READ: PSALM 139:1-12; ISAIAH 65:24; ROMANS 8:26-37

Intense tears blocked my vision. My soul felt like dust. I was unable to stop shaking.

My father was in the next room. He was lying in his casket.

One look had sent me running. It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be. Dad could not be dead. Not my wonderful father.

But he was. I was sixteen and my father was dead. I felt utterly hopeless. Utterly desolate. Utterly abandoned by God. “I’ll never survive this,” I told myself. “Never.”

Wondering if anyone had ever survived such deep pain, I thought about my friend, Fred. Fred’s mother had died suddenly less than two weeks earlier. Only he understood my pain. I needed him. Instinct told me to pray even though I thought God had quit listening. Over and over, I asked the Lord to “please send Fred.”

Minutes later, my arms were wrapped around Fred. God was still listening! He had answered my prayer! He still loved me! That was the moment I knew I would survive.

Prayer. Countless words have been written and preached on the subject. It’s easy to make prayer sound complicated, but in my experience, prayer is pretty simple. It’s a conversation with God while remembering that He is Lord, and we are His servants. We ask, and we accept. Sometimes He provides what we want. He always provides what we need.

When God sent Fred to that funeral home, it was what I needed. It wasn’t what I really wanted. I wanted my dad back, alive and well.

Turns out, God’s decisions aren’t our decisions. I’ve wrestled with that one. A lot. But I can tell you God is always there. He is always listening. He never stops caring, and He will give you what you need.

Keep the dialogue going. As 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Never stop praying.” • Kathy Irey

• Have you ever been nearly swallowed up by grief and wondered if God was still listening to your prayers? There’s never a moment when God isn’t listening to us. There’s never a moment He doesn’t hear us. Jesus promises His presence with us always, and that presence often shows up in the comfort provided by friends who share our grief (Romans 12:15; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11). Can you think of a time God reminded you of His love and care for you? What was that like?

“And be sure of this: I [Jesus] am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20 (NLT)