A Tale of an Answered Prayer

Martin Luther once said, “Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world.” Ever since I was little, I wanted to play an instrument. The instrument I dreamed of playing would vary greatly, between piano, violin, harp and flute. For my eighth birthday, all I wanted was a harp or a flute, but mainly a harp, and so I cried and cried when Mom gently told me that we couldn’t afford a harp or had the space to keep one. As I grew older though, I was comforted by the fact that maybe one day, we’d get a piano of our very own. Years passed. Then one day, it happened.

On Monday night, August 10, 2020, I prayed for 3 things specifically: energy to exercise, ability to get school done, and a piano. The next day I had a lot of energy and was in a good mood nearly the entire day. I was able to get math and English done, have enough energy to get an hour workout done and worked outside for quite a while. Normally I didn’t have that much energy to get all that done, especially while having a good mood. Just the blessing of extra energy and a good mood would have left me content, but our gracious and generous God blessed me even more that day. 

Later on, Mom went on Facebook Marketplace and stumbled across a free piano. When we heard back from the woman who posted that piano saying it was still available, my heart began fluttering in excitement and anticipation.

Even though I had to wait until Saturday to pick up the piano, my excitement and anticipation only grew. However, God had another surprise in store for me on Friday when we went to a yard sale. As I explored all sorts of treasures, I stumbled across a rectangular wooden box that piqued my interest. Slowly opening it up, I realized it was the pieces of a flute! My heart swelled with hope, and so when I tentatively asked how much it would cost, mentally preparing for an expensive price to be named, I couldn’t believe what I heard. $5 for a flute? We bought it and all the way home I rejoiced over the second musical instrument added to our household that I had prayed for since I was little. 

Eventually the time came for us to pick up the piano and I couldn’t’ve been more eager to play it. It was very heavy, but thankfully,  with two dollies, it wasn’t as difficult to get onto the truck as Dad had imagined. The hardest part was lifting it into our house without the dollies. The woman also blessed us with lots of piano books and a piano lamp! 

Pressing on the white keys, hardly knowing whether I was pushing the notes C, B, or G, and out-of-tune as that old piano was, brought me close to bursting with joy that night. And motivation to learn songs that I could play, whether it was beautiful classics, melodious hymns, or emotional pieces, drove me for the next few years to learn a mixture of playing by ear, improvisation, and note-reading. I desire that “My heart, O God, is steadfast; [so] I will sing and make music with all my soul.” (Psalm 108:1) 

God won’t always answer my prayers the way I want Him to, but even if the answer is “no”, I remember what Psalm 37:5 says, “God has a reason for allowing things to happen. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to trust His will.” But the joy and the faith boost that comes when God does answer my prayers blesses me so much, especially that week when He answered my prayers in the way He did. And He continues to bless me throughout my life in so many ways. 

I hope this true story encourages and blesses you today!

Until next time!

💖 Leah Beth