The Joy of Answered Prayer

The Joy of Answered Prayer

“I tell you most solemnly, anything you ask for from the Father he will grant in my name.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name.  Ask and you will receive, and so your joy will be complete.” (John 16: 23-24)

I have said to myself many times that I have never experienced any joy as intense as the joy of answered prayer.  Jesus himself seems here to confirm my intuition that when the Father grants your heart’s desire, the joy is intense.  

One time I experienced this joy was in 1980.  I had desired to go to London to study Marketing.  All the odds were stacked against me.  But one day, God opened the way.  I landed in London on a September night.  The next morning when I left my hotel and stepped into the street of London, I experienced the intense joy of answered prayer.

July 18, 1992 was a day that will be difficult to forget in my life.  Seven months earlier, I embarked on building my own house from the scratch.  I had no clue of what was involved.  After I had committed a great deal of resources to the project, it seemed as if it was mission impossible.  I bent my knees in prayers.  I raised my hands before God asking for his assistance and favor.  On July 18th, the first night in the house, I had such a sweet feeling during my light sleep that I thought the whole thing was a dream.

Yes, indeed, God our Father answers prayers in Jesus’ name.  And when he does, how great and how intense is our joy.