I had set up about 6 weeks of meetings, starting with a mission conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Whenever I had a meeting with a church anywhere in the country, God wanted me to go, regardless of current circumstances. This particular trip was going to be one of those rare occasions that my wife Cheri would not go with me. At the time, she was helping our daughter Krista with her upcoming wedding. Since I lived in El Paso, Texas, my first stop was Oshkosh, WI, and I attempted to count the cost. Map Quest said the mileage from my home to Oshkosh was about 1500 miles. I didn’t have very much money at the time, and I wondered if I had enough for gas to get there. My 1990 Oldsmobile got 24 mpg – that was the best that car ever got. I tried to calculate how many gallons of gas I needed for the trip. I used the ‘24’ number because the money was short and I was trying to stretch it (-: But, anyway I looked at it, I didn’t have enough money to get there. But I knew the Lord wanted me to go, He simply didn’t clarify how that would happen. So, I started driving and praying that the Lord would do whatever He needed to do. While driving, I attempted to figure out how God was going to solve the problem. The question in my mind wasn’t if God would solve the problem and answer the prayer, but how. The only solution I could think of was I would stop at some gas station, and a complete stranger would walk up to me and hand me enough cash to complete my trip, and say something like, “God led me to give this to you”. I came up with this conclusion, because it was the best my finite mind could do. That scenario, although unlikely, was the only thing my mind could imagine was possible. I mean, somehow I had to get money. You had to have money, to put gas in the tank.
Since all I was doing was driving and stopping for gas, I had nothing else to do but check my mileage. You know, divide the number of gallons I pumped into the car at the gas stop into the number of miles I drove since the previous stop. I noticed I got 27 mpg. Now that really surprised me, I had never got more than 24. The next stop I checked and I saw that I got 31 mpg. Wow! That was unbelievable! The next stop, I couldn’t wait to check that mileage! When I checked it (and I checked it several times) as God is my witness, I got 39 mpg with that old 1990 six-cylinder Oldsmobile! And I thought I had to have more money! And God said, you don’t need more money. I’ll just increase your gas mileage by 60%! Why didn’t I think of that? Because my little mind is finite- God’s is infinite. And do you know what? I got to Oshkosh with money to spare! How great is that? Is He good or what?!
God’s Point in this story: DON’T TRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW GOD WILL ANSWER PRAYER
God gave me a very clear lesson here. This is a very important point about prayer. When you try to use your human mind to imagine how our All-Knowing God will solve a problem, you will have trouble finding a solution. As in the story here, God did the impossible – something I wouldn’t, and couldn’t, have thought of. When praying, and you can’t see any solution, simply give it to God. When the solution requires an infinite mind, you have no business in that area. HELLO, you will become discouraged! And that usually leads to you to doing the worst possible thing regarding prayer; you make PLAN B. Plan B is your ‘safety net’ to solve the problem because you think that God can’t come through (you do this because it’s just too important!). If you want to know what God thinks about your ‘Plan B’, read Jam. 1:6-7. Your prayer will not be answered, you will walk away thinking God doesn’t answer prayer, and God will not be pleased with you (Heb. 11:6). So what should you do? Just give the prayer request to God, and wait. Of course it isn’t easy, you’re human, remember? Wait either for Him to answer the prayer, or for Him to close the door. When He clearly closes the door, then you make Plan B if necessary. But only after He closes the door (don’t forget that ‘no’ is an answer). You will note that in this story I couldn’t have a plan B – I was either going to get there or run out of gas. That’s the best way to pray, with everything on the line! God likes to have you trust Him that way!
Let me tell you about another blessing regarding that 1500 mile trip. Of all the thousands of miles Cheri and I drive around the United States, neither of us have ever had to sleep in the car. We always had a place to sleep. If we didn’t know someone to stay with, we would have enough money to stay at a motel. I’m neither bragging nor complaining here, I’m just telling you what happened. On this particular trip, I drove the 1500 miles in two long days. I never considered money for a motel. I needed to be there by Thursday evening, so I left very early on Wednesday morning. Cheri made me sandwiches and made me promise I wouldn’t try to drive straight through. So Wednesday about 5PM I stopped in whatever city I was in. Since it was Wednesday, I knew God’s house would be open (going to God’s House is always a good thing – read the “What’s The Point Story”). I got the local phone book and looked for the closest Baptist church and called them. I got directions and arrived on time for the 7:00 service. Before he preached, the pastor called on me to find out who the “visitor” was. I told them a little about my ministry and that I was just passing through. He then asked me, “Do you have a place to stay? And I repeated, “I’m just passing through”. Then he raised his voice a little and said, “You don’t have a place to stay! Who’s going to give this missionary a room to sleep in tonight?” I said, “That’s okay…” And He said, “You need a place to stay on your journey!” Then he turned to an elderly couple who had raised their hands. The pastor said, “You’ll be staying with the Nelsons tonight!” And he said to the couple, “And make sure you feed him well, we need to take care of God’s missionaries!” I had a great room that night. That godly couple fed me supper and a big breakfast before I left a 7:30 in the morning. God took such good care of me on that trip! God is SO good!
Grandpa Jack's Place 