By Erin Austin 

As a case manager, I’m usually the first person a child has contact with at Joy Ranch. While it is a privilege, there’s also a gravity in this that I don’t take lightly. Most children who come to Joy Ranch don’t know about God, and if they do, it’s not the loving God I know. So, one of the first things I tell any guardian and child is Joy Ranch is a Christian home. They absolutely don’t have to believe the way we believe, but they need to know we don’t hide who we are and pretend to be something we’re not. We are Christians and we believe in a Savior who delights in being in relationship with us and wants to hear our prayers. 

Prayer is something we take seriously at the Ranch. Staff pray together every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9:00 AM. We also have a campus prayer time for anyone who is able to come every morning Monday-Friday gathered around the flagpole. Bedtime prayers with each child are usually done by the housemoms, which I’ve found to be some of the sweetest prayers because those are the moments where the child starts to learn they can talk to God about anything. 

“Most of these children weren’t used to seeing promises fulfilled. Some of them had been let down badly by adults. But God? He was different. He could do anything, they said, but He couldn’t and wouldn’t break a promise” (Mary McHenry). 

It’s hard to learn to trust. Trust is one of those instincts that’s ingrained in each of us at conception. A baby trusts that when he cries, he will be comforted; he trusts that when he is hungry, he will be fed. To have that trust broken is a wound at the deepest level. Only a God who is trustworthy can fully repair a wound so deep. 

“How do we explain God’s miraculous answers to prayer? Faith is not something we explain; faith is something we feel. It is resting in a relationship. It is resting on the promises of God.” 

It’s hard to trust in a God you can’t see. Answered prayer is a tangible way God shows He is real, reliable, and trustworthy. Although I don’t cram God down these kids’ throats, I often unknowingly talk about Him because He is such a dear friend and vital to who I am. In my one-on-one time with the kids, they often comment on how God answers my prayers and they wish they could believe as I do. Through this, I have the privilege to let them know I’ll believe for them until they learn to trust Him on their own, and we pray for the concerns of their heart. And little by little, I often see their precious faith flicker to life as they realize God truly does care about them. What a privilege indeed! 

Enjoy Chapter 6 from Mary McHenry’s book, “Feed My Lambs”

THE CHILDREN’S PRAYERS

Click the image to read excerpts from “Feed My Lambs” and blogs related to the story.

The children were delighted when a year later, in December of 1962, the Lord provided us with our first station wagon. A dear friend in the neighboring community of Ararat, knowing of our need, decided to raise money for a wagon. She went to one of the wealthy men in a nearby town and told him of our need. The gentleman gave her a $5 bill. Leaving him, she was so disappointed by receiving such a small donation that she began to cry. Meeting friends, a man and his wife, on the street, she asked them if they would take over the project. They agreed and she was comforted.

The couple had never done anything like that before, but the wife said, “If the entire building of Joy Ranch could be done in faith, then we can certainly trust God for a station wagon.” “And so,” she continued, “with the first gift, which was $20, we placed the order by faith for the wagon.” The couple received gifts from a few cents to $500 from hundreds of people from the area of Mount Airy, North Carolina. And the wagon was delivered to the Ranch – fully paid for. The children gazed wonderingly at the new vehicle – the reality of their answered prayers.

And from then on we noticed a new boldness in their praying. The girls had been talking about a sewing machine; now they decided to ask God for one. And in a few weeks someone came with a “just as good as new” electric sewing machine. The children prayed for a freezer, and in a few days we received word that we would be receiving a freezer. We marveled at their faith. They never doubted that God would send what they asked for.

Most of these children weren’t used to seeing promises fulfilled. Some of them had been let down badly by adults. But God? He was different. He could do anything, they said, but He couldn’t and wouldn’t break a promise.

They prayed also for their special personal needs and soon began to add their wants. (And this is when they learned that God doesn’t always give us what we ask for just because we want it. Many times God did send them a gift in answer to prayer, but the children soon learned that it was better to let God make the decision when it was something they didn’t really need.)

Some of them never lost that faith in answered prayer. One of our girls was separated from her nine brothers and sisters (most of them had been adopted); and after she grew up and left Joy Ranch, she had a longing to find them. Recently we received a letter from her saying: “By your teaching, I too can teach my children how to love God and pray. If we wait on Him, He will answer our prayers. He answered mine. I prayed for my family – to find all nine of them. And I did. It took a while, but on Christmas Day God answered my prayers …”

How do we explain God’s miraculous answers to prayer? Faith is not something we explain; faith is something we feel. It is resting in a relationship. It is resting on the promises of God.

In those days we all found great joy in singing the chorus:

“I found the answer, I learned to pray,
With faith to guide me I found my way;
The sun is shining for me each day,
I found the answer, I learned to pray.”

From the smallest (3 years) to the oldest (15), we sang it day and night. And best of all, “we learned to pray.”

(Listen to the song mentioned above at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY2vSe4xlKA&list=RDnY2vSe4xlKA&start_radio=1)