People whose prayers were answered

Pastor Son Yang-won, a nuclear bomb of love

 

Pastor Son Yang-won (1902-1950) has been known as a nuclear bomb of love. When the Yeosoo and Sooncheon Rebellion* occurred in 1948, his two sons were killed by a rebel; nevertheless, he launched a campaign to save his sons’ killer and adopted him as his own son. When the Korean War began, his friends and church members urged him to evacuate from his hometown, but he refused to leave and he tried to protect the church and the lepers who were difficult to move. Pastor Son was martyred by the North Korean Communists. He was a prayer warrior who had great faith in prayer. He said, “I will live my life while praying and end my life with prayer.”

*Translator’s note: A rebellion that took place on October 19, 1948 in Yeosoo, Sooncheon, and the surrounding towns (South jeolla) against the fledging South Korean Syngman Rhee government. It was sparked by the government’s suppression of the Jeju Uprising and refusal of Yeosoo soldiers to help suppress the rebellion. The rebels (led by leftist officials) massacred the rightist and Christian youth.

Pastor Son emphasized, “God will definitely answer our prayers because He had promised [us that He would], but we must “ask, seek, and knock on the door. Then we will be able to receive [the answers to our prayers].” [For Pastor Son,] he had three reasons he prayed.

First, to commune with God,

Second, to realize that life is about receiving from God by ‘asking,’

Third, to realize how precious [life] is.

He was emphasizing that “prayer” is the premise to “receiving.”

John D. Rockefeller, who became a millionaire in his youth

  One of the world’s billionaire, John D. Rockefeller, prayed at the age of 12 when he offered his 12-cents tithe: “God, I want to be the person who offers you the most tithe in the world,” and he worked to his utmost to fulfill his prayer. Ultimately, God answered his prayer. He became a millionaire at the age of 33, became the richest person in America at the age of 43, and the world’s first billionaire at the age of 53. He would need 40 people to count his tithe.

George Muller, whose prayers were answered more than 50,000 times in his life

George Muller is known as “the person whose prayers were answered more than 50,000 times” and “the father of the orphans in Bristol.” He emphasized the importance of prayer in his book, “The Prayers of George Muller.” He began his orphanage in his rented home, and during the 60 years of his work, he took care of 10,000 orphans and was provided over 7.2 million dollars of financial support from God. Also, he distributed Bibles, supported missionaries with prayer and finance, and made missionized in 42 countries, spreading the gospel to [over] 30,000 people.

 

One day when he was running the orphanage, the boiler stopped running so the orphans had to remain cold. In order to change the boiler, it would take a few weeks so even if they repaired it quickly, it would take at least a week. [So,] George Muller started praying for the warm south wind rather than the cold north wind to blow. After offering a deep prayer, indeed, the wind changed directions and the south wind blew, so the orphans were able to stay warm until the boiler was repaired.

One time, Muller was hurrying to get to Toronto to preach the Word. On his way to Toronto, the fog was too thick, so the ship could not move. He prayed, “Lord, I have been working for You for 40 years, and I have never broken my promises to you. I must go to Toronto by Sunday,” and he suggested the captain of the ship to pray with him. While he was praying, he said, “I have received an answer from God,” and he went up to the deck with the captain. The fog cleared away as if it were a dream and they started to see the clear sky and the sea.

The secrets of how to receive answers to your prayers
 

The Lord told us through this week’s message that the reason we do not get answers to our prayers is because we ask without knowing the secrets of prayer. First, we should pray for the Will of God according to what He wants and what pleases Him, ask without falsehood, and once our prayers are answered, we must have fiery and sincere hearts before God just as [we had] before our prayers were answered.

  There is a vise that humans have: their minds change between morning and evening. Before they receive, they pray sincerely and wail, but after they receive an answer, they are only momentarily thankful and grateful with fiery hearts. Once time passes, their hearts change easily. Once their moment of thankfulness passes, they easily become cold and their fiery hearts and thankfulness disappear.

 

Agur, one of the Book of Proverbs writers, prayed in Proverbs 30:7-9, “Two things I ask of you, O LORD… keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the LORD?’ or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.”

 

The reason the Holy Trinity answers our prayers is for us to love the Holy Trinity in a fiery way. I pray that we will become faithful brides before Heaven, pray bigger prayers than Agur’s prayer, work hard for Heaven with the blessings we have receive, be thankful passionately, and love the Holy Trinity eternally.