A beaut little story. So many times we miss this kind of encounter with
our God because our thinking get so sophisticated ... may the attached
incident reminds us to have child-like faith!
A Little Girl's Prayer
(As told by Helen Roseveare, a doctor missionary from England to Zaire,
Africa)
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in
spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and
a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby
alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator)
and no special feeding. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often
chilly with treacherous drafts. One student midwife went
for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be
wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle.
She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it
had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. "And it is our
last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West it is no good crying
over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good
crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are
no drugstores down forest pathways. "All right," I said, "Put
the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and
the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of
the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters
various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny
baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got
chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her
mother had died.
During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual
blunt conciseness of our African children. "Please, God," she prayed, "Send
us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be
dead, so please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the
audacity of the prayer, she added by way of corollary, "And while You are
about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll
know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on
the spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen"? I just did not believe that God
could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says
so.
But there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had
been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever
received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who
would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training
school, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door.
By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the
verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my
eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
children.
Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded
the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some
thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes
sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of
mixed raisins and sultanas- that would make a nice batch of buns for the
weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the . . . could it really
be? I grasped it and pulled it out-yes! A brand-new, rubber hot water
bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed
that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out,
"If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging
down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully
dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she
asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little
girl, so she'll know that Jesus really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months! Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's
prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the
girls had put in a dolly for an African child-five months before-in answer
to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
"Before they call, I will answer!" Isaiah 65:24
*Helen Roseveare, a doctor missionary from England to Zaire, Africa, told
this as it happened to her in Africa.
Rejoice! Our God is a True and Living God! HE knows our needs and Will
supply them even before we ask!!!!! God Bless You.
=========
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