YOU Hear Us When We Pray...

Father GOD I love You and I trust You.  Yes, we are in the midst of a global pandemic and yes, death surrounds us.  That does not mean that You are not good and it surely does not mean that You are not God.  I began this faith walk with You at the age of forty-two.  And although I'm now fifty-five, I want to say, I could have possibly come to faith around fifteen years of age had someone shared the gospel with me.  If only I'd known You in my teens it would have been such a different journey for me.  BUT You knew the day that I would say "YES" to Your gift of salvation.

And knowing You as intimately as I do, I have seen and now see Your covering on every day of my life.  Before and after salvation.  All the search warrants, arrest warrants and traffic stops...You were there.  Your grace and Your mercy stood between me and death.  Stood between me and all my foolish choices and stood between me and the adversary of my soul.

Your are still standing with me!  This I know to be true.

During these uncertain time, my friend expressed her doubts about Your Presence and Your Promises.  Many are having doubts because of this COVID-19.  I am not having doubts and I am not afraid.  Psalm 23 and Psalm 91 are not just words to me.  They are truths and they are promises.  What can man or this virus do to me?!!

I know that You hear me when I pray and I have seen YOU at work in my life, and in the lives of countless others.  Big and small You answer them all.  It may not come in the answer that we were expecting but You do answer.

When my friend shared her doubts, I began to write down in my journal, a few of the times that I prayed and the times that You answered.  Of course, I could never write them all because the list would be so long.  Even as I try to keep up with Your answers in my prayer journals, You still exceed my ability to remember everything I've ever prayed.  However, You still remind me that You heard me and that You are at work.  All of these reflections reminded me of the prayer that I'd begun to pray about 2-3 years before my retirement.

At first, I must admit that I was envious because two of my previous coworkers had moved to the water after their retirement, and then a third.  I was beginning to wonder, where would I live and what retirement would look like for me?  Would it even be a possibility?  I could never sit down and calculate the percentage, the pension and the cost of living stuff...I just knew I wanted out.

My one desire was to just leave.  My heart's prayer was to one day, check off duty, grab my purse walk towards the exiting while saying, "Good-bye, be safe" and head to the parking lot.  Something I'd done for years.  Because I was once the Acting Lieutenant, I'd had the sweet privilege of working my own hours.  So by the time most patrol officers where having a shift change, I was approaching the water and the ginormous flag at the Chesapeake and North Beach split.

My quiet prayer was to check off, get in my grey Toyota, have the black iron gates open and to never come back.  OH MY GOODNESS!!! Did YOU not give that to me?!  Oh Yes You did!!! You so did!  I still cannot believe it!  Just as I had wanted and envisioned.  EXACT!!! It so came to pass!

I left work on a Sunday, so not expecting to retire early, yet that is exactly what I did.  I had said my good nights to the evening detectives and went to get in my car.  I waited for the gates to open and drove out, headed home with no idea whatsoever that I was on my way to an early retirement.  No idea whatsoever that I would never work another day as Detective Sergeant Fuller.

YOU SO DID IT!  You so answered it!!!  Glory Hallelujah!  You so answer prayers!  In the midst of sorrow and death, we must remember Your faithfulness.  This post is so not about me and my retirement.  This post was to be reminded that I prayed and it mattered to You.  You did not have to give me what I wanted.  It was not the doctor nor the police department releasing me, it was ALL YOU!

Big and small, the prayers of the saints are heard by YOU!  In the name of Jesus, prayers are heard by You.  Even if YOU hadn't, I would still believe in the power of prayer, because my life is layered with answered prayers.  YOU have proven to be trustworthy and You are so very praiseworthy.

I pray that anyone living in fear would come to YOU and have those fears resolved.  I pray that the anxious heart is seeking for some kind of answer, something to place their hope, and find YOU in their search.

I have read the Old and New Testament and You, Your Son and Your Spirit have convinced me that You not only care, but You hear. #John 5:17

THANK YOU!
In the precious and matchless name of Jesus. THANK YOU!

I pray to keep proclaiming all that You've done, are doing and have promised to do!
I was saved to give witness.  Lord willing, that's what I'm gonna do and the corona virus isn't gonna stop me!

(First ask for forgiveness of your sins, then place your faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!) THEN, stand and be amazed!  You may even want to keep a journal as you watch your prayers come to fruition!
Like the disciples, ask the Lord to teach you to pray!

With Love,
Denise, the one whom Jesus loves