The time and place was Germany after WWII.  The church was divided and the hurt ran deep.  In the year’s prior, Hitler had commanded all religious groups within the country to unite. It wasn’t a unity of the Spirit, however, that brought them together.  Rather, the unity was forced upon them so Hitler could better control the churches.

She gave them to us almost every Sunday in church. 

They were the coolest little pencil puzzle books. If you would turn your pencil to the side and brush it back and forth across the page, an image would “magically” appear.  

My brother and I would enjoy page after page of these magic puzzle books, anticipating what images might be revealed. 

I’ve sent up more than a few frantic, “help!” prayers in my lifetime.  There have been times when I just didn’t know what to say how to pray.  There have also been times when I’ve prayed those quick prayers and experienced what I can only describe as a supernatural power shortly afterwards.  My faith has been strengthened from these events and I want to give full credit to where that power came from: the Holy Spirit.

It took me awhile to catch on. 

For years, I worked for a challenging boss. She was difficult, demanding, and impossible to please. 

Her words regularly came out in a critical, almost vicious, manner. Most of the staff would hold their breath, as she would walk into our work areas. She was a tough person to work for, to say the least. 

Think about the last team you were a part of maybe it was a sports team.  You shared a common goal or purpose with other people.   If you had an effective team then you, undoubtedly, also had good leadership.

My high school dance team had a goal: win state.  It was as simple as that. 

The work that went towards accomplishing that goal was anything but simple. Thousands of smaller goals had to be met first.  It was a journey that spanned the course of a year and there were many distractions and hurdles along the way. 

God answers prayer!

In fact, God hears and answers all of our prayers.  

Often, He answers us immediately with a resounding, “YES!” And, don’t we like it when He does? 

However, “YES!” is not the only way our Fathers will respond to our prayers. 

When my college senior was only 14 years old, we had the most amazing conversation about prayer

Honestly, Emily has always been a very curious girl, and her questions about prayer were no different.  Here's what she asked:

Does God really hear me when I pray?

How does God answer my prayers?

From the time they were very small, we taught our children to pray. 

We prayed at meals, at bedtime, and when a fire truck or an ambulance would go by.  

As far as our kids were concerned, prayer was as normal as eating, sleeping, and taking a bath. It was part of our lives – an essential activity in our daily routines. 

So, it shouldn’t surprise me that our children took prayer seriously. 

According to 2010 report from Pew Research Center, nearly 80% of Americans believe in miracles.  I believe this is because it’s what they’ve observed- either directly or because they’ve heard about miracles from people they trust.  I know this is true for me.  I can’t deny what I’ve seen and experienced.