An Answered Prayer

I love going to the Compassion center because it’s a place where I can share my thoughts with my friends and my tutor. It’s a place where I’m free to think of things besides family matters. My favorite thing about the center is that my tutor always listens to my stories. Not only does she listen, but she always asks me if we can pray together to close our sharing sessions.

I became more prayerful after I was registered at the center. My tutor taught me to pray about everything, like in Philippians 4:6 (NIV): “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.” My prayer times are in the morning when I wake up, in the afternoon around four and before I go to sleep. My grandmother mostly leads prayers in my family. In her prayers, she always prays for me and my sister, my father and my grandfather. When I feel sad, my tutor always encourages me and prays with me.

The funny thing is that I share everything on my mind with my tutor, but there is one thing I have always kept to myself: Since I was in the second grade, I have dreamed of having a Bible of my own.

In my house we had two Bibles, and I wasn’t always able to use them. I had to share them with my parents, my sister and my grandmother. The quality of the covers was poor, and they easily tore because we all used them. They also only contained the New Testament. I wished I had the complete Bible — the Old and New Testaments.

Since my tutor told me to keep praying, every day I prayed that one day my father would have enough money to buy a Bible for me. The Bible I wanted cost around IDR 150,000 ($10 USD). My father needed time to save this amount of money.

Sometimes, I wanted to give up praying because it seemed like my father couldn’t make enough money to buy a Bible. He always said that the money we had was only enough to buy food. Our living situation became even more complicated when, at the beginning of 2021, my mother left us. My father has become quieter since then.

My prayer list is growing. Now, I pray for my father, so he will remain patient in taking care of me and my sister. I cry when I pray. I cry because I miss my mother. I cry because I know my father is feeling lonely. To comfort my father, every morning I sit with him as he drinks coffee before he goes to work as a day laborer. He always asks about my school and what I have learned at the Compassion center.

In December 2021, our center held a Christmas celebration. We were invited to the celebration where each kid received a Christmas gift. My friends and I were so happy because our sponsors sent us gifts. But my happiness didn’t stop there! Our pastor handed a Bible to me. I was shocked and could not believe it. God had answered my prayers when I wasn’t expecting it!

When I received the Bible, I felt that God is so good to me. He gave me the Bible after I prayed for one for years. He gave me the Bible even when my father still had no money to afford it. He is also good to me because, though my mother has left us, my father still has the spirit to work and take care of me and my sister. God understands what I prayed for. He comforts me through my tutor and my friends at the center.

Nowadays, I bring my Bible everywhere, to the school and the Compassion center. I always put the Bible beside my bed. It has the Old and New Testaments. The black cover is solid and stronger than our old Bibles’ covers.

For those who are still waiting for an answer to prayer, please don’t give up. Don’t stop praying. I prayed for almost five years, and God answered my prayers. After I received the gift, I didn’t stop praying because prayer is how I keep my relationship with God. I will keep praying forever because I need to pray for my family, my friends and my tutor.