The work of prayer <3

Well, this is one I have prayed over for quite a while about how and when to share. Because it involves someone else’s story along with mine, I want to be very careful. My hope and prayer is that you will not think too hard about me or the other person but instead you will see a glimpse of how prayer sometimes works in us and for us. 

A few years back we had to have some work done on our house that was covered partially by insurance. We paid a large portion of it at the time of completion but there was a small chunk we had to wait for the process to work out and then we would pay the balance. 

During the repair work, something was damaged by the workers on our house. The owner of the company said to order whatever we needed to fix it. Unfortunately for him, it was part of a set and the replacement was a bit hefty. But he was good on his word and paid for the items as well as contracting to have the repairs done. 

However, not to any of his fault, the repair team did not finish the work as they promised. There was some cosmetic and structural finishing touches that needed to be done. They said they would be back but several months slipped past and no sign of them. 

I called our guy a couple of times with no response. Since the repair needed was a hole that would gather moisture on the inside of our walls, I hired a friend to fix it for us rather than suffer damage to the house. 

We got the check from the insurance, but I wanted to have some closure on the work that didn’t get done with the owner. I asked him to set up a time to stop by so we could talk, but never received a response. 

A few weeks of trying to connect passed and then Russ and I were leaving for our bucket list trip to Normandy and so I figured I would call again when we returned so we could settle up with him. We were waiting to board our plane at JFK when my phone rang and it was him. 

I answered and was immediately bombarded with an angry voice telling me he had done the work I asked and beyond that. It was clear he thought I had somehow taken advantage of him with the replacement of the damaged item. 

As he seemed to be accusing me of being dishonest, the line was moving towards the plane. 

So I explained that we were boarding a flight to go out of the country for ten days. I said I would call him as soon as we returned and hung up. 

That would be when the prayer vigil began. I was shaking and upset. But there was nothing I could do and so we enjoyed our vacation. 

On the return, I saw the check I had written him on the counter and knew I would have to have an unpleasant conversation. 

Detesting conflict, there was a bit of a lag but finally I called his cell phone and left a message. In fact, I called his cell phone, the cell phone of a guy that worked for him and the office every week for almost three months. Okay, at first I didn’t call every week, but Russ finally told me that was what I needed to do. 

I prayed before my weekly call so my voice would sound pleasant. I prayed every day as I often drove past his office. I stopped a few times to see if he was in, but always seemed to miss him. The people at his business were very nice throughout this. 

It was awkward and uncomfortable and as the weeks stretched out, my prayers grew stronger for him and for our eventual, inevitable meet up. 

And then one afternoon, the week before Christmas the doorbell rang, and he was standing on our porch. Russ greeted him and stepped away because this was my deal. I can assure you my precious husband had been praying and was doing so throughout the meeting. 

As I stepped outside to chat with him, he began in anger with his misunderstanding of the replacement he had paid for. 

And this is where you have to see that God had worked in me through all those days and weeks of prayer. 

I have never felt more calm or compassionate. I quietly asked him to wait and let me show him what had happened. As I showed him what the damaged item looked like and why the replacement had involved not one but five items, he began to change. 

He started to say again what he had thought I had done and again I calmly said that I knew why he was upset and that’s why I wanted him to come and see for himself. I told him about the workers who didn’t finish the job and how I had paid someone to fix it. 

He pulled money out of his pocket to reimburse me for that repair and on top of it, peeled off extra beyond the fee I had paid to pay my friend to come a second time and fix something else he noticed his workers had missed. 

And then he apologized to me. 

He said he was sorry he had been so angry and had taken so long to talk to me. I told him I knew he was angry with me and I had been praying for him to not be angry and for this conversation. 

He shook his head and said that a few years ago, he would not have been able to say he was sorry. He said that it was hard for him to say he was sorry, but he has become a different man. 

We shook hands and I thanked him and we left on good terms. 

I could not have had that conversation, nor could he, without the power of God at work over several long and miserable months for both of us. 

I ran into him the other day and it was pleasant. I am so thankful. 

We don’t know how God will work, but He always does. 

Sometimes it takes a long battle in prayer, but He is faithful. 

He loves us so. 

He wants a better way for all of us. 

I hope I did not dishonor anyone in the telling. I had to struggle through my own anger and hurt at being misunderstood just as he had to struggle through his anger and misunderstanding of me. 

Prayer works in the situation, but it also works in us. 

Praise God for that <3