in Christ in response to your focused pursuit.” Beth Moore, ALIGN: 31 Days of Prayer.
If God could do it for the good folks of Possum Trot, he can do it for you.
With every blessing,
Maggie
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