The very essence of homespun faith is learning from the object lessons God gives us in nature and in the every-day happenings of our lives. If we have eyes to see and ears to hear, the Holy Spirit can teach us many things.

Recently God has been using the dahlia bulbs we planted earlier this spring to teach us a lesson about faith.  A week or two after we planted the bulbs, we started worrying because we saw no signs of growth. Every day one of us checked the flower bed. Finally, I Googled to find out how long it should take for dahlias to sprout.

I didn’t find much that was helpful since we couldn’t remember when we’d planted them. However, someone did suggest that one could dig (gently) in the area where the rhizome was planted to see if there was any sign of life. After a significant amount of digging, Donn found a tiny bit of growth that MIGHT be a dahlia. But was it really a dahlia?  And even if it was, how did we know it wasn’t the only one that had sprouted?

A few days later, Donn picked up four potted dahlias that were already blooming at Kraynak’s. We planted them in larger pots and were prepared to transplant them into our flower bed if the dahlias didn’t grow. The next day Donn spotted our first, for-sure dahlia above ground.  We were excited, but still hesitant to believe others would follow. In spite of our negativity, almost every day, Donn showed me another sprout that had broken through the soil.

Last night as we counted our dahlias, Donn said, “There are only two that didn’t come up.”

I said, “Yet!”

Shaking his head, Donn responded, “Oh we of little faith!”

I laughed because I had already been planning this blog about how God was showing us how much our faith depends on sight. No matter how many dahlias sprouted, we still didn’t believe the others would come up until we SAW the green leaves above ground. In much the same way, we often pray for something but don’t really believe God will answer until we see the results, or perhaps even then, we find some other explanation than God answering our prayer.

I’m reminded of the early church who prayed earnestly for Peter when Herod put him in prison. Surely they were praying for his release, but listen to their response when Rhoda came to tell them he was at the door. “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.” (Acts 12:15)

This object lesson on faith has had me examining my attitude when I pray. Am I praying expectantly or am I just saying words with no real belief that my prayers will be answered?  Would I be as surprised as the early church if God answered my prayer? Far too often recently, I’ve thought or even said, “God are you even listening when I pray? Do the prayers I pray make any difference or am I wasting my time?”

Last week someone dear to us for whom I’ve been praying every day for many years asked if he could talk to us. As we sat on the porch swing, he said, “I’ve finally realized I can’t make it without God in my life.” We’ve passed his house several times since  to find him in his back yard reading his Bible, he’s like a sponge soaking up God’s Word.  We’re encouraged and rejoicing in this answer to prayer.

And yet Hebrews 11:1 tells us Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. And II Corinthians 5:7 says We walk by faith and not by sight. In light of what God is teaching us and the truth of these Scriptures, I’m asking Him to help me see the people for whom I pray through eyes of faith.  I’m asking Him to keep my faith strong even when it appears my prayers are in vain. I’m asking Him to enable me to believe He IS working in their lives even when I SEE no evidence of it. I don’t want to be surprised when He answers my prayers!

Amazing, Almighty Heavenly Father, thank you for all the incredible ways you answer  prayer. Help us not to be like the disciples on the Emmaus Road whom you said were slow of heart to believe (Luke 24:25) and the Children of Israel who refused to believe regardless of all the miracles you’d performed. Increase our expectancy and our belief in your willingness to answer our prayers. Amen.