Prayer for a Lottery Ticket - Part I (Sep 15th, 2010)

You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. – John 14:14

I am writing this story with amazement in God's grace. I have been going through some difficult times lately, and I seriously doubted that God is no longer with me or listening to me anymore. That, of course, affected my walk with God - I have not been reading the Bible and my devotional book every night. So I have been expecting some sort of “punishment” from God for my “disobedience”.

Finally tonight, I went to the graduate student social after Truth Project – for the raffle of two Thanksgiving rival game football tickets. Every year the graduate student association hosts a social night so that new students can meet the old ones, and students from different departments can meet each other. As an incentive, there is always a raffle for some extremely popular football tickets. This year, the grand prize of the raffle is two tickets to the Thanksgiving rival game. Last year these tickets were selling for over $150 each. Although I am a big fan for our team, I would never pay that much (honestly, not even $50) for a football game!

I had never won any kind of lottery or raffle in my whole life – that is why I never believe in luck. Although I have been praying that I could win the raffle and get free tickets to the rival game, I was not really confident - God usually does not answer prayers about lotteries and raffles, because money is not what we really needed, and most of time becomes what turns us away from God later. I prayed with the reason that I would never be able to afford the price of the ticket, and I really want to see the rival game this year, but I did not feel like God would grant it - especially since I have not been “so good” lately!

It is raffle time. I decided to pray one more time right before the drawing - this time I said, “Father, for your sake, not mine, and for the sake that I am probably the only person crying out to you for the tickets right now, please draw my number!” And there it is – my number! On my way home, I was still showed in God's grace - I thought about how I used to complain that God has so many rules; that I am supposed to obey all of them, that when I do make an effort to obey most of them, He takes it for granted as if that is what I am expected to do and would not give me any rewards; yet if I break one rule, He would punish me in no time; that He is not fair, not judging by my effort and trying... But I have not been “really good” lately, I was expecting some type of punishment sooner or later, yet God just embraced me with His infinite grace! Our God IS slow to anger and abundant in love, as He said He is!