Answered prayers

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Tuesday, December 27th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Now, day 2 of our series of Answered Prayers. First up, two prayerful grandmothers. And Mary, you’re one of them!

REICHARD: Here is my prayer story. So let me go back to the happiest of moments. They arrived when my first grandbaby made her grand entrance into this world back in April of this year, of this year full of vim and vigor and loud at one end, and inconsiderate at the other. She was just perfect. But within a few days, my daughter, the baby's mother, developed a life threatening infection. She was re-admitted to the hospital right away. I googled the diagnosis, which I know you aren’t supposed to do and my heart just sank. The dark prospects scared me so badly. I don’t mind saying that I was on my knees weeping and praying to God, please spare her. Take me. Take me and not my daughter. I know you’re not supposed to bargain. I’ve prayed hard in my life, but never as hard as that. I just kept doing the next thing that needed doing. Care for the baby, cook some food, take out the trash, ask questions, hope, wait, pray some more. As it happened, the timing worked out, the right antibiotics killed the infection. And soon all was well once again. Thanks be to God for prayer and for life.

EICHER: Amen! I remember that well. Next, grandmother Kari Stadem:

KARI STADEM: One Tuesday morning in February, I had a problem. My younger daughter was having more contractions and it looked like she might give birth to her first child that day. I was supposed to practice with 16 individual performers for a music contest, and then travel to accompany them at the contest the next day. My husband Pete and I prayed, “Lord, please help me make it to the contest and to the birth. And what should I do today?” I decided to go and practice with my phone handy so I could be called and leave at a moment's notice. And then immediately after the practice, I'd go to Sara's house. That's what I did, arriving at about 3pm. Baby Addy came into the world at 10:30pm. I dozed through the night at the birthing center. We arrived back at their house at 6am. And after a half an hour nap, I got ready and drove to the contest. Since I had so many students, I was able to stay awake and we had a successful contest day. After which I drove back to Sara's house and stayed a couple more days to help the new moms settle in. Just a few weeks later, I faced a similar problem. Pete and I felt a need to attend a funeral four hours away, but my other daughter was due to deliver any minute. Once more we prayed. My husband felt peace about going to the funeral. The family was blessed by our presence and two days after we returned, baby Lydia made her first appearance with grandma in the room to greet her. I'm so grateful for a God who has perfect timing.

REICHARD: Grandmother prayers, so powerful! And finally today, Luke Ferraguti:

LUKE FERRAGUTI: There are two prayers from 2022 that God answered that I'd like to share with you. The first was that God would reacquaint me with dependence on Him. And despite my stubbornness and attempts to pursue my own plans over His, His mercies have chased me down this year. And I've been reminded that even though God works through sadness, He ultimately has our good in mind. The second is that God would provide for the first Ferraguti niece who was born into our family in October of 2022. Mom, dad and baby are all healthy, and I'm so grateful for His provision in that area of our lives. I'm so grateful for The World and Everything in It community, and I hope you have an amazing day.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.