Brothers and sisters, have you ever experienced God’s presence so clearly in prayer? Would you like to share?

[Sara Lau]

Jehovah God said, “Then shall you call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you” (Jeremiah 29:12). God has clearly told us that as long as we genuinely call out to Him in prayer, He will help us through difficult times. There are many stories recorded in the Bible of situations turning around and problems being resolved through prayer. For example, when Joshua led the Israelites into war with the Amorites, he prayed to Jehovah God and God heard his prayer and fought for the Israelites. Ultimately, the Amorites were defeated (See Joshua 10:1–14). And there were the Ninevites, who became corrupt and wicked to a point that offended God’s disposition, but when the prophet Jonah communicated God’s warning to them, they put on sackcloth and ashes, and fasted and prayed for 40 days, as well as fully gave up their evil ways within their hearts. When God saw the Ninevites truly repent, He showed them compassion and allowed them to continue to live (See Jonah 3). Another story takes place after the nation of Israel collapsed; Jews in foreign lands were framed by an evil nobleman and were in danger of being killed. In this crisis Esther guided her fellow Jewish people to fast and pray for three days and three nights and willingly risked death to go see the king. Jehovah heard their prayers and ultimately the evil man was put to death. The Jewish people avoided a major catastrophe. In that foreign land they also escaped becoming slaves and gained others’ respect and kindness (See Esther 3–8). We can see from these events that when we genuinely look to God and offer up sincere prayers to Him, unimaginable things can occur.