Not How, But Who!

There were many Scriptures, notes and stories that encouraged us on our journey. One of my favorites was by Wheaton College president Raymond Edman in his book Out of My Life. He is telling of a conversation he had with Roland Bingham the founder and director of Sudan Interior Mission (now called Serving In Missions). Dr. Edman had asked, “Of all the many answers to prayer in your lifetime of service for our Lord, which was the most wonderful or unusual?”

Dr. Bingham replied slowly and thoughtfully, “There are many answers to prayer which I could relate. You see, there are many promises in the Scriptures, a promise of God for every kind of circumstance that may arise.

“Perhaps the most striking answer that God has used as a source of strength in my life and to the missionaries in Nigeria is one that took place some years ago. A great opportunity for advance on the mission field had been presented to the missionaries. Word had been written to us, followed by a cable, to say that $10,000 was needed immediately for the property and equipment indispensable for that advance. We had no such sum in the Toronto office nor anywhere in sight.

“To be sure, we made earnest prayer that the Lord would guide and provide, as He has promised in His Word. Just at that time I had an appointment to speak at a Bible conference in a distant city. As I journeyed by train to the conference, my mind was much occupied with the urgent need in Nigeria, with importunate prayer that the Lord would undertake for us in our perplexity.

“That evening after the conference session, I was entertained in the home of some friends before returning to Toronto by the morning train. My host said to me, ‘Brother Bingham, you brought a Bible message this evening and did not mention anything about missions.’ To this I replied that such was my assignment.

“Then he said, ‘as we have devotions before retiring, perhaps there is some need on the mission field for which we should pray.’ Then I shared with them the urgent word from Nigeria. Imagine my astonishment when he said to me, ‘That’s fine! I will give you $10,000 at once for that project!’

“You can understand that I could hardly sleep that night for sheer joy of heart. On the train as I was returning to Toronto, my heart was filled with overflowing gratitude to God for His goodness to us. As soon as I arrived in the office, I planned to cable the mission headquarters in Nigeria to go forward at once with the new project.

“Suddenly the Lord spoke very quietly to me by His Spirit. That you understand, I am sure. Not with some outer sound, but by the still small voice of the Spirit in the depths of my heart He made the inquiry: ‘Why are you so happy?’

“Dear Lord how wonderful that prayer has been answered so quickly and completely! Ten thousand dollars in one gift, in one night, and without the slightest thought on my part that these dear friends could or would make such a gift!

“Then the Lord said, ‘Do you have the money?’

“No, my Lord, our friend did not have the money in his pocket to give me, but he promised to go to the bank this morning and send it to us without delay.

“Again the Lord spoke, saying, ‘All you have is his promise?’

“Yes, my Lord, but I am sure he will mail that check this morning.”

“Then the Lord said very quietly to me, ‘Strange! Yesterday when you were on the train going to that conference you had My promise, but you were not very happy about it. Now you have a man’s promise and your heart is filled with joy and confidence!”

“That answer to prayer, and that deep searching rebuke from the Lord, is quite possibly the most striking answer to prayer I have had; at least, it has been the most instructive.”

Dr. Edman goes on to give this thoughtful insightful, “The substance of the lesson is not how prayer will be answered, but Who answers prayer. Not how, but who!

“This constitutes one of the deepest lessons of God’s people to learn. In time of problems and perplexities for which there seems to be no answer or any source of help, our natural temptation is to want to know how pray can be answered. This is a subtle way to walk by sight, and not by faith. On the contrary, if the difficulty and distress cause us to draw closer to the God of all grace and comfort, we shall come to know Him better, and leave to Him the matter of answering prayer in His own way.”

Photos taken by Daniel on his 2009 trip to Kenya and Burundi