After I received the truth, my values and standards in life changed. Having the salvation of my soul as the goal of my faith, I no longer busied myself satisfying worldly desires; instead, I made every effort to live a righteous life as a child of God.
The people around me were frustrated when they saw me living a joyful life with hope for heaven, because they couldn’t understand me. Whenever I met some people who slandered the truth blindly, I felt lonely and heartbroken. But whenever that happened, I remembered these Bible verses.
The prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “O LORD, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. Answer me, O LORD, answer me, so these people will know that you, O LORD, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.” 1 Ki 18:36–37
Elijah stood alone before the whole community of Israel and confronted 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah. Although he was strong in faith, he might’ve been lonely and afraid as he was alone. So, his prayer must have been more desperate than ever. Elijah’s prayer reached heaven and God answered him. To all the Israelites, God showed that He was the true God, and that Elijah was the man of God and had done all things at God’s command.
Elijah’s prayer gave me much strength. The toughest moments for me while keeping faith were when people were critical of me just because I believed in God the Father and God the Mother whom the Bible clearly testifies about. Under the pain of unjust suffering, I sometimes felt tired and faltered on the way to heaven. Whenever that happened, I prayed, remembering Elijah’s prayer.
‘Please let everybody know that the Spirit and the Bride are our God, and that I am a child of God and follow the mission of preaching the gospel according to Your will. Father and Mother, please answer me. Please answer me.’
Then I felt my tangled heart was unraveled, and my tired heart got strengthened while placating my soul, looking forward to the day when this prayer would be fully answered. When the great goal of preaching to seven billion people was proclaimed, I felt that God was answering my prayer ardently.
My heart is still throbbing with excitement. God answered Elijah’s prayer and showed a sign that He is the living God before the whole community of Israel. In the same way, God answers the prayers of His children, who want God’s glory to shine all throughout the world in this age, and God is carrying out His great work through the movement to preach to seven billion people. My heart swells with the fact that I’m living in this age when all the prophecies of the Bible are to be fulfilled.