The Power of Prayer

by LaNel Davenport, August 24, 2004

This is an update that LaNel wrote, to let us know how our God answers prayer.  If you haven't read her story, click here.

As you may remember from my last article that Anne so graciously put on her website, my husband, Bob, has been out of work for 3 years.  In fact, it has been three years this month (August 2004).   

There is a new ACE Hardware being built just a few miles down the road from our house. Bob does so many “do-it-yourself” projects that he thought he would apply.  He reasoned that he could work in just about any department in the store (except painting, he hates painting!).  So he prayed about it, then went in to see the manager.  

The manager said they had just had a job fair the week before and had already hired everyone they needed.  But they liked him, and said they would keep his application on file.  He came home dejected.  He had been watching their website for news of employment, and couldn’t believe he missed the job fair.  He kind of gave it up and said, “Well, Lord, it’s in your hands.”

When he came home and told me this, I felt bewildered.  “God, why did he miss the fair?  He’s trying so hard!  He’s been on top of that store… he should be there!  He’s good, and they’ll want him… Please, Lord, let them call him back.”

Meanwhile, my parents, who are living with us, have been looking for work.  My dad is retired and they both got jobs at Costco handing out samples.  Sounds easy, but they have to stand on concrete for 6 hours at a stretch!  They would work only a couple of days a week, but come home exhausted.  Bob made a joke about if the three of them got full time jobs, even if they didn’t pay real well, we’d all do just fine.

ACE never called.  Bob started doing some work for a friend who has a rental apartment/duplex, and the man who had been renting completely destroyed the house.  He literally defecated all over the floors.  Our friend hired Bob and my parents to clean it up.  Oh, what a horrible mess!  All the carpet had to be ripped out, the walls painted, the tile floors scraped and cleaned, I have to admit that I was happy to stay at home and take care of our nine children instead of helping!  Bob worked on that apartment for over a month.  It paid our bills and bought our groceries, but oh, was it worth it?  (I have to insert that the wife of this friend was away visiting relatives in Germany during this time.  She had NO idea that her husband had hired Bob and my parents to clean that mess.  When she got back, she exclaimed, “My husband should have hired somebody we don’t know!  You are our friends!  You shouldn’t have had to clean that up!” Bless her heart!)

All through this, Bob never complained.  He just got up and did the work that God had put in front of him.  He never mentioned ACE Hardware, but I thought of it often.  I kept praying that they would call him.  He was praying, too.

One morning as he was wrapping up the apartment, he called me.  He said that ACE Hardware had just called him and wanted him to come for an interview that afternoon! 

Hallelujah!  I gathered all the children from the four corners of the house and yard and we all prayed.  “God, please let Papa get a job at the hardware store!”  There’s nothing so direct about a child’s prayer!  “God, please help Papa get the job so we can buy good food.”  “Father,” my 14-year-old son prayed, “Please help Dad get this job.”  He remembers praying for various jobs over the last several years.  Will God answer this time?  Or will God yet again be silent?  What is God teaching my son?

We anxiously waited all day for Bob to call.  We all raced to the phone every time it rang.  My prayers boiled down to, “Lord, please…..”  while I prepared dinner. 

Then the phone rang.  It was Bob.  He said that they wanted him to start right away!  Oh, Praise God!!  Then he said he wasn’t sure if he should take it.  It only paid enough to cover our house payments.  But there was a great deal of opportunity to move up.  They wanted him to be the Purchasing Officer for the whole store.  If he could make Assistant Store Manager, it would pay more.  After some more prayer, he decided to take it.

He started last Monday!  His first week went well.  The store Manager is very impressed with him and is encouraging him to look to being an Assistant Manager.  The store will open in mid September, so he is just having a ball looking through Hardware catalogs and purchasing tools and gizmos with the company’s money!  And there are a few other things, after 90 days we will be insured for health, dental and vision.  He gets a discount of cost + 10% on anything in the store.  (Carhart jeans for 5 boys, you betcha!)  This makes adding some bedrooms in the basement a feasible project.  We went to Baskin Robins to celebrate!

The same week Bob started his new job, my mom got a full-time job at the grocery store down the street, at their Starbucks counter.  I was offered an opportunity to illustrate a children’s book this fall, something I can do at home!  And my dad just went to ACE and left his application there this morning.  We’ll just have to pray Grandpa in!

Praise God for work!!

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LaNel Davenport describes herself this way:  

LaNel
HB, HS, Ph Q
Domestic Engineer
Providing High-Speed Diaper Networking,
Sibling Compatibility and Education to:
Bobby 14, Katie 12, Nathan 11, Aaron 9, David 7, Nicky 5, Sarah 2, and Hannah and Mary 11 months!

If you'd like to chat with LaNel, you can e-mail her here.