God at His Typewriter
Imagine God at His typewriter. He uses a typewriter because He loves it . . . there’s no delete key because He never makes a mistake. No white-out. No correction paper. When He writes our stories, they happen just as He envisions them. Amazing!
But when does He write them? No one knows. Did He write them before He created us? He already knows us and knows all about us then. Or does He write them after we’re born? Does He ever change them? There’s only one place in Scripture where it says definitively, “The Lord changed His mind.” (Exodus 32:14)
And we get hope from that. If He changed it once, He can change it again, right?
But we can find a more encouraging answer in this thought: God is timeless. He operates outside time and space. Thus when we pray on December 10th, 2015, God hears us. He could hear us in real-time and consider changing our story right now. But it’s just as real if He heard us years ago at His typewriter or when He conceived us or even “in the beginning.” We can’t know for sure but we can rest in the knowledge that He loves us, hears us, and does what’s best for us and brings Him the most glory.
Thus, because of the timelessness of God, all prayers are heard and considered before the story is continued or finished. Isn’t that comforting? To know that no prayer is unheard . . . no prayer is ever wasted . . . no prayer is irrelevant. What happens when we’re prayed for? Does prayer affect the outcome? I think it does. Consider this scenario . . .
As God types our stories on His typewriter, His phone goes off, meaning He’s received a message (a prayer) from someone. He knows the life and heart of this child of His and takes their request into consideration as He continues to type. When His phone continues to go off and He looks at the Caller ID to discover righteous people sending up passionate prayers for something or someone, I believe He takes them into serious consideration. Scripture says . . .
“The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16b)
It’s easy to trust a faithful friend who loves you and always wants the best for you. Sometimes the outcome we desire isn’t what we get in the short term. But God is about the long term. A lot of people agree with Garth, that “some of life’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers,” but I believe all prayers are eventually answered one way or another. We may be in Heaven before we know what He was thinking, but I believe whatever happens is always for our best and His glory.
Prayer: Father, I’m so grateful to be loved by You, please keep building my faith. I can’t imagine living life without You. You are my awesome friend, Lord Jesus. It’s in your beautiful name I pray. Amen
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Responses (2)
Hello Reggie,
you will not believe the miracle of this post..December 10, 2015. 2 days ago, i was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. I have received so many prayers from brothers and sisters the last 2 days i cannot begin to tell you. prayers on my voice mail, prayers on speaker phones, laying on of hands, small groups praying for me…..i know Gods phone has been ringing off the hook for the past 2 days…..i can close my eyes and see it. Thank you for setting up the vision. I meet with the oncologist tomorrow. we are going to talk about all the protocols for treating my condition. details. i am totally at peace with the entire situation…..no matter if God has set His plan in place or if He decides to change His mind and give me 10 more years….His will be done. and i may be in heaven before i know what He is thinking. but whatever it is, thank you for letting me know again that He loves me and i can trust whatever He decides.
Reggie, God bless you and I am praying for your recovery too.
Love,
Ron Davis
came by your site by accident or maybe not .Have had depressive disorder for 5 decades and unable to reduce medication without crashing totally down down down.
I too agree about answer to prayer being longterm for I have received healing in fits and starts.Have just received healing but even drs.have no courage to tackle my
endogenous condition. I was actually looking for typewriter good condition.missed out an o and landed in your site.Thank you so much. May God Bless you . from Susan .H