Several weeks ago Spur Ottawa ran an article highlighting how God answers prayer and challenging readers to share stories of what God has done in their lives. Here is an encouraging testimony sent in by Allen Macartney…

I was so late, and lost. And now this!

Going to a Souly Business weekend retreat at Camp Iawah, near Westport, I had taken a wrong turn. Or that’s what I thought. Years ago I had visited Westport, so when I had left home that morning I didn’t consult a map. Memory would steer me straight, I thought.

Now everything looked unfamiliar: the road, the farms, the forested landscape. Gripping the steering wheel with mounting tension, I drove on looking for a place where I could ask directions.

“Lord I don’t want to be late!” I prayed urgently.

For the past 10 years I have been learning to “hear” God`s voice in my prayers. Jesus once said that His sheep would hear and know His voice (John 10:27).

So, guided by a trusted Christian leader, I had started to discern God’s voice. Sometimes it was very clear. Mostly, it was just a strong sense of direction. Hearing His voice during prayer had become an exhilarating aspect of my prayer life, though one I shared rarely with other Christians. (People are often deeply skeptical, suspicious, or even afraid to pray and listen for God’s response. Sometimes I share that caution.)

The seconds and minutes ticked by.

“Lord I’m lost. What should I do?” I half pleaded aloud, not expecting a reply. “I’m going to turn around. Westport must be far over to the west.”

Then I heard it.

“Keep driving, Allen. You’ll see Westport in two minutes.”

The words were incredibly clear in my mind. They rang and echoed with insistent authority. I also felt a familiar calm that is often present when I feel God speaking to me.

Then, unbelief started pushing back, hard.

Hold it! That can’t possibly be God’s voice. The Lord God Almighty does not set deadlines for Himself! You’re being silly. And come on…two minutes?!

That made sense. Besides, a long road stretched ahead. Two minutes was a crazy deadline. I started to look for a place to turn around.

“Allen. You’ll see Westport in two minutes. Keep driving.”

Again! It can’t be. But the impression in my head was unrelenting, and very clear.

I glanced down in my watch, hardly believing.

12:38:02.

Perhaps God doesn’t set deadlines for Himself, I thought, but would He do it to prove Himself dramatically? To help build my faith?

Again, doubt and creeping uncertainty made an appearance: What if I’ve never really heard God’s voice in prayer over all these years? What if it’s all just been made up in my own head?! My faith started to wobble.

“Allen? Two minutes.”

Again! My emotions were bouncing like hundreds of ping-pong balls on a table.

“Okay Lord. I’m going to take these words as from Your lips, but I’m afraid. What if the minutes tick by and nothing happens? What if I get to Westport in 15 or 25 minutes? What am I to do or think or feel when you told me two minutes?”

No reply. Unexpectedly, a quiet confidence settled over me. Several times over the next minute I glanced down at my watch. Up ahead a hill rose before me. Cresting it…Westport appeared before my astonished eyes.

For long moments I was speechless, almost numb, as the car drove onwards. My eyes crept down to my watch. It had actually taken about five seconds less than two minutes!

What do you do when something miraculous like this happens?

Most of my prayer life is pretty routine. Sometimes I fall asleep. Once in a while my prayers really jolt me; a full 220 volts to the head!

Why do so many of us (me included) treat prayer as a slightly disagreeable task? We don’t expect quick answers, or even any response. Yet our Father is listening with full attention, closer than the breath on the back of our necks.

Rather than turning to God in prayer almost as a last resort (“well, all we can do now is pray…”), why isn’t it the first, and middle, and last thing we (I) do?

Communication (talking and listening) is the lifeblood of any relationship. And God longs for a real relationship with us. Expectant prayer helps us to learn to “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28) in God.

It’s a celebration!

Spur Ottawa would love to hear your stories of how God answers prayer. Share a story on social media and tag us or send us an email to encourage others that #GodAnswersPrayer.