THE TIME I JOKED WITH GOD AND HE ANSWERED

Early in life, I was taught that God listens when we pray. I’m profoundly thankful for that truth. Without the privilege of pouring my heart out to Him, I don’t think I would’ve survived the trauma of my marriage of 28 years ending so unexpectedly—at least not with the peace and sense of normalcy I have today.

During that painful season, I made some big requests of God—requests that, in His infinite wisdom and for His own good purposes, He chose not to fulfill. Only God knows why “no” was the best answer to those prayers. But soon afterward, He gave me a unique reminder that He was, in fact, listening.

It happened at school. I was standing at the copier, staring out the window at the row of late-model cars in the parking lot. My own vehicle was more than fifteen years old, and it occurred to me at that moment that there would come a time—perhaps soon—when I would need to squeeze a car payment into my budget. That was a scary thought, considering my budget was already tight and I was now on my own financially.

As I turned back to the copier, I fought anxiety by quoting Philippians 4:19 to myself and praying a little prayer that went something like: “Lord, You’ve promised to meet all my needs. I’m going to trust that when the time comes, You’ll provide a car that’s within my budget.” And then I added, half-jokingly, “Though You know, Lord—seeing as how You’re God and everything—You could just give me a car.”

And that was it. I grabbed my copies, hurried back to my classroom, and didn’t think another thing about it.

Fast forward a few weeks.

I’m sitting at home one afternoon when my mom calls and asks if she can drop by. I’m a little surprised. My mom’s not a “drop by” person. But I tell her yes, of course, and she arrives a few minutes later, sits down, and starts chatting. Again, very unusual. My mom is a “doer,” not a “chatter.” After a minute of small talk, she gets down to business and asks me point-blank if I would like to have her car—a five-year-old white Toyota RAV4 with, best I remember, less than 30,000 miles.

That’s right. God gave me a car.

I didn’t even remember joking with Him about it until later. When I did, I couldn’t believe it. While I was incredibly grateful for the car, I couldn’t help but wonder: why would God answer a request I made in jest for something that, in the scheme of things, wasn’t all that important—when He hadn’t answered other, far more important, prayers?

To be honest, I don’t know the answer to that question.

What I do know is that God hears us when we pray. And He answers according to what He, in His infinite wisdom, knows is ultimately in our best interest. We can trust Him. We can talk to Him. And we can even joke with Him. 

He’s listening and He cares.