Confident Of Redress

Feel not compelled to make your prayer,
As if God prizes your doing duty
More than cries from a heart burdened with care;
Speak not studied words of art or beauty;
The medium doesn't guarantee He hears,
Nor the message; nor e'en the oft doing;
His child's heart-filled plea, watered with his tears,
Finds the ear of God, and earnest suing!
Written words on wheels that're ever turning,
Or those in bottles cast on heaving seas,
Are apt to result in divine spurning,
The senders lacking faith and loving ease!
The believer who prays with most success
Has the most trust his Father will redress!

Sincerity, belief that God hears and will respond, and righteousness (that is, everyday obedience to God) are all vital to receiving affirmative answers to the prayers of believers.

"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." (James 5:13-15)

On Aug. 18. 2008, the Lord granted my prayer and those of family and friends to restore my eyesight. I had been blind for 4 months following cataract surgery; both eyes were affected. The surgeon had never had a patient that reacted this way. I sought help from specialists, who tried experimental procedures but failed. Finally, I was down to one option, and it was not good. I had a partial cornea transplant set for Aug. 28. Many prayers had been lifted in my behalf. The miracle happened at 2 p.m. on the 18th; in the blinking of my eyes, sight returned to both of them simultaneously! It was a miracle from God.