Betty 11:58 a.m. Betty, driving to her hair appointment, suddenly thinks of Annie again and exuberantly exhorts God to keep the hedge up and not to let anything through until this is resolved! Surely there must be a good reason for it, and they will all benefit by seeing Annie's spiritual growth through these hard times. |
Katie 11:35 a.m. "Hi, Annie, how are you doing?, sings Katie's cheerful voice. You sound like you have been crying, sis. Listen, I can loan you a month's rent to help you out." Annie is so relieved that she resumes her just-dried tears again. "God is answering prayers!", she exclaims and resumes praising Him! "Okay, hon", Katie continues, "hang in there. I'll drop it by in a little while." |
John: 9:55 a.m. Nearly two hours later back at his desk, John remembers to call Betty who is next on the prayer chain: "Hey, Betty, only got a sec! Pray for Annie - job." Betty 10:00 a.m. Betty, already very aware of this situation with Annie has been praying, but now she goes into "fervent mode" deciding that this is the time for a 'hedge' to protect Annie from further negative influence, or any more influence at all for that matter. That's the only explanation for all of this disaster, Betty decides. Annie must be under attack for all of this to be happening! Unless, the other explanation is that 'God is testing her'. "God, this is unbelievable! Get a hedge around Annie now! You know that three months ago Annie had to move when her house was flooded, last month her transmission quit on her, and only two weeks ago she was audited by the IRS! Now the business she worked for has closed and she is out of job! If this is your testing, then go ahead and get to the bottom of whatever is going on! Annie must need this or you wouldn't be allowing it! Just keep her inside that hedge until she's teachable and has learned whatever it is you are trying to show her! She'll be better off for it in the long run. Thanks, God." |
God answers: |
JimBob's Boat Yard Calls back 10:30: Annie's phone rings startling her out of her reverie about the new job. "Annie, this is Stu at JimBob's Boat Yard. There was obviously some mistake hiring you for this position so hastily. I just counted heads and we already have a sufficient crew of out-of-work longshoremen for this job. Sorry for the mixup. Bye" Annie, instantly deflated and once again desolate, bursts into tears and returns to her pitiful, uncontrolled crying. Why was all of this happening to her??? Where was God??? Why was He allowing all of this??? Betty 11:00 a.m. Betty, fervant prayer warrior that she is, always prays first before calling the prayer on to the next person. "Hi, Ruth! Listen, we have an urgent need for Annie: she just lost her job. I think God is testing her! Get on it, kiddo, and pray like crazy! Don't forget to call Caroline! Catch you later." Ruth 11:05 a.m. Ruth, excited to be part of God's process, begins her prayer hesitantly with a sheepish, "God, are you busy?", and then launches into a complete, graphically-detailed enumeration of all the problems poor Annie has had lately. This takes over 45 minutes! Finally, Ruth, not knowing what to ask for specifically and fearing it is wrong to ask God outright for money, suggests meekly that perhaps God could have someone offer to help Annie financially until she finds another job. Ruth apologizes to God for having to cut this short but she lost track of time and realizes she is late for her aerobics class. |
God answers. |
God answers. |
Last updated on: 7/20/03
Acts V, VI, VII, VIII |
Act II |
Act III |
Act IV |
