Prayer Blankets: Update on Jacob

Remember Jacob?  Look what God is doing!

Several blog pages ago, I told the story of an eleven year old boy I called “Jacob” and asked you to pray for this young man some forms of literature would call a street urchin. Jacob often roamed the streets for hours, often, as the weather grew colder, without a jacket or long pants.  I told how a church member fitted him with a new pair of shoes, how my husband helped fix Jacob’s bike, and how I fussed at the boy for not wearing warmer clothes. After I fussed, he called me his “church mom.” We took him to a free clothing store and got him several pairs of long pants and a nice jacket.

When I heard Jacob was moving to the next larger town south of us, I worried and fretted. After attending three different schools last year, he would be enrolled in yet another school. We feared we would lose contact with him. It felt like all we had done for this little boy was in vain. All we could do was to pray that God would intervene, send a solid Christian influence to intersect with Jacob or at least that we had loved him enough to make the love of God stick to his soul.  Desperate to do something, I even made a prayer blanket for the boy so he could have a reminder that there are people in our town who love him and are praying for him.

 And we asked you to put a prayer blanket over Jacob as well.

God has heard our prayers!  He answered in a way I would have never expected.  It’s sure a good thing that God is in charge.  He comes up with so much better, more creative ideas than I do.

One Sunday, an older man approached my husband.  “Is there a way I can help Jacob?” the man asked.  “I haven’t been able to sleep at night because I keep thinking about that boy and I believe God wants me to do something for him.”

WOW! That’s how God answered our prayers.  He stirred the compassion of someone who could help.  As soon as we heard this, my husband and I thought, “Yeah!  Chuck is the perfect person for Jacob.”  Chuck is a grandpa type, retired, time on his hands.  Better yet, he lives close to where Jacob now lives. I’m not sure that Chuck even knew Jacob was moving or how convenient this would be.

The two men decided to find our boy in his new town so Chuck could be introduced to Jacob.  After meeting together at McDonalds for coffee and prayer, they headed to the address.  Jacob and his mom were outside just getting ready to leave. The older man and the young boy just hit it off immediately. Chuck and his wife travel about 40 miles to church two times a week and Jacob’s new home is en route.  That means Jacob can keep coming to at least some church programs!

As I watched Chuck and Jacob. a couple of weeks later at church, I realized what a perfect match the two were.  Chuck was the Christian influence we prayed that God would bring into Jacob’s life and can relate to this lonely boy in a unique way.  Jacob is already calling Chuck Grandpa.

So THANK YOU for praying!  Don’t you love to see the fingerprints of God?  Don’t you love it when you can see direct, obvious answers to your prayers, developments that could have only come from the intervention of our Lord himself?  I do.

 Now it’s my turn. How can I pray for you?

God cares deeply for the troubled children in our communities and there’s a bunch of them.  All of us know at least one child from a troubled background whether it’s a dysfunctional or divided family, a loner, an under-achiever or a social misfit. Bullies and victims both cry out for love and deliverance.

What child do you know who needs to know Jesus’ love?  How can I and the others who read this blog pray for that child – and for you?  First names only, please!  Let’s keep the identities of our special children safe and let’s watch together God’s transformational power in the lives of hurting children.