I Prayed; God Answered

God Meets Each and Every Need

I had decided to move to another state and share housing with a friend and colleague. My friend lived in the southeast part of the state, and we were going to partner and start a nonprofit venture to help meet a need in the community. Well, my friend owns a three-story house and lives on the top floor, which is a three-bedroom apartment. I was to stay temporarily in one of those bedrooms. So, I packed up all my belongings and headed there.

After a fourteen-hour drive, I arrived at my friend’s house, only to find that she had invited another colleague to occupy the bedroom I was to use. Not to worry, she had another bedroom on the first floor where her elderly mother lived. Okay fine. I unloaded my car and settled into the extra room. But before long, my friend’s siblings complained that she had an unrelated adult in the home with their mother, and they insisted no one else should live there outside of the family. So, I had to move. And, not only that, my friend received a promotion on her current job and decided not to leave, so we could not start the nonprofit organization. Well, there I was homeless and without a means of income. What was I to do? I was going to need some help.

I had been involved with The Way International Biblical research, teaching, and fellowship ministry for many years, and I had learned the keys to appropriating God’s promises from the Word I was taught. One of those keys is prayer, and it is written in James 5:16 that the “effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” So before I moved, I went to fellowship and prayed aloud for housing and work. When fellowship was over, the coordinator approached me and said there was an opening in her department at work if I was interested. Another disciple at the fellowship told me she knew of a private home where I could get immediate housing. “We could go see it tonight possibly,” she said. So we went to see the rental, and it was just what I needed, except it didn’t have a kitchen. I could use a hot plate. I could have a mini fridge. I could even have a dining set. But there was no kitchen. Still, I decided to take the apartment. The next day I called to schedule an interview for the job opportunity, met with the program director, and was hired.

I had prayed on a Tuesday evening and by the next Tuesday evening had both a place to live and a source of income, but I still had no kitchen. Yet, I was in for a surprise because when I reported for my first day on the new job, lo and behold, there was a kitchen on the premises with cooks who served hot meals for breakfast and lunch and a grocery with the usual staples, including fresh fruits and vegetables. I was just flabbergasted. How remarkable it is to see how God meets each and every need, in every way, every time, just like He promises in His Word.

Trust God and See It Come to Pass

I have had many open doors to serve others with confidence because of the Word of God I have learned. There was a wonderful married couple who were serving with my husband and me, whom we became very close with. This couple had been married for a good amount of time and expressed to us their desire to start a family sometime soon. We told them that we would keep them in our prayers and encouraged them to confess the positives of the Word and to keep believing to see it come to pass.

It was years later, and we once again were serving with this couple. They invited us to stay with them while my husband and I were visiting and teaching the believers in their area. During this visit the couple, who had now been married for fifteen years, once again told us that they were diligently believing to start a family. As they shared their hearts, I could tell that the wife had some fear and doubt about the situation. I then had the open door to share with them the truths of God’s Word about claiming God’s promises with confidence, and that if they wanted to see this come to pass, they needed to not look at the five senses but to trust entirely in God. The wife cried as the Word ministered to her heart, and I asked if I could pray for them. It was very clear to me what to pray for, and I did so knowing God would bless them and answer the desire of their hearts.

It was about two months later when the couple came for a visit and, with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes, told us that they were expecting a baby. Later they had a healthy baby boy. I was able to help them because of the Word I have been taught by way of this ministry and made my own. What a joy to walk in the steps of Jesus Christ, making an impact in people’s lives.

Humble Hearts Must Be Waiting for Us

One Saturday we went out to witness two by two. Door after door, family after family, of all those approached, no one had been available to receive us or even listen to us. We refused to let discouragement prevail. We truly believed since we had gone out that morning, it was because humble hearts must be waiting for us somewhere.

It was then that passing in front of a house, we saw a gentleman sitting on the veranda. As we approached with God’s love, he was eager to receive us and give us a seat, and he was ready to listen to us. After about twenty minutes of sharing with him about God’s goodness and grace, he was very amazed by God’s Word on display.

He told us that he had been waiting for this moment for nearly seven years. That for nearly seven years he thought that his sins were so numerous and so serious that he could not even venture to say the name of God. He had many times thought of going to confess to the priest, or even go to an exorcist priest, but in his mind the gravity of his sins prevented him from doing so. He had fled his village because of the sorcerers, leaving his wife and children, and could not return. He was convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that God could not forgive him and his many grave sins.

After this, we further showed him from God’s Word about His grace and about being born again. On the spot, he confessed Romans 10:9 and 10. Big tears streamed down his face. He told us that while he was confessing Romans 10:9 and 10, he felt as if a great burden had fallen from his head. He said he was ready to follow us wherever we went. We continued to share the Word with him that evening.

To this day, he has become very faithful to fellowship in the home. He has already gone back to visit his village several times, and is preparing to bring his whole family back with him. What wonderful grace from God!

God Answered Our Prayers

Sharing the Word of God from house to house, my Way Ambassador partner and I were received by a man, a car mechanic by trade, who had just undergone surgery on both kidneys. We thus began a process of sharing the principles of believing and prayer with him, following his state of health day after day. Returning one day from a medical consultation, this man shared with us his concern on the recovery of these two wounds, one of which healed well, but the other on the right side was problematic and caused him a lot of pain and worry. We reassured him that God is the Healer, and said a word of prayer in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ.

Two days later, returning to visit him, we found in the house only his wife who, until then, was indifferent to us, but who that day begged us to wait for the return of her husband. Which we accepted. And some two minutes later, we saw the gentleman disembark from a motorcycle. I told the other Way Ambassador who was with me that something powerful had happened in the gentleman’s body because a two-kidney patient who was recovering from a surgery like his could not ride on a motorcycle.

Indeed, he himself confirmed that at his last medical examination, his doctor had just informed him that his two wounds were totally healed, that there was no longer any concern, and that he could resume his work as a mechanic as he saw fit. We praised God!

This miraculous healing of the man led his wife to open her heart to us by asking us to pray for her, because their only child was already almost ten years old and since then, she has not been able to conceive. She accepted our invitation to join her husband in our home fellowship meetings, and we also began to pray for her deliverance. God answered our prayers because the man and the woman are now graduates of the Foundational Class, and some time later, the woman gave birth to a beautiful baby.

Answers to Life’s Confusing Dilemmas

I will be eternally grateful for the Word of God that The Way Ministry has taught me for over forty years and for the deliverance it has brought to my life and the lives I’ve touched with the rightly divided Word.

As a child, I grew up in the Presbyterian Church and was taught that God was love, but also someone to be feared, made you sick, and even killed. You see, I had a dear high school friend die during his surgery, and all my pastor could comfort me with was that “God had taken him, and we can’t always know why God does these things.” My friend was a great guy and always attended our youth fellowships at the church, he sang in the choir, and was an Eagle Scout. So why did he have to die?

Years passed and I still had lots of unanswered questions. When I became a registered nurse, I encountered even more of those unanswered questions in the hospital. An infant was a stillbirth, and I had been taught he would go to heaven if he was baptized, and hoping to bring some comfort to the mother who was grief stricken, I had him baptized. When I informed the supervisor, who came to get the body, she replied that the infant would be stuck in purgatory forever. I was angry and appalled at God, and once more was puzzled by the thought of how could a so-called loving God do such awful things? I wanted answers to life’s confusing dilemmas and searched for them in all possible places.

I was twenty-three years old when a friend of mine came to visit on his way to the Rock of Ages, a Christian music festival, in Ohio. It was obvious to me that he had a new perspective on life. He was no longer the depressed, suicidal mess that I had known him as. He was an answer to my long-awaited prayers and didn’t even realize it, but God knew.

Philippians 4:19:
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

I took the Foundational Class he told me about, and the Word that was taught in the class has answered every question I have ever had in my life. Now I know how to teach others, so they can gain an understanding of how much God loves us. God is not that mean guy carrying a big stick to smack you with if you mess up. God loves us, treasures us, and wants to meet our every need.

I recall the tears of joy in the eyes of one new believer when I shared God’s love with her. She had grown up in an abusive home and had wondered why God had allowed that to happen to her. The Foundational Class delivered her from a life of self-loathing and condemnation, to a life filled with so much joy that even her outward appearance changed to that of a joy-filled believer.

I John 3:20,21:
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

A few years ago, while I was at work, I received an emergency call from my husband who was working out of town. He said he woke up with sharp pain in his abdomen, so I instructed him to get to a nearby urgent care. Within minutes I received another call from him that he had called 911, since he couldn’t drive because of the intense pain.

Psalm 46:10:
Be still, and know that I am God….

That verse helped me stay peaceful while I drove home to pack and fly to the city where he was working. I didn’t even know what hospital he was taken to, but God did, so I spoke in tongues while I waited for my flight to depart. While I was waiting, I received a phone call from my insurance provider to clarify our coverage, and they told me which hospital he was in. I found my husband in the emergency room and he was soon taken to the intensive care unit with a hole in his intestine. The surgeon came to see him and said my husband would need surgery unless the hole closed, but for now, they wanted to get him stabilized in intensive care to watch for worsening signs. I phoned our local ministry leadership to pray with him, and he contacted the believers to pray for my husband’s deliverance. Within days I took him home, and his intestine was totally healed. God is a God of deliverance!

Psalm 34:19:
Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.

Over the years I’ve learned to not depend on the arm of man, but on God.

Numbers 23:19:
God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

God never has and never will disappoint me when I look to Him as my strength and sufficiency. Always go to the Word.

Way Ambassadors Are Bold

Elements of the Way Ambassador lifestyle and strategy include working twenty to thirty hours per week and spending at least thirty hours per week witnessing and/or undershepherding. Visit our Ambassadors of the Way Outreach Program page to learn more.

I Knew I Needed to Go Speak

Early on in the tenure, my husband and I were at a local office supply store to print a few things. We were there fairly often because we didn’t have a printer. We struck up a conversation with the young man working the register, but with several customers behind us in line, we had to keep moving along. All I really knew was his name. The next few times we were at the store, he was not there. He kept popping up in my mind and heart, so I just continued speaking in tongues for him and continually believed for an opportunity to talk with him again.

About two months later we found ourselves at the office supply store again, and this time he was there and there were no customers in line at the register! I knew I needed to go speak with him right away. I walked up to him and reintroduced myself. I said, “You might not remember me, but we met a couple months ago here. I know this might seem random, but my husband and I are here to be the good news, to share God’s Word with people. Ever since we met, you’ve been on my heart. I’ve learned when God works in me like this not to ignore it!” I then explained when we have fellowship and asked if he would like to come. He said he did remember us, and that he would love to come! A few weeks later, he attended his first fellowship. He then registered and completed the Power for Abundant Living Today class, repeated it, and has since taken both the Intermediate and Defeating the Adversary classes! God’s timing is perfect. He will lead us to those hungry hearts as we listen to that “still small voice” and remain bold to speak!

Speaking the Word on the Job Works!

God worked mightily and opened doors of utterance in the workplace.

I happened to find part-time work with a retail company that had managers who were very accommodating of my needs as a Way Ambassador. It just so happened that the store where I worked was in an area that attracted tourists. People visiting from all over would ask me questions about myself. This opened the door for me to share why I was in town and to speak the Word to them.

In addition, many students and young people worked in the store, and there was quite a staff turnover. So, during my time there, I was not only able to speak the Word to my regular coworkers, but also to a continual flow of newly hired employees. I had opportunities to speak the Word to the various managers, as well.

But that’s not all! We all spoke the Word to coworkers at our jobs and to employees in other workplaces, such as the grocery stores where we shopped. As a result, several people attended our fellowships and events to hear the Word and learn about us and the Power for Abundant Living Today class. Now several of them are graduates of our Foundational Class (some have taken the class twice), and at least one is a graduate of the Intermediate and Defeating the Adversary classes! All in just nine months! Speaking the Word at appropriate times on the job works!

God Is Not Limited

I grew up being taught God’s Word in The Way Ministry, which is a great blessing. One of the ways God has consistently blessed me as I applied truths I learned is by causing me to physically abound. When I look back on my life, I can see that even in times of financial hardship, God caused me to prosper.

When I was pursuing a higher education, money was very tight for me. I had chosen to go to school outside of the state I lived in, in order to attend a college that had Way Bible fellowships for me to attend. In the United States, there are often extra fees that come with attending college out of state. This was the case for me. Even with scholarships, I still had substantial expenses each year.

I knew from the Word taught to me that there is freedom and blessing in remaining debt-free; I always held fast to that. To pay for the school expenses I had that were not covered by scholarships or contributions from my family, I lived the Word I knew regarding my finances. I prayed and cast my cares to God, I worked heartily at multiple jobs, I abundantly shared, I faithfully participated in fellowship, and I lived within my means, not buying anything I did not need. All the money I had after abundantly sharing I used to pay for school.

From a five-senses perspective I was not materially prospering because I had so little money—just barely enough to meet my need with no extra. But, God is not limited. Because of the truths I learned in Way Bible fellowships and classes, I lived a very prosperous lifestyle even during the most financially difficult time of my life. God poured out blessings day after day.

As I was finishing my first year of college, I applied for and aggressively believed to receive a second job on campus for the coming year. The job I was applying for included room and board in its compensation; on my application I was allowed to list three preferences for residential buildings on campus I would like to live and work in. Though the school was about to open two brand new residence halls, I selected three older buildings that I would be blessed to work in. I knew any of the buildings would meet my need, and I figured a lot of people were probably asking for the brand-new buildings. I knew that I would just be thankful to have my need met.

Well, God not only blessed me with the job; He went above and beyond what I had asked or thought! I ended up living in the newest, nicest residence hall on campus, rent-free. I had my own room, my own bathroom, brand-new furniture, and two closets! I was the first person to ever live in my room.

I also received a meal plan for use on campus. My meal plan allowed me to spend much more on food than I would have otherwise. I was able to eat at name-brand restaurant chains on campus, shop at our small campus grocery store, and even purchase treats like coffee and frozen yogurt at no personal cost.

In addition to having great food and a great place to live, I was also able to do many extracurricular activities for free as a student. I took free dance lessons for three years with a student organization. I watched movies for free in the theater at the student union. There were lots of free festivals and fairs to attend throughout the year. Truly, life was rich and abundant!

Through it all I was taking college classes that I loved and growing my field of study. At the end of my time at school, I received an accredited degree in my field, and I had no debt at all. Today I get to use what I learned in my field of study to move the Word over the world!

I know it was God and faithfulness to His Word which caused this prosperity. God provided me with everything I needed and more. He made my college years wonderful and victorious. As God met my physical needs, I remained free to focus on growing spiritually.

College is where I first coordinated a fellowship, where I grew in my ability to reach out to people and care for them according to God’s Word, and where I made decisions to pursue higher levels of service in the ministry. As God prospered me physically, I grew mentally and spiritually too. How thankful I am for the Word I’ve been taught. And how thankful I am for the ministry that has made these truths so plain. It is my joy and privilege to continue living God’s matchless Word!

Powerful Unity and Strength

God is always at work, and it is exciting to listen to Him and move with Him. Before Way Ambassador, our family had never lived with anyone and really had no desire to do so. During the program, we were blessed with a lovely housemate, and the learning and growth from applying the third pillar of the program—living God’s love at home—wonderfully impacted our lives. I had the joy of experiencing powerful unity and strength within our home. This also led to a much deeper understanding of how the three pillars of this program seamlessly meld together and are all interdependent on one another.

As we lived love at home, we were more ready and more willing to reach out to others with full hearts ready to give. Gathering together daily and inspiring each other with the Word would comfort and encourage our hearts. We would share details about those we were reaching out to and made plans to support one another in God’s work. Our days would start and end with like-minded planning, prayers, and believing.

We were blessed to live in an apartment community where the grounds were beautiful to walk. There were peaceful courtyards with fountains and a few different pools to enjoy during the hot afternoons. We had many open doors to speak God’s Word right outside our door, and it was a joy to work together with our housemate as we made God’s presence known right in our community. We would get home after walking around the complex or doing “pool outreach” and share the names of all that we met. We’d run out to meet each other’s contacts and invite them over.

One of our neighbors had his mom visiting from Philadelphia multiple times over the months. Every visit, she came and joined our fellowship and was blessed to pursue fellowship in her hometown. Many times, our housemate and I crossed paths with the same people at different times and places. These individuals were comforted and thrilled to be encouraged and sought after by God on multiple occasions by different people.

The walk of love gives evidence to Who our Father is. We were fellow workers and this was a witness. Our personal spiritual growth naturally abounded as we lived unity and love and were reaching out to others. It is beautiful how the pillars are interdependent. It reminds me of how the whole Word fits together, how the manifestations of holy spirit all work together, and how the Body of Christ operates as one. Nothing is without impact on another. God is amazing as the great arranger.

To learn more about the three pillars of the Way Ambassador program, visit our Way Ambassador page.

How Can Life Be More Satisfying?

Have you ever wondered what God wanted you to do with your life? That was a major concern as I headed off to college at age eighteen in August. Someone invited me to my first fellowship at a Way Home* in October of that year, and by December, I was sitting in my first Foundational Class.

Everyone had really built the class up, so I knew it was going to be exciting. It was the opening session and after listening for a short time, I noticed how the content was logical and easy to follow and it helped me understand the Bible better. And it wasn’t about football games or stories of people or seemingly unrelated topics which was what I had been hearing in churches in my university town. But getting back to the class, the teacher said something that almost brought me out of my seat. It was something like, “Do you want to know what the greatest secret in the world today is?” Who wouldn’t want to know that?

Uncovering things about God was exactly what I was looking for. The greatest secret in the world today was and still is the Bible is the revealed Word and will of God. It was a moment of tremendous understanding for me, of my mind being flooded with light, and of healing beyond anything I had expected. (Looking back through my younger years for a moment, my mom went to church at least twice a week and often more as there was a need. She sang in the choir. My aunt was a foreign missionary and I had seriously considered participating in the home mission program.)

For years I had searched for what God wanted me to do. And this man on the screen just said that the Bible is the revealed Word and WILL OF GOD. This was it! I had found God’s will for my life! It’s His Word! There aren’t enough exclamation marks to express what happened in my heart during that first session.

It is such a simple concept, but the stability it gave me mentally and spiritually has lasted through my lifetime. I kept learning and living the Word, which is God’s will. Many doors of continued growth, understanding, and service opened up to me. How can life be more satisfying than knowing you are living according to the Almighty God’s will and desire for you as an individual? It is incomparable! It started coming together for me in session 1 of the Foundational Class for which I will forever be thankful.

For more information and to sign up for a Foundational Class running near you, contact us.

* A Way Home was a family dwelling where a group of believers could live the Word of God together.

Way Ambassadors Benefit from Program’s Pillars

The framework of the Way Ambassador program is built upon three pillars: personal spiritual growth, reaching out to others, and living God’s love at home. Please enjoy these personal accounts from Way Ambassadors.

Personal Spiritual Growth

Confronted during our outings on several sensitive topics such as the trinity, water baptism, reincarnation, and dreams and visions, I learned to do research to have a deep understanding of the Word. I began each day to search the Scriptures through all the resources available to us in our ministry. I stopped choosing certain subjects to my liking, instead I searched to discover more truth from God’s Word to help me with the sensitive topics.

Reaching Out to Others

One of the benefits I received during the program came from having experienced the principle of going two by two. By practicing it, I was able to appreciate how two are better than one. This principle helped me see how God could work in each of us to accomplish His work. I benefited from great hands-on learning from the other ambassadors by seeing how they could introduce Word topics with people. There have been times when I have come to understand that if I were alone, it would have been more difficult for me to bring Biblical solutions to people. Going two by two was a win-win experience.

Living God’s Love at Home

Fellowship in the home is the best place where I experienced agapē love, mutual agreement, and full sharing, and this is what allowed me to support others and do everything I could to put the right atmosphere between us to move forward with God. It was a wonderful time, a learning and charitable experience. I continue to say thank you to God for all that I learned so that I will be able to continue to enjoy helping others with love without hesitation.

Powerful Prayers Yield Powerful Results!

Prayer Was an Important Part of Our Home Life Together

It was late Monday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk at work when I received a phone call from one of my daughters. She told me that her younger sister (my other daughter) just called to tell her that my younger daughter’s thirty-nine-year-old husband and father of their three preschoolers was apparently having a heart attack while at work. My younger daughter was on her way to be with him. At this point not too many details were known, but the main reason my older daughter called was for me to get with some people and pray immediately; she would pray also as well as call others to pray. With my mind racing through all the possible outcomes in this situation and wanting to know more and yearning to leave the office and get on a plane and fly to them, I focused on what I was asked to do—pray. I got with one of my sisters and another person in our work area and we claimed my son-in-law’s health and for God to protect that young family!

Barely had we finished praying when we got the news that my son-in-law had already completed emergency surgery and was recovering nicely! Earlier, he had initially asked his coworker to drive him to the only hospital he knew, the one a few blocks from where he and my daughter lived. But that hospital was still several miles away, so when he saw a blue hospital sign in their immediate vicinity, he made the crucial decision to turn in there. It turns out this hospital was one of the top cardiac centers in the northern part of the state. The highly trained staff knew exactly what to do to help him and they did it without delay. They told him those few minutes made the difference in this life-and-death situation.

In The Way Ministry, I have learned that we have the right to claim good health for ourselves and those we love, that we can make intercession for others through perfect prayer, that we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and that we can hold the Word in our minds even in stressful situations. My children learned these truths also—from me, from other believers, from the home fellowships they attended, from Children’s Fellowship—and we practiced these concepts in our home. Prayer was an important part of our home life together. And now, in an extreme situation, all that teaching and practice came into play as my older daughter went into action, organizing a strong prayer team, and my younger daughter claimed God’s protection and supported her husband in person.

My son-in-law was delivered that day and continues to be in good health, and we are thankful to our God Who loves us so much!

A Peril in Travel: from Victim to Victor

For over seventy years, my loving heavenly Father has had His hand upon my life and those I love. From being adopted as a baby to growing up in a loving, Christian middle-class environment, I’ve noticed that I have been protected, cared for, loved, and have been given many opportunities that only God ultimately could provide. As I have sojourned across the USA, I have experienced so many situations where God has stepped in. In them all, He has interceded and delivered me from potential harm, health situations, financial investments, marriage and family misunderstandings, and perils while traveling.

The following is one example of a peril while traveling—a vacation I call “from victim to victor.” (Here is a side note: when it comes to moving our family or traveling from point A to point B, my wife and I are very careful in planning a safe journey. We save, we plan, we map out our routes, reserve housing along the way, and we prepare our vehicle or rental equipment so that we reach our destination without incident.)

We set sail on our first of three days of traveling to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Before leaving our home, my wife and I prayed, thanking our loving heavenly Father for a safe trip. We left with peace in our hearts and with the anticipation of a leisurely vacation. As we viewed the Gateway Arch while driving through the city of St. Louis, Missouri, our vehicle’s check engine light warning came on the dashboard. Our van began choking and coughing for the proper mixture of oil, fuel, and oxygen. My wife was driving at the time and began losing confidence and showing signs of panic. I responded with soft, simple instructions to stay calm and look for the next safe exit where we could pull over and figure this out. She did a great job, and we ended up in a nice neighborhood where we could stop to find a local dealership with qualified technicians and parts if needed. We kept the engine running, found a full-service dealer that was on the same route we were currently on, and limped into the service department a few miles away. Thank God for GPS.

Upon getting a complete evaluation of the problem, we learned that one of the engine parts had worn out and was hemorrhaging oil, causing improper firing to the cylinders. The job would take days to repair and the cost would be close to $3,000. Can you see the temptation of feeling like a victim, helpless, fearful, and unprepared for such an event? Without God comforting our hearts and our knowing that we are more than conquerors in every situation, without examples that we could recall from the Old and New Testament of godly deliverances, plus the realization of the Christ in us, this unforeseen bump in the road could have prevented us from enjoying our planned vacation with fellow believers and the experience of being in a peaceful setting.

The victory was that the full repair was covered by an eight-year warranty that would become null and void in about a week. The victory was that we didn’t have to pay one penny for any of the problems that the manufacturer covered with the warranty. The victory was that the dealer made available a late model, comfortable and fuel-efficient loaner vehicle at no charge so that we could continue on our way without losing any time.

Jeremiah 32:27:
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?