An Answer to Prayer in Preparation for Lent

God reached down from the heavens and poured out his blessings on me today.

For months, our beloved mini-van has been declining into the abyss of old age. The wrinkles on the hood where the paint refused to stick were not unsightly to us, who loved her, but made it easier to find in a parking lot (when I am suffering the effects of aging and forget where I park!) She shook a bit as we went down the highway, but we accredited that shimmy to our amazing choices in music. The doors creaked open, there was melted crayon art next to the back seat, and something metal would ping when I turned left.

We took the old gal in today for repairs, but the dealership was unable to fix her (something about a cracked frame?) and delivered a terminal diagnosis. She was gone. After a good, farewell cry, we set down to business. Should we replace the van? Can we afford to after replacing the wash machine last month? (I'm thinking of the old saying, "Bad things come in threes". I'm praying that we will just stop at two bad things.)

So how is this a blessing? Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, a time of fasting, prayer and alms-giving. This is an example of how God will answer our prayers. I’ve been praying to follow good Lenten practices: to be free with my almsgiving (“Let not your hand be open to receive and clenched when it is time to give.” Sirach 4:31), to pray without ceasing (thank you, St. Paul!), and to sacrifice. I was thinking more along the lines of what I always try to give up: chocolate, coffee, wine. I considered changing my sacrifices for Lent because I wanted something more meaningful, but I couldn’t think of what that something significant might be. So I prayed for God to guide me toward the answer. The very next day, God stepped in and helped me. I will go without a car for the entire season of Lent.

And I will use prayer to see me through the other sacrifices I must make, which I won’t share publicly (“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven.” Matthew 6:1)

All this boils down to the old adage: “Be careful what you ask/pray for”. I completely believe this now. If we ask God for wisdom, He will give us opportunities to practice being wise, usually with a healthy dose of humility in there too! If we pray for patience, He will provide many, many occasions to be patient. And if we pray to make the Lenten Season more meaningful in prayer, fasting, and alms-giving? Yup! God will create a situation (or many) for us.