Abba delights in amazing his children by showing us that nothing is too hard for him!

I’ve learned through several examples that Abba will sometimes answer even my half-hearted requests and by doing so, he demonstrates that he is listening. One such example I can share is delightfully simple and yet ripe with lessons for those of us who need encouragement to ask and believe for unusual miracles because of his incomparably great power (Ephesians 1:19).

On a very hot summer day years ago, about a dozen attendees of a weekend seminar in the Los Angeles area gathered with the main speaker for lunch after the conclusion of the morning teaching session to fellowship at a popular restaurant. It so happened that the men were seated at one half of the long table, while the ladies were seated together at the other half.  

The food was delicious and the conversation was lively during this wonderful lunch. However, there was one annoying problem. The air-conditioning vent above the table was blowing very cold air on our group without ceasing, because of the influx of very warm air coming through the doors of the restaurant as the diners came and went. We were all freezing, so to speak, and my three requests to the waiter to do something about the a/c were all ineffective. (I joked with the waiter that my salad fork was not the only chilled object at the table!)

The men were super-cold, but even more so the ladies since they all were wearing sleeveless blouses on this particularly hot day, and they had no wraps in their cars that could give some protection from the “arctic blast” coming from the vent above. Their shoulders were so cold that it was becoming very hard for them to focus on the conversation. Finally, I was so frustrated with the situation and felt such compassion for the ladies that I raised my hand toward the overhead vent and half-heartedly requested, “Abba, please heat up the air over the ladies’ half of the table!”

Instantly, to my surprise the vent-air over the ladies’ section became warm and comfortable for them. But the air from the same vent that was coming over the men’s section was still icy cold.  This miracle lasted for over 20 minutes as we finished our meal. Air from the single vent was warm for the ladies and very cold for the men. 

Abba answered my half-hearted request, perhaps because his compassion for the ladies was even stronger than mine! He also demonstrated his willingness to answer some requests very specifically, which gave us a powerful lesson to be careful and intentional about how we pray.

The men complained to me as we were leaving, saying, “Why didn’t you pray for us as well as the ladies?” I teased them with my quick answer: “Because they are more beautiful than you!”

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