I was recently in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina ministering at the church of one of my close friends. I had an unusual experience that may seem trivial to some of my readers, but it will stay in my heart for a long time to come.
For those of you who don't know where Ushuaia is, just find a map of South America and look at the very tip of the continent. It is as far south as you can go - the end of the world.
Since the pastor of the church was sick, I decided to stay a few days longer to help him out. He assigned a young man to be my chauffer, and to help out in whatever I might need during my stay, Gustavo, a very humble brother who stayed close by for the full 5 days. He, his wife and 4 year old daughter had just returned from Mexico were they had tried to start a church, and then decided that it was best to return to Ushuaia.
For some reason my attention was drawn to his little daughter. She kept looking at me with here shy little eyes, so I bought her a few chocolates to see if she would feel more comfortable around me. It worked!
Two days later I was walking with her father in town and I stopped in a little shop to buy some more chocolates, when I felt a CLEAR impression that I was supposed to buy her a gift that she would enjoy for more than a few minutes. The next day her dad agreed to take his daughter and me to a toy store; as soon as she walked in she went right to the section that displayed hundreds of dolls and picked out the doll she wanted. It turned out to be quite an expensive item for a four year old, but I felt in my heart that I was supposed to buy her whatever she picked out.
As we left the store her dad told me that his daughter had been with him at that very store three times in recent weeks and she begged him for that doll. He tried to explain that it was too expensive for him to purchase - but children have a hard time understanding economics.
It didn't hit me at first, but when I returned to my room and started preparing for the evening church service, I realized that GOD sent me to Ushuaia, to the end of the world, not only to preach but also to answer the cry of that child. I sat amazed as I thought about what had just happened. God sent me 6,500 miles with the special mission of fulfilling the desire of one of His little ones. My last day there she referred to me as "Uncle".
My own faith was strengthened by that small experience. I received a renewed understanding of God's love and care for his children - great and small.
We may think that our petitions are too trivial for God to answer; after all, there are more important things in the universe that require His attention. I have found however, that He is so intimately aware of our every need that He often answers prayers that we don't even put into words, they were just desires that we merely thought of. I have often thought; "Lord, I really could use some help here...", and later realized that the help I had asked for had arrived. I am amazed that my smallest requests are often answered. I don’t mean to infer that every one of them come to pass - but when they do, I notice that it was not just a coincidence.
The experience I had in Ushuaia was one of those lessons that brought a comforting reminder that God is as interested in that little voice at the end of the earth as he is in Presidents who take time to pray. The fact that I was on the giving end of the deal made me know that GOD was meeting that child's request. I know how it happened; I remember the struggle I felt when I tried to resist the leading to buy her a gift and the strong impulse within me that I have learned to identify as the "voice" of God.
Her dad was touched to think that the Lord would send a "Gringo" from so far away to satisfy his daughter's desire. I think he will be telling her about that day for many years to come.
My wife is a person who prays. She has a very disciplined spiritual life and I admire how consistent she is in her morning devotions. Her example has caused me to put a lot of confidence her prayers for my travels, ministry, personal life and the decisions I make for our family. It brings me great comfort to believe that her petitions on my behalf are being heard.
God listens when we take time to pray, but the distance from our feet to our knees often seems like miles rather than inches. We struggle with feelings of insignificance, unworthiness and the uncertainty of whether or not we are being heard. One of my ongoing lessons in my spiritual life is that God is PRESENT. In Jeremiah 23:24 He declares through the prophet: "Do I not fill heaven and earth?" That one statement contains a huge revelation for those who are willing to receive it. If He fills both the heaven and earth, nothing escapes Him, not even the smallest cry from the end of the world.
If you are praying and don’t see the answer, don’t give up. The delay is not due to the fact that God isn’t listening; it is more likely because our petition is out of time, or not in alignment with Divine purpose. I have found that when God delays answering one of my prayers (which is often), I learn some of my greatest lessons. The best policy is to believe that God is in control of our lives and that our welfare is safe in His hands. When we don’t get an answer, learn to take it as a delay or a “no” – but don’t think that God can’t hear you.
The Lord who has numbered every hair on our head and doesn’t forget the insignificant sparrow HEARS our every word and knows the desires of our heart (Luke 12:6-7; Psalms 37:4). I will treasure the experience in Ushuaia and bring it to mind the next time I begin to doubt that my needs are too trivial to be heard by my Creator. I hope that it encourages you as well.
© Copyright 2012, All rights reserved
Christian Life Mission, Inc. /
Iglesias del Nuevo Testamento (Pentecostal), Inc.
PO Box 1095
Manatí, PR, 00674
e-mail: info @ iglesiant . org
© 2012 Christian Life Mission, Inc. and
Concilio de Iglesias del Nuevo Testamento (Pentecostal), Inc. All rights reserved.
Designed and Maintained by: 
clm.iglesiant.org v8.3
(April 14, 2011)
