From my childhood I thought of myself as a Christian, but it was more a matter of habit and custom than of personal conviction. When the time came for me to start working, I had set my heart on a certain job overseas. A friend had told me what a great opportunity it would be. “Over there,” he said, “money just flows freely—and the living is easy.”
He painted such a bright picture that I felt no effort would be too great to win it, so I worked hard to prepare myself for the job and prayed earnestly for help.
There was to be an examination before I could be accepted. I was increasingly hopeful as the day drew near. I studied hard and prayed hard too the morning of the exam. The questions all seemed easy to me, and I left the room confidently. The job was as good as mine!
But I failed! Another had even higher marks than I did and was accepted in my place.
I was completely baffled. Work and prayer had failed; all I had trusted in had failed me. The effect on me was tragic, and I just banished religion from my life.
For a long time I was under a dark cloud of depression. Then, accepting defeat, I tried for a job. It was not my glamorous overseas job, but I soon grew used to it.
Then war broke out. The foreign land to which I had hoped to go was overrun, the business wiped out, and the man who took the place I had hoped for was never heard from again.
God’s denying me what I had asked in my prayer had saved me. I could only feel it was the hand of God that closed that door, and penitently I turned to Him for forgiveness. In prayer and in quiet thought and in reading my Bible carefully, I found my way to the cross. I saw myself a sinner before God, and I accepted the salvation offered through the suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
From that day I have enjoyed a wonderful sense of peace. I have proved that a life of obedience to God, lived in prayerful trust, is a life guided by divine wisdom and divine love. It may often be contrary to our wishes and what we think is right for us, but God’s answer will always prove best in the end.
The Apostle Paul heard the Lord’s assurance when his prayer request was not granted: “My grace is sufficient,” and our Lord Himself prayed in Gethsemane, “Not My will, but Thine.” So we too must pray, if we would be guided in the highest and best way. We have an infallible Guide, the Lord Himself.