A Double Answer to Prayer

By Jonathan Cruz Gadea

When I put God first in the morning before anything else, He gives me special words of love and encouragement to share with other people. It was Thursday, September 26th, the second week of our 3-week canvassing program in Hot Springs, AR. It was the first half of the day; also, it was my first drop of the day.

While driving around to find the place where I was going to be canvassing, Judit (my leader and prayer partner) asked me, “What can I pray for, brother?” I replied, “A Divine Appointment”. Soon after that, Shawn and I were dropped off at a Mobile Home park; we prayed before going to knock on doors.

When we were done praying, I went to knock on my first house. A woman in her late 40’s came out, so I started canvassing her with the cookbook, Simply Fresh. She was really into the healthy lifestyle. Then I asked her if she was a Christian. She said, “Yes, I consider myself Christian, but I haven’t gone to church for a while.” So I pulled out the book Peace above the Storm (better known as Steps to Christ) and I started telling her things about the book. I was closing with this book and telling her what we were doing as students. Suddenly, she interrupted me and said, “What is it that you are doing? Can you tell me more about it? I want to know more.” This lady had so many questions, and she wanted answers to her questions. She went inside to get me a glass of water while I prayed for God to help me to answer her questions and to give me the right words to speak specifically for her. She then invited me inside so that we could finish our conversation. God drew my attention to the book where there was the answer to each of her questions. He helped me to answer all her questions with some Bible verses and quotes from the books. Later on in the conversation, she told me that she lost her husband who had committed suicide a few years before. Also, her daughter, who is in the Navy, would not talk to her anymore. As a result, she suffered with anxiety. She asked me if I knew something that could help her with that. I then told her that Peace Above the Storm was the book that she needed. She said, “This is not a coincidence. God sent you here. 3 days ago, I was praying to God for answers, and now you came. You are an angel sent by God.” At the end, we prayed and she signed up for Bible studies. Her name is JoAnn, and she got 7 books and a selfie with me.

The Lord fulfilled his promise with me just as He did with Jeremiah: “Then said I, Ah, Lord God! Behold, I cannot speak…” Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth.” Jeremiah 1:6,9