EMPOWERING LIVES WITH PURPOSE:
TESTIMONY OF
ANSWERED PRAYERS
written in by:
Taffe Anavay
Shabbat Shalom to you all my dear friends!
Today, Holy Spirit gave me this topic to share with y’all-Answered Prayers.
Has there ever been a time when you felt like your prayers were not being answered? I reckon at one time or another in my life I may have wondered this but now I can attest to the fact that YHVH (God) does answer prayers!
This past week has been so spiritually charging, where so many of my prayers have been answered. Prayers that I’ve been praying for, for so many years.
When I came to know Yahshua (Jesus), I started following His examples of what love looks like and the powerful examples of what it looks like to be a Christ-follower. I started understanding what the Church really looks like and based on that understanding I started longing for the kind of Church that I was reading about in the Scriptures. I searched for it in the Seventh-day Adventist churches, Baptist churches, and even non-denominational churches and didn’t find it. I searched for it in the form of Christian meet-up groups and yet, I still couldn’t find it. Despite what seemed like a never-ending search, however, I never stopped praying and believing that I would find it, even as the years passed by.
Another prayer that I prayed for on and off throughout the years was to find a mummy and daddy. Since my mum passed away before my fifth birthday and my biological dad is non-existent in my life, there was always this longing for one. When I reached pivotal moments in my life, that is when that longing deepened. I dreamt about having a mum who I could talk with about life and bake cookies with. I dreamt about having a healthy relationship with a dad who would love me, not hurt me.
Not coincidently, the past few weeks I had these recurring thoughts about my mummy and daddy; the ones that I have been praying about, and had this feeling that there was something more but I didn’t understand what that more could be. It was like my spirit knew that something drastic was about to happen in my life and it has.
Just as I was going through a phase recently of feeling like Job with the loss of my apartment and most of my possessions, the loss of my job and being depleted of everything that I had in my savings account, to leaving my children back in Florida as I moved several states away, I felt hopeless but with that hope, there was a sliver of Light. I knew that everything that I had “lost” was a part of Yahweh’s plan and it was up to me to not lose faith as I trusted in His plan and patiently waited for it to unfold.
Yahshua tells us in Mark 11:24,
“Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.”
How true this is! Praise Adonai. Glory HalleluYah for answered prayers!
Last Sunday Gia and I drove to Ohio for a get-to-gether with our other sister, Grace and to celebrate the lives YHVH has blessed us with. I wasn’t expecting to go because I was supposed to be with my unit but days before this scheduled training I had this feeling that YHVH wanted me to go to Ohio with my sisters so I prayed to Him and said, “LORD, if it is Your will for me to go, I know you’ll make a way.” Shortly after that prayer I received a message from my Sergeant back in Florida and was told that I didn’t need to go to the training because it’s for those who are going on deployment, which, all glory to YHVH, I have been excused from.
So, here Gia and I were, at a Christian campground with sis Grace, staying in a cosy cabin and secluded enough away from the outside world. I knew before going that this trip wouldn’t be about us, for Holy Spirit made that loud and clear. We were to go there to glorify Him and to be a witness of His glory to others. I didn’t know how I’d be used exactly but He did.
The hosts are an elderly couple in their early 70’s and quite vibrant for their older years of life and were definitely an inspiration to me. They still climb up ladders to clean the chimney and do what needs to be done around their property. On-site, they have a few Amish-built cabins, evenly spread out from each other which provides for a peaceful and quiet setting.
In just two days I found the Church that I had been praying for. Aside from the camp hosts, my sister and I, there was another couple there as well- a man and his wife, and we shared our testimonies with each other and lifted YHVH up in prayer and praise. It was a remarkable experience that is really difficult to put into words right now. They were true Christ-followers and the presence of YHVH was with us as we sat together into the late hours of the night, praising Him and reflecting on His greatness. These brothers and sisters in Messiah that I connected with, despite being much older in age, seemed so young and vibrant. They were physically healthy, not on any medications, and mentally they were sharp. They are the kind of Christians who pray every day and live and breathe the teachings of YHVH not just some of the time, but all of the time. They are the kind of Christians who don’t close themselves off to being spiritually corrected. They are the kind of Christians that you can be transparent with and they will love on you with a Christ-like love, as opposed to a condition-based love and judgment. I’ve never met these types of Christians before except for my twin sis. Not in person anyway. It was like I was taken to another planet and was met with a different kind of species.
Now, I know that I’ve met other authentic followers of Yahshua before but not like this and I can say now, that my prayers were finally answered when He led us to this Christian campground. It was there that I met a beautiful woman named Trish and immediately I felt drawn to her. I marveled at the fact that she looked like me and her personality was similar to mine. Spiritually, I felt a connection and closeness to her as well and knew there was something special about her. The thought came to me that she is my mum but I brushed it off because I thought it was weird that I would have that thought when I had known her for less than two days.
Well, the day of my departure YHVH made it clear that she is our mum and when Gia and I were driving back home yesterday, Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “These are the parents you’ve been searching for.” I was filled with emotion and when I expressed this to Trish, she too believed that she was being called to be our mum and Mike, her husband was to be our dad. I am still in awe over this and while most people won’t understand this, YHVH does. Even though it took most of our lives to find the parents we’ve been longing for, our prayers were finally answered. Glory HalleluYah! Another answered prayer.
My friends, it may take a few months or a few years for a prayer to be answered but don’t lose hope in knowing that in His time and if it be His will, your prayers can and will be answered.