Let Me Always Hear Your Voice, Lord
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I remember her taking my hand as she forced her old body, with an injured knee, to kneel and pray at my bedside. As the little-girl me knelt beside her, watching intently, I knew there was something special about my granny.
When she prayed—you paid attention. I can still see her now, fifty years later. But it was how she ended her prayers that has stayed with me all my life—“Dear Lord, let me always hear Your voice.” It has been my daily prayer ever since, and one day, I will tell her the story of how it saved my life. One cloudless day in Northern Natal, South Africa, I was weeding my garden with my two-year-old daughter as she built sandcastles next to me.
Behind us, a six-foot wall, a big bamboo palm, and shrubbery hid a road that ran all the way to the top of a hill. A ringing phone interrupted my daughter’s childish chatter.
It was our landline—no cell phones yet.
I tried to ignore it, but it kept ringing.
As I moved to answer it, the Holy Spirit prompted me to pick up my daughter. One look at her muddy hands and dirty smile, and I decided to let her be.
I hurried into the kitchen, but again, I sensed Him urging me to go back and bring my daughter inside. I tried to ignore it, but again, Go and bring her with you! I turned around, picked up my muddy toddler, and hurried to answer the phone.
“Hello?” Silence. There was no one on the other end. I phoned my husband, thinking he may have called, but his assistant said he was in a meeting.
To this day, I still don’t know who phoned.
Or do I? I will never forget how I felt when I returned to the garden and saw the sight before me. Gripped by an indescribable fear, I could see all the way to the top of the hill, for the six-foot wall now lay demolished on the ground.
On top of it, a white car rested at the spot where I had been weeding beside my daughter only moments before. Its hood was smashed open.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your faithfulness in honoring our prayers.
May we always hear Your voice Lord, and if we are not quick to trust and obey, please give us a little nudge in the right direction.
I love You, Lord.
Erna Steyn
