I prayed for a chair

For several weeks I had been perusing the Sunday circulars for a good deal on a chair for my office. After several weeks of getting up from my minimum three-hour online sessions I knew it was either time for a chair or become paralyzed from the waist down. It was that bad.
I did not want to spend too much money but I did not want to have to replace the new chair within two years either. One day I sat down in my old chair and said “Lord, I need a chair.” I then promptly forgot my prayer.
Almost two weeks later my brother and his family along with one of my sisters came into town for the weekend. We were celebrating his birthday. Once the festivities were over, I took them on a tour of my office. His youngest son had assembled my office furniture several weeks earlier and I was as usual doting on my nephew and his fine handy work. A few moments later my brother and sister-in-law pulled me aside and told me that they wanted to bless me with a chair. Of course I told them it was not necessary, that I was chair shopping and that I appreciated their offer but it was ok. My sister-in-law would not hear of it. On their way out of town that same day, they stopped at the local office supply store and ordered a chair. Immediately I got an email from the office supply store advising me that I would have my chair in two days.
The next day I told a co-worker that my brother and sister-in-law bought me a chair and I was so excited! She looked at me and said “but didn’t you pray for a chair?” I sat silently looking at her. I had forgotten my prayer! Isn’t that just like most of us? I prayed for a chair and when the answer came I tried to turn it away. And to top it off, I had forgotten about the prayer! There is a word in here for those of us praying for a Christian spouse, but that’s another article for another day!
When I told my brother and his wife about the prayer, they were amazed, but here is the interesting part. My sister-in-law told me that she was so convicted about buying the chair she just couldn’t shake the conviction. She practically ran down to the store to get the chair! There are two sides to a prayer, the asking and the providing. I prayed for a chair and God provided it through someone who listened to his voice. We must pray believing. Yes, I know some prayers we pray for years. We feel like giving up; it feels like God can’t or won’t hear us, we beg, make promises, and make deals. No answer.
Here is what I have come to realize about God and prayer: He will not answer until it is time. When he does answer; it is not a minute too soon or a minute too late. His answer is usually not the way we expect. And he gives us the best whether it is a spouse, a house, a job, or a chair. As I write this article, I am sitting in my office at my desk on the most beautiful leather chair with lumbar support. Even the armrests are leather. Isn’t that just like God? There’s more to this story. Part two is coming soon. Whatever you are praying for, don’t give up. God will answer and he will give you the best. Your part is to recognize the answer when you see it. It will be wrapped in heavenly perfection.