My First Answered Prayer

I was young, about seven years old. It was a summer vacation, and all the kids in the entire neighborhood spend the whole day playing outside their homes. We would only stop playing at noon to eat lunch and had a few time for a forced nap, then go back in the fields or just in the play ground running, screaming, and pretending we were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I had the happiest childhood I could not have asked for more.

One of those days, I saw a group of boys riding a bike. There was only one bike, and the boys, about three of four of them would alternately ride it, each taking their turns. It was not an ordinary bike, but it was a big bike the ones adult would ride. Then there was a second bike, roaming around the field, and a girl was riding it. I recognized it was my friend Luna. The ground was dry and flat and dusts would rise up when the bike passed by.  She was riding the bike by herself, no one had taken turns with her. She was so good riding that bike, should would even stood from the seat and she even beat the boys if they were racing. I admired how she did it. That very moment, I wished I could ride the bike the way she did. But we did not have a bike, would could not buy a bike even the smaller ones the kids would play with. It would cost us a month worth of food.   

That night I whispered a prayer to God. “Lord, I want to learn how to ride a bike like Luna does, she’s just so good. I know I can do it too, only if we had a bike”. I still remember that was the very first time I prayed from my heart.

A few years later, a neighbor had to leave her house for a vacation in her home town with her husband and son. She was actually my friend because I was very fond of his son which was still a baby at that time. I used to spend a lot of time in her house while borrowing comics. I love reading Darna and Gagay, and she bought those comics regularly to keep updated with the story. She left and told my parents to watch their house for them. Her husband owned a bike, and she left it to my parents care instead of leaving it inside the house. She said we might want to use the bike while they were still away.  I remembered the time I so desired to learn how to ride the bike, then remembered my prayer….

Photo by Sira Anamwong via FreeDigitalPhotos

I had the bike all by myself. It was summer vacation so I took the bike and learned how to ride it. I taught myself so hard. I fell many times, and though it was the Lent, and my mother would get so angry because she believed staying outside on Good Friday would bring bad luck, or if I get wounded the wound would not heal. I succeeded and learned to ride the bike so well. I was so proud of myself. I could even ride a bike they way boys did.

I remembered my prayer and I realized that God really answers prayers especially if the praying person deserved it.  Maybe God won’t answer prayers on our terms, but according to His will, in His time or maybe not at all if it’s not for something better.