By Iris LaRue Peterson
Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14
To say that my soul ached would be an understatement. The sadness lurking behind my smile spilled over into everything I did that unforgettable Saturday afternoon. As I watched my children playing, tears streamed down my face.
Again.
I don’t know why that day was so painful for me, but I recognized the longing in my heart. I needed answers.
As I knelt down to pray that night, I offered a heartfelt (yet what I felt was ridiculous) prayer to my heavenly Father who knows all things.
“Dear Lord, You know exactly what I need and You know what I want to say to You, but I am scared. I know You are waiting to hear my request, but I am not ready tonight. Please just give me peace. Amen”
I fell asleep as the tears soaked my pillow.
The next night I felt a little braver. I knew my fear in making my request known to God was only a trap sent by the enemy. As long as I remained fearful about approaching God about this one seemingly ridiculous situation, I would not be healed and made whole.
I knelt by my bedside, pouring out the locked contents of my heart to my Father. As I asked Him to prick my birth mother’s heart so that she would accept me, I felt a tremendous weight lift from my shoulders. I asked for peace and direction to locate her.
As my head rested on the once tear-stained pillow, my sadness was immediately replaced with a peace that cannot be described by my limited vocabulary.
I slept peacefully, dreaming of messages leading me to my answers of my long-awaited questions.
One week later, after bringing an unknown-to-me situation to the all-knowing God, I was sitting face to face with my birth mother looking at pictures of my THREE older brothers.
Not only did He answer my prayer, but He blessed me with more than I could have ever imagined.
As I look back on the things resulting from my answered prayer, it’s impossible for me to have any doubt in God when I pray.
For years, I’d wrestled with questions about my birth family, but when I finally released my pain, casting my cares upon Jesus, He orchestrated a mind-blowing reunion.
There is no matter too small or too large for Him to act upon.
Pour out your heart to Him and listen for His instructions.
Not only will He hear you, He will answer.
I am a living testimony.
Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Psalm 37:4
Iris LaRue Peterson is the mother of a teen and tween who are a constant source of joy for her. She loves to write about how God uses the little moments in life to convey big messages of his love. You can follow Iris on her blog at ILP Ministries or on Facebook.
