Fueled by Prayer

Carolyn and I just received our offer letter from Wycliffe! We will be accepted as member of Wycliffe on November 1st. Thank you God. Hallelujah! This is an answer to prayer, and Carolyn and I are so excited! Thank you for your support in prayer!

I wanted to write a post on prayer, but here is my problem: prayer is a huge word. Because of the nature of my job I find myself interacting with many who, whether they believe in God or not, pray. I encounter many ideas and opinions on what prayer is, and its usefulness. The fact that we have a wonderful God who answers prayers in such a way is mind-boggling. The ruler of the universe cares enough about each and every one of us so intimately to not only listen, not only answer, but answer in a way that puts his kingdom, glory, and then our well-being as a priority. Carolyn and I have been sitting and recollecting on some of the prayers that we have prayed and how they have been answered.


About a week after our wedding, I remember lying in bed pondering my life - correction - our life, and how the Lord will use it to advance his Kingdom and bring about His glory, I began to cry. I was overwhelmed with joy and trepidation at the understanding that our lives have been purchased by His blood - and in response to what He did, we will serve the Lord by faith in whatever way He calls us. Even to death. We prayed that night together; we reaffirmed that our marriage, as well as our lives, belong to the Lord. We committed that we would serve the Lord together, until death tears us from this world. We committed to serving the Lord wherever, whenever, and however He called us. That, my friends, was a terrifying prayer for me to pray.

As we prayed that prayer in unity we offered the Lord to test us, to take us where we did not want to go, and to work in whatever job He has for us. And when I say "wherever, whenever, and however" I don’t mean that with the stipulation of "as long as we remain conveniently comfortable"; I mean that in whatever way God calls us, even to the seemingly greatest extreme, we will follow him.

Now that we are beginning this process with Wycliffe, we can see even more clearly how the Lord has been answering our prayers. While I don’t know what trials or blessings we will go though, I know the Holy Spirit will be with us.

In conversation with a close friend shortly after our initial application, she admitted to us that she had secretly been praying for us. She works in Bible translation, and she said that she saw a fit for us in the world of Deaf Bible translation. She said that even if it wasn’t specifically Bible translation, it was more that we seemed like a good fit for the Global Sign Languages Team (which is the team that we have been invited to join). She said that six years ago she met another similar couple, and never saying anything to them, she just prayed. And sure enough they are still working in Bible translation today - specifically on the Global Sign Language Team. She didn’t tell us that she was praying because she wanted the Holy Spirit to speak to us, rather than her.

Isn’t it awesome to witness and experience the Lord hearing and answering prayers? Do you have a testimony in regards to prayer that you would like to share with us? We’d love to hear it. So, what is your prayer story? Who has prayed with you? How have you been able to witness His answer? Comment below!