The God that Answers Prayers: My Experience

At midnight of the 13th of September, 2024, while preparing to go back to bed. A remarkable experience I had was brought to my mind. This brought smiles to my face an gratitude to my heart. While expressing my joy and appreciation to the Lord, the title of this post was dropped on my mind and I was instructed to write and share my experience as a post. So, here I am doing just that. The anchor text for this post is 1 Kings 18:24

Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD; and "the God who answers by fire, He is God.” 

As depicted in the title, the purpose of the post is to talk about one of my amazing experiences of this God that answer prayers. Prophet Elijah, in the anchor text said the God who answers [prayers] by fire, He is God. It just dawned on me that in our day and age, the fire mentioned by Prophet Elijah could be representational of the promptness of the Lord in response to our prayers. For He is the God of by this time tomorrow (2 Kings 7v1-4). My experience goes thus:

In the third week of November 2023, while having a midnight prayer session with my prayer partner, I faintly mentioned to him that I would like to have an impartation encounter with a man of God during my planned trip to a conference in the Republic of Benin and then a quick visit to Nigeria. Knowing how difficult this was, I did not put it to heart. But my friend mentioned it during the prayers. We ended the prayers, and I left for the conference. The whole trip was a bit challenging from the start. It started with a weird experience at the French immigration desk, well as a Nigerian, I have gotten used to all the shenanigans from immigration officers. Getting to my destination, the queue to the immigration desk was so long we had to stand for almost 2 hours, after eventually getting through I could not find my luggage. I went to the airline's information desk to lodge a complaint. I was told to call them the following morning. There I was without anything to wear to the conference that starts the following morning. Honestly, the Lord has done a good job breaking and moulding me.

To cut the story short, I finished the conference without my luggage, eventually picked it up on the night before I left for Nigeria. My trip to Nigeria went well. Spent 5 days in Nigeria. On my return trip, my flight was delayed without any information from the airline staff. I was on the queue at the Nigerian airport for 5 hours. We eventually left Nigeria by 4h30 the following day instead of 22h00. We arrived in France for a quick stopover. Unknown to me, the Lord had already orchestrated a divine arrangement to answer my prayer for impartation. While making my way to my boarding gate, guess who was standing behind me?! Bishop Francis Wale Oke! Then my prayer point was brought back to my memory. I could not believe it! I did not know to ask him to lay hands on me among the crowds. While thinking about that, we were told to change trains, so I left without the impartation I seek. While going to the next station to board the train at the French airport, I apologized to the Lord for not been bold enough to ask for the impartation I prayed for. I asked another opportunity to see Bishop Wale Oke. 

When the new train was about leaving, I saw him walking towards the wagon I was. But there was no space because it was congested. I know that was the Lord giving me another chance. So I politely asked others to create space for him and his wife. Now, unlike the first occurrence, they were really behind me. The point now is how do I ask him for impartation among the crowd. I was praying for help. We got to the station, everybody alighted but due to language barriers most passengers were confused whether that was the destination. Everybody got left with I, Papa Francis Wale Oke and his wife. I yorubally (respectfully) informed him that we have gotten to the final stop. Which I knew there couldn't be any better opportunity. While out of the train wagon, I humbly asked him to lay hands on me. Which he did as a good father. I walked and talked with him a bit, then we parted. Wow! I kid you not, I suddenly had the urge to pray. I was praying for minutes that became hours.

The point I am trying to make here is that, we serve a God that answers His children's prayers as long as they are in line with His plans. You might be out there with a need, and all the physical realities might seem nothing positive is happening. Trust the Lord to answer you when He knows the time is right. Habakkuk 2v3 (MOFFATT) says '"the vision has its own appointed hour, it ripens, it will flower; if it be long, then wait, for it is sure, and it will not be late." The vision might be long, but never confuse been long with been late. Psalm 27:13 (NIV) “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.”

Shalom Aleichem brothers and sisters.

Babasile Daniel I