This past summer my family and I attended some meetings in a large and busy city. Big cities are very different from smaller ones and since our schedule was somewhat flexible, my son and I enjoyed exploring the sites while daddy was busy with his meetings. There were skyscrapers, cool cars, people with fancy business attire, rooftop swimming pools, and other interesting things to see. Our hotel room faced another tall building with offices, and we often saw people sitting at their desk until late at night. I wondered if the city ever slept. During the weekend the city was busy with all kinds of different events that are not a common part of my life. I must say though, that the most fascinating thing I saw was the sunrise from our hotel room on the 22nd floor! Breathtaking!City life however, is not always glamorous and in the midst of all the busyness there is a lot of sadness. Sometimes sadness is hidden behind the busyness, but other times sadness is just right in front of our eyes. One day on our way to the meetings we encountered a homeless person. He was a thin middle aged man, his gray hair looked messy, and his clothes were dirty. The day was very hot and he was sitting on the ground, under the shade of a tall building. As we passed by him my son turned to me and said, “mamã, I wish I could help him. I feel sad for him. I really wish I could help him.” I didn’t know what to say or do as I was in an unfamiliar place, but I did know someone who could help me, so right there in the middle of this big city, among the tall skyscrapers, we asked God to either send someone to help that man, or to show us what we could do to help him.
We kept walking to the convention center where our meetings were being held and I confess I did not think about that man anymore. At the end of the day we were coming back to the hotel and there, sitting on the same spot was the same man. This time however, he wasn’t alone. There were two other people talking with him offering much needed help. My son squeezed my hand tight as he said that Jesus had send someone to help that man. With tears I lifted my eyes up past the skyscrapers around me to see the sky and thank my Heavenly Father for not only helping that man, but for allowing us to see our prayer answered. It strengthened my faith and I know it did the same for my son. As we walked back to the hotel we were both very excited and thanked God for answering our prayer. God is good and is ever so interested in us. Sometimes we think He is unavailable or distant, but He is ever so present. He has promised that He will never leave us or forsake us. Any other thought is a lie of our enemy the devil. Remember this truth whenever you have a need. He is interested in you and the desires of your heart, no matter how insignificant they seem to be. He answered the prayer of a little boy for a stranger who was in need, He answered the prayer of that stranger, and He answered the prayer of a mother who really needed God to come through for her and her little boy in an unfamiliar large city.
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Matthew 7:7,8
