How Some Received Answers

MILLIONS of people pray. Some are convinced that their prayers are answered. Others wonder whether their prayers are ever heard. Still others seek answers but have not thought about presenting their requests in prayer to God.

The Bible identifies the true God as the “Hearer of prayer.” (Psalm 65:2) If you pray, are you sure that your prayers are directed to the true God? Are your prayers ones that he will answer?

For many people in all parts of the earth, the answer has proved to be yes! How did they receive answers? What did they learn?

God​—Who Is He?

A schoolteacher in Portugal who had been educated by nuns and priests sincerely practiced her faith. When the church changed and abandoned practices that she had been taught were important, she became confused. Travel acquainted her with Oriental ways of worship, and she began to wonder whether there is one true God. How should she worship? When she asked her priest about things in the Bible, her questions were brushed aside, and she was disappointed.

The Catholic church had circulated a pamphlet in this schoolteacher’s city warning parishioners not to converse with Jehovah’s Witnesses. But her questions persisted. One day when the Witnesses called at her door, she listened and showed interest in what she heard. It was the first time she had talked with them.

To get answers to her many questions, this woman began to study the Bible with the Witnesses. Each week, she had a long list of questions waiting for them. She wanted to know God’s name, whether there is only one true God, whether he approves of the use of images in worship, and much more. She observed that all the answers she received were from the Bible, not personal opinions, so she was surprised and delighted with what she was learning. Gradually, she received answers  to her many questions. Today, she worships Jehovah with spirit and truth, as Jesus Christ said “true worshipers” would do.​—John 4:23.

In Sri Lanka, a family regularly read the Bible together, but they were not getting answers to many questions that were important to them. Although they needed help, their priest could not provide it. However, Jehovah’s Witnesses visited and left helpful Bible literature with the family. Later, when Jehovah’s Witnesses gave the family satisfying answers to their Bible questions, they agreed to a Bible study. What they learned in their studies interested them very much.

Still, childhood indoctrination at church hindered the wife from seeing that the Father of Jesus Christ is “the only true God,” as Jesus himself said. (John 17:1, 3) She had been taught that Jesus is equal to the Father and that this “mystery” is not to be questioned. In sincerity and desperation, she prayed to Jehovah, using his name, and asked him to show her who Jesus is. Then she carefully examined the relevant scriptures once again. (John 14:28; 17:21; 1 Corinthians 8:5, 6) As if scales fell from her eyes, she now saw clearly that Jehovah​—the Creator of heaven and earth and the Father of Jesus Christ—​is the true God.​—Isaiah 42:8; Jeremiah 10:10-12.

Suffering​—Why?

The man Job suffered to an extreme degree. All his children were killed in a storm, and he was reduced to poverty. He also suffered a painful illness and endured pressure from false friends. In the midst of all of this, Job made some rash statements. (Job 6:3) But God considered the circumstances. (Job 35:15) He knew what was in Job’s heart and provided the counsel that Job needed. He does that for people today too.

In Mozambique, Castro was just ten years old when his mother died. He was devastated. “Why did she have to die and leave us?” he asked. Though he had been raised by God-fearing parents, nothing made sense to him now. What could satisfy his mind and his heart? He found comfort in reading a small Chichewa Bible and discussing it with his older brothers.

Gradually, Castro came to appreciate that his mother had died, not because of injustice on the part of God, but because of inherited imperfection. (Romans 5:12; 6:23) The Bible’s promise of a resurrection gave him the greatest comfort because he saw in it the basis for confidence that he would see his mother again. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) Sadly, just four years later, his father died. But this time Castro was better able to cope with the loss. Today, he loves Jehovah and loyally uses his life in God’s service. The joy he has found is evident to all who know him.

Many people who have lost loved ones find comfort in the same Bible truths that brought comfort to Castro. Some who have experienced great hardship because of the actions of wicked people ask, as did Job: “Why is it that the wicked themselves keep living?” (Job 21:7) When people really listen to what God says by way of reply in his Word, they learn that God’s way of handling matters actually works out for their own good.​—2 Peter 3:9.

Barbara, who was raised in the United States, did not personally experience the horrors of war. But she grew up in the midst of a world at war. Reports of war atrocities were daily news. During her studies at school, she was puzzled by events of history that unfolded in ways that seemed unpredictable. What accounted for it? Did God care about what was happening? She believed that God exists, but she had mixed feelings about him.

However, Barbara’s outlook on life gradually changed as a result of association with  Jehovah’s Witnesses. She listened to them and studied the Bible with them. She attended meetings at a Kingdom Hall. She even attended one of their large conventions. Moreover, when she asked questions, she observed that she was not getting different opinions from different Witnesses. Rather, the Witnesses spoke in agreement because their thinking was based on the Bible.

The Witnesses pointed to evidence from the Bible that the world is influenced by Satan the Devil, its ruler, and that it reflects his spirit. (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 John 5:19) They explained that events that puzzled Barbara were foretold in the Bible. (Daniel, chapters 2, 7, and 8) God foretold them because he has the ability to see into the future when he chooses to do so. Some of those events were brought about by God. Others he simply permitted to occur. The Witnesses showed Barbara that the Bible also foretells good and bad events of our day and explains their meaning. (Matthew 24:3-14) They showed her the Bible’s promises of a new world in which righteousness will prevail and suffering will be a thing of the past.​—2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4.

Gradually, Barbara began to understand that while Jehovah God is not responsible for human suffering, he does not prevent it by forcing humans to obey his commandments when they choose to do otherwise. (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20) God has made provisions by which we can live forever in happiness, but he is giving us the opportunity now to demonstrate whether we will live in harmony with his righteous ways. (Revelation 14:6, 7) Barbara resolved to learn God’s requirements and to live by them. She also found among Jehovah’s Witnesses the sort of love that Jesus said would identify his true followers.​—John 13:34, 35.

You too can benefit from the provisions that helped her.

Life That Has Meaning

Even those for whom life seems to be going well may seek answers to questions that perplex them. For instance, Matthew, a young man in Britain, had always felt a deep yearning to find the true God and the purpose of life. His father died when Matthew was 17 years old. Thereafter, Matthew obtained a university degree in music. He then experienced a growing awareness of the futility of his materialistic way of life. He left home to live in London, and there he became involved with drugs, the club scene, astrology, spiritism, and Zen Buddhism and other philosophies​—all in a search for a satisfying way of life. In desperation he cried out to God to help him find the truth.

Two days later Matthew met an old friend and explained his predicament. This man had studied with Jehovah’s Witnesses. When Matthew was shown 2 Timothy 3:1-5, he was amazed at how accurately the Bible describes the world around us. When he read the Sermon on the Mount, it touched his heart. (Matthew, chapters 5-7) At first, he hesitated because he had read some material that was critical of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but finally he decided to attend meetings at a nearby Kingdom Hall.

Matthew enjoyed what he heard and started to study the Bible with one of the congregation elders. He soon realized that what he was learning was what he had been seeking, the answer to his earlier prayer to God. He experienced benefits as he abandoned practices that are displeasing to Jehovah. As he cultivated a wholesome fear of God, he was moved to bring his life into harmony with God’s commandments. Matthew learned that such a life has real meaning.​—Ecclesiastes 12:13.

It was not foreordained that Matthew or others mentioned in this article would find a satisfying way of life. Nevertheless, they learned that Jehovah God has a loving purpose  that embraces all who gladly choose to obey his commandments. (Acts 10:34, 35) That purpose includes eternal life in a world free from war, liberated from sickness and hunger​—free even from death. (Isaiah 2:4; 25:6-8; 33:24; John 3:16) Is that what you want? If so, you can learn more about finding the key to a satisfying life by attending the Bible-based meetings at a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses. You are warmly invited to do so.

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Earnestly pray to God, using his personal name

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Study the Bible with those who truly teach what it contains

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Attend meetings at the Kingdom Hall

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Hiker: Chad Ehlers/Index Stock Photography