Today’s Truth
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22, NIV).
Friend to Friend
My sister loves socks! One day, we were shopping and happened to walk into a department store where neither one of us could afford to buy a single thing. We were just passing through, on our way to find the bargains we couldafford. With a sigh and a wistful look on her face, Betty said, “I wish I could afford to shop in this store.” When I asked her what she would buy, she immediately replied with a smile, “Socks! I want a big box of socks. I would wear a different pair every day.” I could think of several things I would have liked to buy in that store and socks was not one of them. I guess it is a matter of perspective. What was important to her was not important to me.
I sometimes think my prayer requests are insignificant and unimpressive to God. After all, He is God. Does He really have the time or the desire to hear and answer my prayers? Yes! The truth is that if it is important to me, it is important to God.
Each Christmas, Operation Shoebox collects and sends over eight million shoeboxes stuffed with small gifts such as candy, school supplies, small toys, toothbrushes, soap, and shampoo to children across the world. In Mexico, hundreds of boys and girls gathered at the church in a small village, excitedly anticipating the arrival of their precious shoeboxes.
Delightful chaos erupted as bulging shoeboxes, wrapped in brightly colored paper and ribbon were passed into the small, eager hands of each child. Wrapping paper was hurriedly ripped into pieces and tossed aside, a smile spreading across the face of each child as their long awaited Christmas treasures were revealed. However, one little boy dissolved into tears as he lifted the lid of his box and peered inside to see what he had received for Christmas this year.
One of the Operation Shoebox volunteers spotted the little boy and hurriedly made his way across the church to see what the problem could possibly be. With the help of an interpreter, the volunteer asked the now sobbing little boy, “What is wrong? What is in your box?” With tears streaming down his face, the little boy said, “Socks!” The worker instantly understood and assured the little boy that he could trade his box of socks for another box that might have crayons, a toy or a piece of candy in it.
Alarm spread across the face of the child as he vigorously shook his head and quickly jerked the box away from the now somewhat confused worker. Clutching the shoebox to his chest, the boy began sobbing out an explanation to the interpreter who listened for a few moments and then, with tears spilling out of his own eyes, turned to the volunteer and said, “You won’t believe this!”
Taking a deep, steadying breath, the interpreter explained, “This little boy has a rare skin condition with which he was born. It seems to affect his feet more than any other spot on his body. The doctors have tried various medications and treatments but finally told the little boy that nothing will work and his feet will never heal unless he begins wearing cotton socks. His parents cannot even afford food for this boy; much less provide socks for their son. So, all year long, he has been praying for socks.”
Socks were at the top of the little boy’s prayer list. As a matter of fact, they were his list. The mere sight of ordinary cotton socks brought tears to his eyes as he stared in awe at the priceless gift in his hands – socks. You see, they were more than just socks. They were the profound answer from our extraordinary God to a child’s simple prayer. One unknown and seemingly insignificant boy in Mexico prayed. God heard him and said “Let me take care of you.”
No matter how small or trivial your prayers may seem, remember God’s perspective. If it is important to you, it is important to Him. And He will take care of you.
Let’s Pray
Father, thank You for the privilege of coming before You in prayer. I want prayer to be as natural to me as breathing out and breathing in. I refuse to believe the lie that my prayers are too small or unimportant for You to hear. You are my Father. You are my God and You long to hear my voice. I will bring every prayer of my heart to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Do you have your own “box of socks” for which you are praying? What is it?
Do you really believe that God will hear and answer your prayer?
Read Hebrews 11:6. How does your faith measure up to the faith described in this verse?
Today, pray in faith and see what God does!
More from the Girlfriends
Need a friend? Connect with Mary on Facebook - or through email. A new year is just around the corner. Is one of your resolutions for 2012 to have a daily quiet time? Need help? Check out Mary’s Weekly Online Bible Study, Light for the Journey.
It’s finally here! Sharon, Gwen and Mary’s new 12-week devotion book, Trusting God, is now available. This is the perfect book for individual study or for gathering a group of friends in what we call GiG Groups. With impactful devotions, study questions, journal pages, free on-line video intros, and an index of trust-building Scriptures…this book is a resource you’ll refer to time-and-time again.
Oh my goodness, what a beautiful reminder. I needed these very words today. Thank you, Mary!
This story brought me to tears..What seems as insignificant to me, was SO important to this little boy. “Be not dismayed, God will take care of you.” Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.”
Thank you for this reminder.
hi
Please pray for me and my family, Mu mother has been diagnosed twice with cancer and is undergoing treatment. I’m praying for healing in all areas of her life. I pray for a miracle in my financial situation, Im currently out of work and cant afford to travel to look after my mum. I just pray that God is with us, he gives us strength wisdom and comfort during this very hard times
I am praying with you Nokay that God hears and will answer your prayers. Also, that your mother will receive the peace of God during her time of treatment. In Jesus Name, Amen!
Amen, girlfriend!
If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer (Matthew 21:22, NIV).
Last Christmas morning, my 3 year old daughter, Danika, suffered a stroke. She died 10 days later at Children’s hospital in Dallas.
In reading your devotional this morning, I struggle to understand what it means. The doctor’s told me right away that there was little hope. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before. I believed like I’ve never believed before. God was my ONLY HOPE!!
I had everyone I knew praying…what happened?? What happened?? Where’s the truth of this scripture for me??
I truly feel as if God has left me hanging. He doesn’t always answer prayers. He doesn’t always give us what we want. Sometimes He seems not to care at all…not to be present or available.
Can anyone shed some light on what happened? I don’t know how to proceed with God, given what has happened. I was one of those people who believed God could do anything…no matter what obstacle or circumstance. I don’t know how to completely trust Him anymore. Is He even there??
Please help.
ka
Kim, I am so sorry for the pain you are experiencing. I cannot even imagine what you are feeling. There are many things in this life that I do not understand. I often do not understand God’s plan or process and don’t like either one. But I keep coming back to this Scripture:
“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9, NIV).
I have been a Christ follower for many years. I am a Christian author and speaker and the Women’s Ministry Director at the church where my husband is the lead teaching pastor. Over the years, God has brought me out of more pits than I can count and have attended church since the day I was born. My faith in God should be unwavering and I should never doubt or question Him or His plan. But sometimes I do.
I received a phone call telling me that a young mother (whom we will call Sally) in our church was admitted to the hospital to have her baby after nine months of a very normal pregnancy with no complications. Sally and her husband should be celebrating the birth of their little girl but instead, they are planning her memorial service. The baby died in the birth process and the mother is in ICU after having lost so much blood due to a torn uterus.
Sally is an extraordinary young woman who cannot possibly have one mean bone in her body. She directs our preschool ministry and helps her husband lead one of our fastest growing life groups. I don’t get it! Why would God let this happen to them?
You may be offended at my next statement, but if I am brutally honest, my faulty human mind and sin-tainted heart can almost – almost come to grips with such a horrific circumstance happening to someone who is evil and has turned their back on God. Bad things should happen to bad people and good things should happen to good people. Sounds logical and fair – right?
You and I both know that life is not fair and that our human logic is a shallow substitute for God’s sovereignty. We are broken people living in a broken world. Bad things do happen to good people while those who mock God seem to prosper, and it’s been that way for a long time. Take Job for example.
Job 1:8-12 “The LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.’ ‘Does Job fear God for nothing?’ Satan replied. ‘Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.’ The LORD said to Satan, ‘Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.’”
Don’t miss the important fact that God not only allowed Satan to test Job, but dictated how Satan could test him. Job went from having vast wealth to great poverty, losing everything he and his wife had, including their ten children. Job’s wife urged her husband to turn away from and curse God and to forsake the very faith that had blessed her and Job for so long – but Job stood firm.
Job 1:20-21 “Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.’”
Job was an extraordinary man, husband, father and leader who served God faithfully. His faithfulness to God in prosperity was a powerful testimony, but His faithfulness to God in the face of death, pain and despair was even more powerful. Did Job doubt and question God? Absolutely! Did Job openly and honestly grieve his loss and weep in his pain? Yes, but he remained faithful to God, even when he did not understand why God would let him endure such suffering and even when his heart and body was broken. God was pleased with Job and rewarded him for his faithfulness. Job 42:11 “The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.”
Sally’s faith reminds me of Job and his faith. God is already using this tragedy for good. The nurses and doctors could not explain the extraordinary strength they saw in this young couple. Seekers were impacted by the love and prayer support that Sally and her family received from our church members. I have no doubt that this young couple will grow stronger in the Lord and that their faith will be a powerful testimony of God’s grace, mercy and love. We may not understand or like God’s process, but we can trust His heart. One day, all of our question marks will be yanked into exclamation points … and we will get it. Until then, we walk by faith and not by sight – trusting God.
Thank you Mary, this was just what I needed to read.
It brought me to tears, God is so good!
I love how He sends His shoeboxes and hears our prayers.
Love and hugs. xx
Yes, He does, girlfriend! Don’t listen to the lies of the enemy. God hears your voice.
I love this story.
Me, too! It always reminds me that so often God is found in the smallest details of life.
I cried when I read this. This is my first time to the sight and I wasn’t sure what exactly to expect. But after reading this devotional as well as a few prior to this, I can’t help but want to be a Girlfriend too! These words were exactly what I needed to hear today, thank you!
Welcome, girlfriend! So glad God brought us together! Merry Christmas!
Mary, thanks–it’s amazing how I found myself here, at this devotional, tonite, as I pray for my 18 year old–(a very big box of sox!) Only God can make these things happen–I didn’t even know about the organization or the devotional until I started clicking through someone’s pictures on fb and saw an promo for Girlfriends In God–there was your picture. Hey, that’s my pastor’s wife! I knew Dan had said you had a devotional you did that reached a lot of women but I didn’t know it was this avenue. I feel so connected. I hope to meet you one day.
I am always at the 5:00 service. Come find me and give me a hug, friend. Would love to talk with you.
Thanx Mary you have actually made my day.was actually starting to think that maybe my prayers are not heard
God is always right on time, girlfriend. He is hearing every word. Blessings and merry Christmas.
I have no idea if this is working because I am writing you from Germany. Thank you for sharing this story. I am going to share this story with some friends who need to hear some encouraging words after a really hard year. God bless you and merry christmas!
It’s working, girlfriend. I pray the devotion encourages your friends. Merry Christmas!
This was right on time for me !!!
So glad! Merry Chrismas! Wonder what your “box of socks” will be this year????
Awesome, friend. God’s timing is perfect.