I have been reading about Hudson Taylor, a British missionary to China in the 1800s.

There are so many amazing stories during his life about how God worked in answer to prayer. Most of them revolve around his prayers, but this significant story is about the prayers of his mom and sister.

At age 15, Hudson left his faith in the ditch. He got a job as a bank clerk and started listening to -and believing – the voices of older and “wiser” friends and coworkers.

Meanwhile, his mom and sister didn’t give up on him. They both prayed independently that God would bring Hudson back to the Lord.

His mom locked herself in her room for several hours and prayed for her son. She stopped when she felt peace that God had answered her prayers. That same night, Hudson had a turn-around experience of the reality of God in his life. Neither of them talked with each other until two weeks later.

His sister had been praying for him every day. He didn’t find out about that for a while – he was visiting her and picked up her diary, thinking it was his own, and saw her mention of her prayers.

So yes, it is totally worth asking God to answer prayers that are in alignment with His purposes.

And we are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him (1 John 5:14).

God does not always answer our prayers, but it’s worth asking. You never know what might happen – or how God will answer.

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Thanks to those who prayed… I did get a job. I’m working with Half Crown Media. Our primary focus is producing a feature-length historical drama movie on the life of Hudson Taylor.

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Paul Merrill writes here every first Friday.

Painting is Wikimedia licensed – James Hudson Taylor at age 21 – from OMF International (UK).