Copyright Page
2017 by James Bell & Associates
Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
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Bethany House Publishers is a division of
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Ebook edition created 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4412-3090-4
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
Scripture quotations marked E S V are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2011
Scripture quotations marked E R V are from the Easy-to-Read version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked K J V are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Scripture quotations marked N A S B are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked N C V are from the New Century Version. Copyright 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked N L T are from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked P H I L L I P S are from The New Testament in Modern English, revised editionJ. B. Phillips, translator. J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture quotations marked R S V are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked N K J V are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The following are true stories, but some details and names have been changed in order to protect privacy.
Editorial services provided by Jeanette Gardner Littleton Publication Services
Cover design by LOOK Design Studio
Dedication
To Margaret:
How beautiful, then, the marriage of two Christians, two who are one in hope, one in desire, one in the way of life they follow, one in the religion they practice. They are as brother and sister, both servants of the same Master. Nothing divides them, either in flesh or in spirit. They are, in very truth, two in one flesh; and where there is but one flesh there is also but one spirit. They pray together, they worship together, they fast together; instructing one another, encouraging one another, strengthening one another.
Tertullian (to his wife)
Epigraph
The best and sweetest flowers of paradise God gives to His people when they are upon their knees. Prayer is the gate of heaven.
Thomas Brooks
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Epigraph
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Gods Intrusion
B RENDA D ILLON
Face-to-Face With Jesus
D ELORES E. T OPLIFF
The Voice of My Maker
C ASSIE H ARRIS
He Opened My Eyes
J EFF A DAMS
The Mysterious Comforter
J OSHUA F. Y OUNCE
The Healer She Could Only Imagine
C HARLES E ARL H ARREL
S USAN A LLEN P ANZICA
An Angel Named Grace
B ILL S HANE , AS TOLD
TO D ONNA L EE (S HANE ) L OOMIS
My Only True Security
A NNA M. G REGORY
Three Days to Live
V IRGINIA R OSE F AIRBROTHER
Against All Odds
M ARYBETH M ITCHAM
A Return to Sanity
E VELYN R HODES S MITH
Loving My Soldier
E LLEN F ARRINGTON
The Two-Percent Life Experience
J AN A PILADO
He Gives His Angels Charge Over Us
D ELORES E. T OPLIFF
My Emmanuel Moment
H OLLY B LEVINS
An Unexpected Gift
D AVID M ICHAEL S MITH
My Dream Husband
L AURA L. B RADFORD
A Heavenly Code Blue
J EFF A DAMS
R AY S TENNER , AS TOLD TO J ANICE R ICHARDSON
Breaking Selfish Pride
F AITH T URNET
The Final Authority
E LFRIEDE V OLK
Home Is Where the Heart Is
J AMES S TUART B ELL
No More Headaches
M ARTY P RUDHOMME
Father Knows Best
D OROTHY J. H AIRE
Shortest, Biggest Prayer
C HARLES J. H UFF
A Race to the Bottom
S USAN M. W ATKINS
Before the Snow Flies
L A R OSE K ARR
Dad, Lets Pray!
B OBBIE R OPER
An Earthquake Full of Blessings
A NNA L EE C ONTI
The Message From Heaven
B ETTY J OHNSON D ALRYMPLE
The Nativity Baby
D AVID M ICHAEL S MITH
J ENNI D AVENPORT
Nowhere to Call Home
B OBBIE R OPER
Leaving the God of Money
M ARLEEN M C D OWELL
Paper Angels
B ETH D UEWEL
A Bright New World
J OYCE S TARR M ACIAS
Miracle Boy
M ELIND A W RIGHT , AS TOLD TO A NITA E STES
A Sparkling Miracle
G AIL R. H ELGESON
A Precise Prayer for Healing
S USAN L. T UTTLE
About the Contributors
About the Compiler
Books Compiled and Coauthored by James Stuart Bell
Back Ad
Back Cover
Acknowledgments
With much gratitude for a superb teamamong others, David Horton, Andy McGuire, Ellen Chalifoux, Julie Smith, and Carissa Maki.
Introduction
D o you ever have doubts that God answers or even really hears some of your prayers? The truth is that God responds to any and every prayer of the heart. Oftentimes, however, we may not be aware of how He responds to our praises, our requests, or our frustrations. We only know by faith that He is actively and lovingly responding and working through those prayers, as He tells us in Scripture.
Sometimes we have doubts because we dont physically see results from our prayers that we would like to see in our lives. Some of us wonder if we have prayed hard enough or sincerely enough, or if there were obstacles in our lives that prevented His positive answers. Yet most of us can recall certain times in our walk with God when He came through for us with flying colors, when we just knew it could only be His doing. He is the God of the impossible and the miraculous, and there are times when His power is so evident that all we can do is marvel and break out in praise to Him.
This volume is a collection of stories of believers who needed God to come through in a big way and He did just that, sometimes in a much bigger way than they expected. Everything we receive from God is truly a gift, whether it relates to our health, our talents, our families, or the provision of some particular need. There are other gifts of His grace that can only be described as supernatural. They go beyond the norm in our lives, displaying His power and distinct presence, His divine intervention when were desperate. These answers are truly gifts from heaven that stem from His abounding love and generosity.