John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."(NKJV)
On October 20, 2008, after many years of calling myself a Christian, I finally accepted Jesus Christ into my heart. Soon after that glorious day, I repented, asked for forgiveness and turned from my past sinful ways. And, in the process I learned to how to pray to God.
Over past three years, I have prayed many prayers. And in return, God has demonstrated that there is no limit to His reply. This past Valentine's Day, God answered yet another prayer.
It was during a church service, a few weeks prior to Valentine's Day, February 14, when our
Pastor shared a story with our church congregation. He said, "A
congregation in the foothills of the Smokies wanted to build a new sanctuary.
But days before opening, the building inspector noted that they could not open
until the parking lot was doubled. The only way to have more parking was to
move the mountain out of the back yard. The church prayed asking God to remove
the mountain and to provide enough money to have it paved and painted before
the scheduled opening next week. The next morning the pastor was visited by a
construction foreman. He said, 'We’re building a new shopping mall in the next
county and we need fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain
behind the church? If we can have it right away, we’ll pay you for the dirt we
remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge.' The church opened and was
dedicated as planned. God does move mountains!" http://www.aminuteofencouragement.com/god-moves-mountains/
As I listened to the Pastor's motivational story, I felt inspired to pray a private hope-filled prayer to God. I prayed, "God, will You please write, "John 3:16" in the clouds above this town for Valentine's Day?" After the church service had ended, I approached my Pastor and shared with him the prayer I had prayed. "Just think people will be looking up to God on Valentine's Day." I said with a pure heart. Later, I returned home and on my prayer board I drew “John 3:16” in cloud like formation. Then, for the next two weeks, I prayed with all my heart that God would answer my prayer.
O
n the morning of February 14, I scrambled to find my camera. I was excited to
capture on film God’s glorious response to my prayer. Perhaps, I could snap a
picture along the way to dropping my youngest off at school. With my camera in hand, I drove under the
speed limit. I tried hard to pay attention to the road. Yet, I was so eager. I
couldn’t help but glanced up to the heavens to see if God had in fact responded
to my prayer.
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| 3: |
Along the way, I
noticed a few clouds in the shape of numbers and symbols. One cloud was in the
shape of the number 3. It even had a semicolon beside it. Two other clouds formed
a perfect "JO." However, I still hadn’t seen a complete “John 3:16.” So,
after I dropped my son off at school, I continued to drive around town looking
for the entire biblical address. Finally, about an hour later, I decided to
return home. After entering our apartment, I felt an urge to sit at my writing
station. Out of habit, I booted up my computer and began to read my email.
Right away, one particular email grabbed my
attention. A friend who knew about my Valentine’s Day prayer to God wrote, "I saw this while driving back into town this
morning." She attached the following photo.
Just
above our hometown, was a cloud in the shape of a heart. I smiled as I began to
wonder if the heart was God's reply to my prayer. I spent the rest of the day
looking up even until dark. No “John 3:16!”
Soon after I tucked my youngest son into bed, I glanced at my
prayer board. I humbly and tearfully asked God, "Was it selfish to hope
for something so personal Lord? I am sorry if I acted silly."
A few minutes later, I picked up a copy of a paperback
booklet called Our Daily Bread. I opened the booklet and began to read a
story called, Magic Eye. "But even though he couldn't see the
hidden image, he believed it was there because others had seen it." My
shoulders slumped and tears filled my eyes. I began to pray, "Okay,
God." I said. "I don't need to see the miracle. I know You are real.”
The next day, I received a call from a friend whose father
had recently and suddenly experienced a massive stroke. He was still fighting
to recover. "Will you be home in an hour?”
She asked. I want to drop by on the way to the hospital." She said. I
asked my friend if it would be too weird if I prayed with her over the phone."
She softly replied, "You can pray." So, I prayed. "Please Lord,
comfort my friend in her time of need. Show her a sign that You are with her
and her family right now."
As
she walked up to my front door and reached out to me, I
felt the Holy Spirit urge me share with her
my prayer for Valentine's Day. Afterward, I said, "I didn’t get to see the
entire ‘John 3:16’ written in the sky." Then, I added, "For some
unknown reason, I still find myself looking up." She smiled and said,
"Now, I am going to be looking up too!"
Then, approximately fifteen minutes after she left, my
telephone rang. "Hello?" I said. "Donna, I just had to call. You
are not going to believe this! As we drove out of town and into the next, we
looked up towards the sky. There it was! " 3, dot dot 1 6. Your 3:16!"
Tears overflowing! "But even though he couldn't see the hidden image, he
believed it was there because others had seen it."
Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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