Nothing brings joy or builds hope like answered prayer. Some prayers take months and even years to be answered. After time, it starts to feel like the prayer and God’s will are not aligned. Yet, our hearts are relentless and we keep on praying, hoping and sometimes even begging God for what we are longing for.

While in high school, my son was an aspiring drummer. He began his undergraduate years as percussion performance major. He would spend countless hours practicing. He started taking professional gigs. Slowly, numbness started taking over his hands and feet along with other body parts. It wasn’t long and 15 minutes of drumming would cause numbness so severe he struggled to hold a pencil.

He quit drumming, changed his major and started looking for answers. The medical system didn’t have a good answer for him. There was no diagnosis and no plan for recovery. Using some non traditional testing and approaches, gave him a starting place. He changed his diet and started working on his stress. Improvements were made but even short attempts at drumming resulted in increased numbness.

This momma kept praying and he went off to grad school with drumming fully in the rear view. Three years later he is home for a visit. He and his dad set up the drum set in the garage to take pictures of it to put it up for sale. I get a phone call telling me he is drumming and has been for some time. By the time I got home he had been drumming for over three hours and only had some minor symptoms in his left arm.

I had tears of joy. Seeing him doing what he loves and something he didn’t think he would do again was a clear answered prayer.

^22-25 Jesus was matter-of-fact: “Embrace this God-life. Really embrace it, and nothing will be too much for you. This mountain, for instance: Just say, ‘Go jump in the lake’—no shuffling or hemming and hawing—and it’s as good as done. That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything. And when you assume the posture of prayer, remember that it’s not all asking. If you have anything against someone, forgive—only then will your heavenly Father be inclined to also wipe your slate clean of sins.” (Mark 11:22-25 MSG).

God does answer our prayers! Moments like this are a reminder of the power in prayer. It is a reminder to keep praying for the burdens on our hearts.

How have you seen answered prayer? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.