Does God Answer Prayer?

Dear Friends,

Our experiences this week trying to purchase a new car lead us to contemplate two questions: (1) Does God answer prayers? (2) Do we really listen for His answers?”

It all started when we decided to trade-in Bonnie’s 2013 Prius on the 2016 model. The dealer had made an excellent offer and the trade-in value was just what we expected. We would have made the deal on the spot, but Bonnie had offered to sell her car to a friend, so we had to give the friend a chance to match the trade-in offer. Had the friend taken the deal, the story would have ended with us driving away in a red Prius the next day.

Now Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” So during our evening prayers, we asked God to give us some kind of sign that our decision was in keeping with His will.

Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.” This being the case, we started to get nervous about our car-buying decision when we awoke to discover that the Scripture on our Calendar was Luke 5:39: “And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.”

“The old is better—is that God’s answer to our prayer?” Bonnie questioned. “I’m not sure we should go forward. But if my friend accepts our offer, there’s no turning back.” Later that morning her friend declined our offer.

Still uncertain what we would do, we returned to Santa Margarita Toyota where we met with J.T., the Fleet Manager. J.T. is not your typical car salesman. When Bonnie told him about our concerns about the Scripture we had read, he practically insisted that we go home and pray before making a final decision.

We returned to the dealership to take one last look before giving up on buying a new car. Toyota had changed the design of the Prius in 2016, so—perhaps looking for loopholes—I suggested that maybe our Scripture was suggesting we stick with the old “design” and see if there were any 2015’s available. Two 2015’s were on the lot. (Bargaining with God?)

As we looked over one of them, another customer approached and started telling us how happy he had been with his Prius. “My 2013 has the highest rating for cars in its class, and I love it,” he said. “Hmmm, maybe trading in our Prius isn’t such a good idea after all,” I thought.

We went home and prayed again. The next morning, as I opened the garage door, I noticed that I had parked my car too far back, and the garage door had made several deep scratches in the trunk lid and bumper of my car. We had already made an appointment to have a paint and body man fix some other dings, but the timing of this additional damage made me wonder: God used plagues to convey his message to Pharoah, could it be He uses garage doors?

That night we discussed the possibility of trading-in the Fusion instead of the Prius. Still the option of trading in our old Prius on a new one lingered. That was until the phone rang the next morning. “I’m here to fix your Fusion,” the young man said. Oops! With the thought of trading in the Fusion gaining strength, we had called to cancel our appointment for repairs, but the word hadn’t reached the technician. “Our decision is made; have him touch-up the Prius, not the Fusion!” Bonnie exclaimed. “We’re keeping it.” As it turned out, we ended up trading in our Fusion and getting, at a substantial savings, a Corolla that we both love.

When you pray expectantly, you never know how God might communicate his answer. Was God superintending our efforts to find a new car? It felt as if he was, yet we know that we can’t always expect God to send the cavalry when we face a dilemma. But we also know that we can trust, in all situations, the God who loved us so much that he sent His son to Calvary to die for us.

As another one of our favorite Scriptures reminds us, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

Could it be this Scripture even applies when car shopping? If it’s important to you, it’s important to God.

Blessings,
Your friends in Christ