God Answers Prayers

I went to Netanya this evening and met up with the Christian friends I have made there for a fellowship dinner. I have spent much time there chatting with them, and therefore left the apartment rather late in the night, around 10:30pm. I managed to catch a sherut (shared taxi) which was heading to Herzliya and Tel Aviv. However, as there were only 2 passengers in the 10-seater sherut (me and another girl whom I’ve never met before), the driver suddenly decided that he didn’t want to drive us to our destinations, probably because it was not profitable to do so, and dropped us at a bus stop which was still in the area of Netanya! It was almost 11pm when we got off the sherut, and it was really cold waiting at the bus stop and hoping for another sherut that will head to Herzliya. (Israel at night is really, really cold, especially in the Winter.) A special taxi (which is the normal type of taxis) approached us and offered the ride at NIS 100! The driver is crazy! (A sherut ride from Netanya to Herzliya costs between NIS 9-11 only.) We waited and waited, and the clock continued to tick…

I was watching an episode of Rev Dr Ulf Ekman’s 'Another Day of Victory' podcast when I was on my way to Netanya, and the programme was on 'God Wants To Answer Your Prayer'. When I was waiting at the bus stop and saw the girl shaking her legs like crazy in the cold, I recalled what I have learnt in the programme, and began to call upon the Lord in prayer and asked Him to provide us an affordable transport which could take us back to Herzliya and keep us sheltered for a while from the cold. As I activated my faith and pray, a sherut came to the bus stop and picked us up! Yeah!!! =D

God not only answered my prayer that night just by bringing that sherut to us. He went beyond that! When I was praying in Netanya, I told Him that the transport had to come soon as I didn’t want to see that girl staying in the cold for too long. I think He knew that I was also feeling really cold then. When we got off at Herzliya, the girl asked me if I wanted a ride back to my apartment by her boyfriend, whose car was waiting for her near where we got off the sherut. At first I didn’t know if it would be convenient for both of them. However, as they were checking on the direction to my apartment, it was actually on the way as they were heading to Ra’ananna, a city next to Herzliya. I accepted the offer and got on the car, and realised it was pretty warm inside the car. Her boyfriend switched on the heater! The ride offered me not only the convenience but also kept me warm throughout the journey. At the end of the ride, he gave me his mobile phone number and asked me to give him a call should I need any help in any way! The ride back tonight might be longer and slightly costlier than usual, but it was a ride that really demonstrated the Israelis’ warm hospitality which is very common across the country. Most important of all, the ride testified His goodness and showed that He answers prayers! Amen! =)