answered prayer

Have you ever wondered about prayer? Sometimes we don’t see the answer to our petitions, and discouragement steps in. At other times we clearly see God’s hand in our lives, fulfilling the very thing we asked Him to do. I want to tell you about a spider, and an answered prayer.
When my husband Dave and I moved into our new home we had a bit of house cleaning to do. The first week I had awoken one morning with a large itching red mark on my leg; a spider bite. The next morning I awoke with another. So I prayed to be rid of the spider. Several weeks later I was working in my office and noticed a large ugly wolf spider on my window. Not being able to locate a fly swatter, I hit it with a dust cloth. Somewhere in my office I heard a small “thud”, but couldn’t find the spider. I looked for a while, but finally prayed a final prayer that the Lord would get rid of the spider.
It has been a few months since I saw the spider on my window and my lame attempt to get rid of it. This week I was looking through my book of lessons in my office. Turning to one in the back of the heavy book I found a completely flattened wolf spider between the pages. The Lord said “Just like that. Sometimes I answer prayers just like that.” Though I hadn’t seen His answer, I must have had a small part in the demise of the spider, closing the book at just the right time. I was amazed.
I have been praying lately to see God’s hand at work, and He chose to show me that He had answered my prayer about the spider. We don’t always see results when we pray, but He is working none the less. We can depend on God’s faithfulness, and His great love of us. He always listens when we pray. Amen