The thirty-eight of us returned to our small house after a morning of worship and prayer. We kicked off our dusty, muddy shoes and quickly realized with a pang: the water in our house was cut off because of a broken water line. We would probably be without water for quite some time.
We began panicking— how could thirty-eight people exist with no water? What if we had to poop? How would we cook?
After a few minutes of anxiety, we made do. We boiled bottled water to make pasta. We could go to the church down the road to use the bathroom. However, we were still tense with the thought of being without water for too long.
With an anxious laugh, one of our amazing cooks Claire spoke up in her wonderful southern drawl, “We need to be praying for the water to come back on this afternoon, or else dinner is going to be a fiasco tonight.”
I wasted no time in making a joke, eager to diffuse the situation.
“Okay, Jesus, you’re the Living Water. Give us water. Amen.” The girls in the kitchen laughed and I smiled, “Someone turn the water on. It’s probably there now.”
Still basking in my humor, none of the girls moved as I had expected. However, one of my squadmates Amber moved tentatively to the sink and lifted the faucet handle.
Expectedly, there was no water. The pipes cracked and popped but there was no flow of water.
….Until there WAS. Clear, cold water rushed out of the tap over Amber’s hands. “No way,” She cried out. “Anne, look at this.”
I raised myself off the rickety bench holding me and six other squadmates. “No. No, that’s not real.” But as I began to belly laugh and tears began to roll down my face, I realized the magnitude of what had just happened.
It could have been just a coincidence for the water line to be fixed the minute I prayed for Jesus to give us water. The water could have just been on the whole time.
But let’s be real, it was a miracle.
Oftentimes, Jesus uses water to comfort me. I love lakes, rivers, and oceans and I see God’s majesty and power most when I’m near a body of water. How fitting, then, for God to use a simple stream of faucet water in Romania to teach me so many things about Himself.
This small moment taught me that God answers prayer. This is something I thought I knew. After all, I prayed for healing and it happened. But sometimes, like here, Jesus answers prayers in ways we don’t expect. He loves to answer our prayers, whether they are big or small. He loves to give good gifts to his children and he loves show off His power.
We serve a POWERFUL God, y’all. He is not thwarted by broken water lines, broken hearts, or broken dreams. The Creator King of the Universe is on our side. He is for us. Even in the mundane moments, even in the desert, He loves to remind us who He is.
That day, I prayed for water and God provided. I’m learning to not be so hesitant to believe God can answer my big prayers. God CAN comfort me in my homesickness. God CAN bring salvation to the people I love.
Do you believe your prayers are too small (or too big) to be answered by God? This week, I challenge you to pray with faith that God will deliver because you never know: God could bring clear, cold water to your broken water line.
