Finally Free

A prayer of mine was answered this week, and I was barely "in tune" enough to even notice it. The last couple of weeks have been extremely busy for me. Between juggling work deadlines, appointments, family commitments, and household "stuff" just to keep things humming along, it didn’t even sink in when my friend called me and said that she finally felt “really happy”. This had been my prayer for her for many months. Over the last several months she has endured unwarranted torment from family members, leaving her feeling crushed, betrayed, and empty.  I felt her pain, and my prayer for her was that she could escape the chains that held her captive to this torment, and just be free. Finally free. And she was. 
It wasn’t until this morning, two days after we had spoken, that I finally had a chance to sit back in silence. I was reading some scripture when I recalled her words from the other night, “I finally feel really happy.”  God works in amazing ways – and according to His own Divine plan. Sometimes our prayers are answered on the spot, and other times, we must be patient and let time heal so that we can feel His wonderful spirit making things new in our lives. My problem this week was that I was too wrapped up in the “stuff of the world” instead of keeping my eyes first and foremost on Him and the magic He was working in my friend’s life. I didn’t take the time to thank God for my answered prayer, so I’m doing it now, in the form of a passage from Psalm 51: 10-12 (which I happened to stumble upon this morning). It says, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.”  And, BTW, thank you for my answered prayer.