My grandfather was a man of deep faith. He had gone from Roman Catholicism to nothing to a vibrant Christian faith that focused on the Gospel. He never got over the amazement that Jesus died for him and awe that his salvation was certain. That Gospel flowed through his life into everything he touched. He pursued every avenue, not because he had to, but because he got to.
When I announced I would be going to school to eventually enter the ministry, you could not have seen a prouder grandparent. He prayed for me.
And then, after my freshman year of college, I dropped out. I had no desire to go back. That year, grandpa contracted Alzheimer’s. (To tell the truth, he likely had it before, but that year it got far worse.) By the time I returned to college, he was so far gone I do not know if he ever knew this side of heaven that I had returned.
But God had heard grandpa’s prayers. God has honored those prayers, despite the fact that Grandpa is now in glory. A book I’ve recently finished reading puts it this way: “The prayers of your grandparents are being answered in your life right now.”
I know there have been others who have prayed on my behalf, and it’s humbling. But that thought struck me: God, who promised to hear the prayers of his people, has heard the prayers of those who have gone before. He has moved outside of time to answer those prayers, even beyond the time that those prayer-givers were here on this earth.
My friends, we have an amazing God.
Seeking the New Earth 
Luke I like this. I wanted to tell you something that happened to me. One day I was with a friend at a friend of hers. Someone that I don’t really know, and he told us a story of something horrible that had happened to him maybe 40 years earlier. At first my only thought was how strange it was that he was telling such an intimate story to a stranger, but then I found myself praying for that scared little boy he had been all those years ago. While I was praying I felt really silly, as if I were wasting my prayers, what difference could they make now? While we were driving away I realized that with God all things are possible. He doesn’t work within time the way we do. With God there’s no such thing as wasted prayers, He can use them all.
Aww, Luke. That brought tears to my eyes, and I didn’t even get to meet your grandfather until that year the Alzheimer’s got bad.
Amen to that!
In our world of instant this and immediate that, we forget that God has His own timetable. He wants us to pray, to talk, entreat, argue (wrestle), with him. We may never see the results of our prayers. We may see miracles–only God knows. God will/does answer all our prayers with the answer that is best for us (and those we pray for). Praise Him for His love for us! Luke has had many people praying for him, since birth and before–just like he prayed for ‘the boy’ and ‘the girl’. Prayer is powerful. Thank God!