Call upon the Lord

Psalm 18:3 "I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised..so shall I be saved from mine enemies."
I wanted to share a story that I heard with you today, about one of our American soldiers who was over in Afghanistan. I believe that this is a true story and I wanted to pass it on today, to encourage you about the power that is in prayer. This particular soldier was a young man who loved God, and his country. He had been sent to Afghanistan, and was anxious to go and serve his country. As often happens with soldiers, the men in his platoon bonded. They looked out for each other, and did all they could to protect each other, even to the point of laying down their lives.
But, one one fateful day, several of the men in the platoon were taken captive by terrorists.. some were even killed... to the horror of the young soldier. He found himself alone, in a foreign country, unsure to some degree of even who the enemy was that they were fighting.
The terrain in the area where he was at, was very rough and uneven, full of many huge rocks, and out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an opening. He remembered hearing someone say that there was an abundance of caves in the area, and he began to make his way into the small opening. He squirmed into the small hole, and found himself inside what seemed to be a very large and dark cave. Once inside the black cavern, he made his way along the wall of it to the back...and waited.
The young soldier thought about his family at home..and began to wonder if he would ever see them again. He thought about the pain that they would endure if he didn't come home. Then he began to think about his reasons for joining the military in the first place. He loved his country. He had wanted to serve his country from the time that he was a little boy. It was all he knew to do, to in some way say 'thank you' for the privilege of being raised in the land of the free, and the home of the brave. He thought about God..and about the fact that God had carried him all of his life..he was so grateful. He knew that even now, in this most impossible situation, God would carry him, whatever the outcome. He could hear the footsteps and even the voices of the terrorist soldiers outside the cave. They must have tracked him to this area, and now they were looking inside all of the caves to try to find him. He began to pray.
As the soldier began to cry out to God, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye.. a little spider had made it's way up to the top of the small entrance to the cave. The spider was busily spinning a web. The soldier kept praying, and watching. He could hear the footsteps outside getting closer and closer, and he knew it was only a matter of time, until the men outside would find him. He watched the little spider for nearly two hours. Up and down the web it would go, working feverishly,spinning and twisting the web into what looked like little threads. The soldier, by now growing weary, cried out to God.."Lord, I've asked you to help and protect me..and all you've done is sent this little spider for me to watch? God, I really need your help here..please!"
About the time, he finished the prayer, he looked up. One of the terrorists was standing right at the entrance to the cave now. He knew that any minute he would be found..and very likely he would become a prisoner. He tried to brace himself for what was to come...but the most amazing thing happened. The terrorist soldier looked at the spider web, and then told the rest of the men that were with him, that there was no way anyone could be in this cave as there was a freshly spun spider web in the entrance, and no one could have gotten through that without messing it up. There was no way that anyone could be inside. He turned and walked away with the rest of the group of men.
The soldier in the cave couldn't believe what had just happened, and he began to thank God. He waited until it was safe, and then left the cave, eventually making his way back to safety.
I heard this story on a christian radio station recently, and I was so touched by it. I am continually amazed at, and in awe of, our Lord. Beloved, when you pray, God hears you. I just want to reassure you of that today..and when you are looking for answers and in the "waiting room", remember that He has heard your prayer, and He can begin immediately to work in the hearts of people, or in the heart of the situation..but it may take some time for those things to manifest. We often grow discouraged, thinking God doesn't hear us, or He just didn't answer this time..but I don't believe that is the truth. I think that He does hear every time that we speak to Him. He is a Father, and a loving one at that.He cares what His children are going through..but God is Spirit..and He often works through spiritual means..and sometimes we can not see the "work" being done, or the answer coming quickly, because, as I have learned, things of the Spirit take time. Change takes time...but.. If God can send a little spider to save a man's life...He can and will certainly hear your cries and will begin to work in your situation.
Beloved, do not grow discouraged, wondering why you have not seen answers to your prayers.. Keep in mind that God's ways truly are far above our ways..but His answers are so worth waiting for.