One morning I made a discovery! And my discovery confused and mystified me. To go back to the beginning, several weeks ago I purchased new glasses with new prescription lenses. I had been pleased to know that my new prescription showed that my eyes had improved! And that was a pleasant surprise for me! As I have gotten older, progressively my eyes have needed stronger prescription lenses. But now I had noticed that I could see distance better without my old glasses than with them. It was time for a change. However, my old lenses worked just fine for close-up reading. I am girl who has always liked to read in bed, and I still do even now that I am not girl age anymore. In order to read my tablet in bed, sometimes in the middle of the night, I definitely need my glasses. I often fall asleep with my glasses on! That’s so handy, I don’t have to search for them when I can’t get back to sleep and want to read for a while in the middle of the night. After getting new glasses, I decided to keep the old ones just to wear in bed—no chance to spring or bend the new ones out of alignment! I try to make the switch every night and morning. New to old, then old to new the next morning. During the night the new glasses spend the night in a black hard sided case that contains a pretty green microfiber cleaning cloth. But sometimes I don’t turn my thinking brain completely on I guess, until after I’m ready to begin my new day. So, I think I wore the wrong glasses one day, maybe due to a Valium “hangover”. And didn’t even realize it. Only later did I realize that distance things were out of focus! My new glasses were supposed to have fixed that problem. Closer inspection—what I was wearing were my old ones! Going back to my bedside, I searched for the missing glasses. I found the case—it did not have the new glasses in it!!!! Just a much older pair that I had not seen for years! How on earth did that come to be? I tried to think back to when I last knew that I had had my new ones. And I couldn’t remember! I could remember needing to look for sunglasses in our car when we were headed east one morning before sunrise and knew that that sunrise would cause issues for us. I did not find sunglasses that I could use but did I take off my regular glasses? And if I did, what did I put back on? Also, I knew that the nurses took my glasses while I had a procedure done for my pain. Could they have given me back the wrong glasses? And if they did—someone had a prescription that was nearly like mine! My husband wanted to be so helpful! He went out to the car twice! No glasses. He also went back to the bedroom again, even looking under the bed. No glasses. He did his best to help me solve the problem and searched several rooms in our house thinking that maybe he could see them when I couldn’t! He couldn’t!!!!
I became rather concerned! Those were brand new and cost me more than $300! I did not want to have to replace them. I finally decided to contact the hospital, but I knew that I couldn’t make a direct call. I could leave a text message, or I could try to leave a voice message, both of which could take 2 days for a response. I did both! Soon after I had a phone call from my brother and sister (in law). They wanted to know about the procedure and how I was doing. It was then that I told them this story and said that they
could help me pray about my missing glasses. And they promised they would. While I was talking with them, Garry decided to go back for one more try at finding the glasses for me. Soon he was coming back downstairs and……………. continued later!
God has given us a promise in Isaiah 65:24—“And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear”—and it offers a deep well of comfort, especially when life feels heavy, confusing, or rushed. There are many stories that fit that verse. Some are mission stories. Some are stories that have been told and retold. Stories of times when there was nothing in the home to feed the family supper when a knock on the door let them find bags of food set on the porch and no one knew where it came from. I remember stories from long ago missionaries receiving much needed items for their family that they had not even thought to ask for. One of my favorite series of books is the Pollyanna books. One time, the young girl Pollyanna was so hoping that the mission barrel from a lady’s aid society would have a doll in it. It did not. Instead, the barrel contained clothes that were worn out and ugly and greatly old-fashioned—certainly the best had not been sent to the western mission way back then! And at the bottom of the barrel—a pair of crutches! Imagine the tears. Pollyanna’s father, in that disappointing moment, taught her the Glad Game! The game became the central theme of her life. He told her she could be glad about the crutches simply because she didn’t need to use them. She tried hard to play that game from then on. He also told her that there were 800 rejoicing texts that tell us to be glad, rejoice, or shout for joy! And that if God took the trouble to mention it 800 times, He must have really wanted people to do it! The irony in this story is that later, Pollyanna had a fall and injured her back and did in fact need those crutches! And truly did need to play the game for real in her healing. Before the need, He answered!
God is already in your tomorrow! We often live as though prayer is a long-distance call to a God who is far away, trying to get His attention or convince Him of our urgency. Isaiah 65:24 turns that picture upside down for me. God’s foreknowledge and grace mean He is not scrambling to catch up with my crises. Before a worry even forms as a coherent sentence in your mind—before you find the words to ask—He has already begun moving on your behalf.
The Bible itself illustrates the “before they call.” In Daniel 9 and 10, while Daniel is still speaking, confessing sin, and praying to God, the angel Gabriel arrives and tells him that the very moment he began praying, an answer was given because he was highly esteemed. Daniel reads the prophet Jeremiah and realizes the 70-year Babylonian exile is nearing its end. He fasts, wears sackcloth and ashes, and offers a deep corporate confession of Israel’s sins. While Daniel is praying, Gabriel arrives to give him wisdom and insight. Gabriel outlines a timeline of 70 “sevens” (490 years) decreed for Jerusalem and the Jewish people.
The Provision for Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22:14) is another example. On Mount Moriah, Abraham calls the place Jehovah-Jireh (“the Lord will provide”) because God
provided the ram for the sacrifice before the final crisis reached its tragic end, knowing the need beforehand.
Eliezer traveled to find a wife for Isaac and prayed for a sign that a woman would offer water to him and his camels. Before he even finished his silent prayer, Rebekah approached and fulfilled every detail of that prayer.
Jacob prayed for safety as he traveled while his brother was already coming to make amends. Genesis 32, 33.
While the early church was praying for Peter to be released from prison, the freed prisoner was at the door knocking.
Prayers can often get caught mid-sentence. I hadn’t thought to notice the second half of the verse: “while they are yet speaking, I will hear”. God doesn’t wait for us to deliver a polished, eloquent, or “correct” prayer. (Good thing!) He listens to the half-formed sighs, the silent tears, and the chaotic thoughts (me this time) of a burdened heart. He hears the heart behind the words while they are still tumbling out of your mouth. I should always be resting in His timing and care. Like Pollyanna, because His answer is already set ahead of the request, we do not have to carry the crushing weight of figuring out every detail of our future. Like a loving parent who anticipates a child’s need before it is voiced, God is active behind the scenes for me—preparing comfort, alignment, and provision. Trusting this verse means trading panic for peace (I did not have peace yet!), knowing you are deeply known, closely watched over, and answered before you ever finish speaking. “Before they call, I will answer.” The answer is sent ahead of the request. The prayer does not need to reach Him before He acts. That is the first half of the promise. “While they are still speaking, I will hear.” The picture is a prayer caught in the middle of a sentence. The one praying has not finished yet. God has already heard. Both verbs, “answer” and “hear,” look ahead to something not yet seen. The opening words “And it shall be” place the whole line in that coming day.
We often treat prayer like a spiritual emergency hotline. We call out when the bank account is low, the diagnosis is scary, or the relationship is fracturing or something is missing. We wait anxiously for the line to connect, wondering if our voice is breaking through the static of a busy universe. But Isaiah 65:24 completely flips this process. God does not sit waiting for our call to begin formulating a response. He is a loving, attentive Father who has already gone ahead of us, dispatching the solution before we even articulate the problem. Think about a loving parent preparing for a newborn baby. Long before the infant is born or can speak, cry, or even realize its own needs, the parents have already built the crib, bought the clothes, perhaps purchased the milk, even painted the walls of the room. The provision precedes the request. This is how God loves me. He is not reactive; He is proactive and anticipates what we need. As Jesus echoed in Matthew 6:8—”Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.” NIV Our Father knows exactly what you need before you even ask Him. He Works in the Secret Places! Right now, in the areas of your life where you feel the most anxious, God is working in secret and is moving pieces on the board that you cannot see. The healing, the breakthrough, or the peace is already in motion. He Listens
to Your heart. Sometimes our grief or anxiety is so heavy that we can’t find the right words. This promise reminds us that while we are still fumbling through our pain and troubles, He has already heard and understood the deeper cry of our soul.
Why Do We Still Pray? If God has already answered, why should we bother calling out to Him? Prayer is not about informing an unaware God, nor is it about twisting His arm to get what we want. When we voice our needs (Prayer), we put our hearts into alignment with His sovereignty. We open our hands to receive what His love has already prepared for us. You don’t have to shout to get God’s attention, and you don’t need a perfect, meticulously detailed script to unlock His favor. We should have confidence that the answers to the prayers I haven’t even prayed yet are already on the way. He loves me too much to leave me waiting on hold. I can let my heart rest in peace. Think about the times when someone knew what you needed without you saying a word—maybe a friend who knows you need help or a loved one who knows you are upset. It’s that sort of relationship God has with us. He knows us intimately and understands our needs even before we express them. God promises an answer before we can call out to Him, but sometimes, He takes a while to respond, and His responses may be unexpected. We should learn to trust His timing and know that in the waiting, He is already working for us. Lord, thank You for always hearing my prayers before I even speak them. Help me to trust that You are already working on my behalf and that Your timing is perfect. Isaiah 65:24 in The Message (MSG) translation reads: “Before they call out, I’ll answer. Before they’ve finished speaking, I’ll have heard.” This means God has Foreknowledge before you even put them into words. He gives immediate Attention; God has quick readiness to respond to His people.
A story: One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all we could do she died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had no electricity to run an incubator) and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for such babies and the cotton wool the baby would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical climates. “And it is our last hot water bottle!” she exclaimed.
As in the West it is no good crying over spilled milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. “All right,” I said, “Put the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm.
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her
mother had died. During the prayer time, one ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African children. “Please, God,” she prayed, “send us a water bottle. It’ll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby will be dead, so please send it this afternoon.”
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added, “And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so she’ll know You really love her?” As often with children’s prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I honestly say, “Amen”? I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do everything. The Bible says so. But there are limits, aren’t there? The only way God could answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home; anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses’ Training School, a message was sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah, was a large twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.
Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and sultanas—that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the . . . could it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out – yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle! I cried. I had not asked God to send it. I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, “If God has sent the bottle, He must have sent the dolly, too!” Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone! She had never doubted. Looking up at me, she asked: “Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she’ll know that Jesus really loves her?
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months. Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God’s prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child – five months before – in answer to the believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it “that afternoon.” “Before they call, I will answer!” (Isaiah 65:24)
Dr Helen Roseveare (1925-), an English missionary doctor to the Congo from 1953 to 1973, recorded this story in her book, Living Faith. She wrote books about the Belgian Congo (now Zaire) revival of the 1950s.
My story continued…….Garry handed me a black glasses case! And in it were my new glasses! My missing glasses! I do not remember ever seeing two black cases! How I managed to get the wrong one is beyond my understanding. I immediately texted my brother and “sister” to tell them how I had had such an immediate answer to their prayers. Their answer—“We had not prayed yet! But God knew of the prayers that were
in our hearts! Now we are sending Him a prayer of thanks for and with you! “Before they call, I will answer!” (Isaiah 65:24)
Before I even thought to ask, God answered. What an amazing blessing!