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This is a true story, written by a doctor, Helen Roseveare, who was a missionary in Central Africa,
and is one of the greatest examples of simple faith and how God answers prayers:
One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all
that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.
We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an
incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly
with treacherous drafts.
A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby
would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back
shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical
climates. "...and it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying
over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle.
They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right," I said, "Put
the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from
drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children
who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and
told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about
the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one
ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. "Please,
God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby'll be dead; so,
please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by
way of corollary, " ...And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so
she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do
everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost
four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did
send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was
sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but
there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not
open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string,
carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was
mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I
lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then, there were the
knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a
box of mixed raisins and sultanas - - that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put
my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, "A brand-new
rubber, hot water bottle!" I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle,
He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the
small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she
asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus
really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School
class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the
equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months earlier in answer to the
believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "That afternoon!" "And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24.
and is one of the greatest examples of simple faith and how God answers prayers:
One night, in Central Africa, I had worked hard to help a mother in the labor ward; but in spite of all
that we could do, she died leaving us with a tiny, premature baby and a crying, two-year-old daughter.
We would have difficulty keeping the baby alive. We had no incubator. We had no electricity to run an
incubator, and no special feeding facilities. Although we lived on the equator, nights were often chilly
with treacherous drafts.
A student-midwife went for the box we had for such babies and for the cotton wool that the baby
would be wrapped in. Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water bottle. She came back
shortly, in distress, to tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst. Rubber perishes easily in tropical
climates. "...and it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West, it is no good crying
over spilled milk; so, in Central Africa it might be considered no good crying over a burst water bottle.
They do not grow on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways. All right," I said, "Put
the baby as near the fire as you safely can; sleep between the baby and the door to keep it free from
drafts. Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have prayers with many of the orphanage children
who chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various suggestions of things to pray about and
told them about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle. The baby could so easily die if it got chilled. I also told them about
the two-year-old sister, crying because her mother had died. During the prayer time, one
ten-year-old girl, Ruth, prayed with the usual blunt consciousness of our African children. "Please,
God," she prayed, "send us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, the baby'll be dead; so,
please send it this afternoon." While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer, she added by
way of corollary, " ...And while You are about it, would You please send a dolly for the little girl so
she'll know You really love her?" As often with children's prayers, I was put on the spot. Could I
honestly say, "Amen?" I just did not believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that He can do
everything: The Bible says so, but there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could answer this
particular prayer would be by sending a parcel from the homeland. I had been in Africa for almost
four years at that time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from home. Anyway, if anyone did
send a parcel, who would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the nurses' training school, a message was
sent that there was a car at my front door. By the time that I reached home, the car had gone, but
there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound parcel! I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not
open the parcel alone; so, I sent for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off the string,
carefully undoing each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to tear it unduly. Excitement was
mounting. Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large cardboard box. From the top, I
lifted out brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out. Then, there were the
knitted bandages for the leprosy patients, and the children began to look a little bored. Next, came a
box of mixed raisins and sultanas - - that would make a nice batch of buns for the weekend. As I put
my hand in again, I felt the...could it really be? I grasped it, and pulled it out. Yes, "A brand-new
rubber, hot water bottle!" I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the bottle,
He must have sent the dolly, too!" Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the
small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone: She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she
asked, "Can I go over with you, Mummy, and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll know that Jesus
really loves her?"
That parcel had been on the way for five whole months, packed up by my former Sunday School
class, whose leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water bottle, even to the
equator. One of the girls had put in a dolly for an African child -- five months earlier in answer to the
believing prayer of a ten-year-old to bring it "That afternoon!" "And it shall come to pass, that before
they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear." Isaiah 65:24.
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One of the Greatest Prayer
of the Old Testament came
at the Solomon's Prayer of
Dedication of the Temple.
" If My people who are
called by My name will
humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face,
and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and
heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)
of the Old Testament came
at the Solomon's Prayer of
Dedication of the Temple.
" If My people who are
called by My name will
humble themselves, and
pray and seek My face,
and turn from their
wicked ways, then I will
hear from heaven, and
will forgive their sin and
heal their land."
2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV)