LDS Alive in Christ …declare repentance and faith on the Savior, and remission of sins by baptism, and by fire, yea, even the Holy Ghost.

Serendipitous Answers to Prayer

I think everyone has experienced serendipity. Serendipitous blessings come about in many ways. They can happen in a chance meeting of someone, that turns out to be more than a chance meeting, because out of it comes something unexpected and beneficial, be it great or small-in answer to prayer-our prayer or someone else's prayer in our behalf.

For several months I have been praying about a concern I have and last week I received a serendipitous answer from Heavenly Father. As I've ponder the details of this experience I am grateful that God hears and answers prayer this way.

Serendipitous blessings do not usually have a "feeling" associated with them. They can be thought of as "packets of help" from Heavenly Father. Someone else is generally involved, but typically they are unaware of it.

I'll give an example of something that happened to me a few years ago to illustrate this form of answer to prayer. For many years I've experienced a ongoing health problem that doctors are unable to help with. The symptoms are with me almost daily and at times can be severe. To find relief, I've been prayerfully using alternative medical remedies, usually found on the internet. The problem with this approach is that there are so many things that claim to be helpful, but lack evidence, that if one is not careful they can make their condition worse or go broke hoping to find an effective remedy.

A friend, knowing my situation, told me about a device they had purchased and found useful for their particular health problem and wondered if it might also help me. I read the fact sheet they provided me and thought to myself, "This is probably an overpriced piece of junk with a good story."

I prayed about it, as I have done with other such things, and was neither hot nor cold, but decidedly lukewarm, which usually means nothing will be done about it unless something comes about to tip the scale.

The answer to my prayers regarding this medical device came while my wife and I were out of town on vacation. On our return trip home we pulled off the freeway at a convenience store we usually don't stop at. When we went inside to our surprise we ran into the couple who recommended we purchase the medical device several months earlier. We had a long discussion about it and they told us how it had been helpful to them. Based on this serendipitous meeting  I decided to try it out. That was over two years ago. My health condition has steadily improved, and I believe the medical device has helped.  I believe Heavenly Father was involved in this chance meeting in answer to my prayers.

Heavenly Father answers our prayers in many ways. Serendipitous answers are one way he uses. We can take advantage of these kinds of experiences and thank God for them. As we do we will find ourselves opening the channels of communication with Heaven Father and will grow in our ability to recognize His hand in our life.