The sun was high in the sky as three children ran and played on the grass. The old farmhouse in the background looked quiet under the blue summer sky. But Mommy was sick, and she had been crying a little. Little Max tried not to think about her as he romped around the farmyard. Sometimes life is so unhappy and full of problems.
Suddenly their older sister burst outside through the front door. She flew off the porch, waving her arms and calling out, “Mommy’s dying! Quick, everyone come here!” Four frantic children gathered on the grass and looked helplessly at each other. “She’s turning purple, and she stopped breathing!” A little voice was heard. It said, “Let’s pray!”
“Oh, God, Mommy’s gonna die. Please help us!” They all said, “Amen.” Then little Max ran off to the barn.
Around the corner he went and over to the big bale of straw. He bowed his head. “Oh, God, please don’t let Mommy die. Daddy’s always away drinking. We’ll have nobody, if Mommy dies. What will we do?”
Suddenly Max heard a loud shout, and someone said, “A car’s coming!” He raced to the road with the others. They waved frantically at the car, the young voices all crying out at the same time. It must have sounded confusing, but the stranger heard one thing: “Mommy’s dying!”
The man raced into the house. The children stood by, wide-eyed, scarcely breathing as he worked with her and finally got her breathing. The stranger was a doctor!
Max could not thank the doctor enough. Max thought, There is a God, and He does answer prayer!
Later Max and the others learned that the kind old doctor was returning from Watford and shouldn’t have been on their road at all. Under the pleasant summer sky, he had been daydreaming, and he had missed his turn. He decided to drive on and take the next road. It wasn’t a mistake. God had sent him at just the right time to save Max’s mother.
The Bible says, “Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses” (Psalm 107:1313Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses. (Psalm 107:13)). God saw and heard Max behind the barn as he prayed. And He sees you and hears you too, whatever your problem might be. The Bible says, “Casting all your care upon Him; for He [cares] for you” (1 Peter 5:77Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. (1 Peter 5:7)).
Max didn’t really know the God he had prayed to. It wasn’t until years later that Max prayed another prayer. It was after he had grown up. Sadly, he had forgotten all about God. He thought he could enjoy life and have fun, doing his own thing. But then a man at work talked to Max about sin. He told Max he should turn away from his sin and trust in the Lord Jesus and he would be saved. Soon, Max prayed another prayer. It was, “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Max was not the first person to say this short prayer that Jesus told about in Luke 18:1313And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13). The man in Luke 18 was forgiven, and Max found God’s forgiveness, too. That day he had the joy of knowing the God who had answered that prayer for his mother so many years before.
Have you ever prayed to God to save you from your sin? “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:1313For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:13)). It’s that simple.
Messages of God’s Love 7/13/2025