Think about the times when you’ve given freely to another, whether it’s prayer or a kind word or a helping hand, and you feel God smiling over your shoulder with His blessing.
Well, we know God’s smile takes different forms, but this one was really unusual.
Eduardo Sierra, 35, from Spain, often traveled for business. A devout Christian, he made it a point to stop into various churches wherever he visited, and pray for his family and friends.
For one business trip he was sent to Stockholm, Sweden. The trip was ordinary, everything went well, and on his last day, Eduardo checked out of his hotel and looked for a cab to the airport. When he noticed an old church about two blocks down the street, he realized that he had not visited any churches on this trip. I have time for a quick prayer, he thought, and walked down to the building.
The church was open, but there was no one inside. Instead, Eduardo noticed that there was a closed coffin, and a condolence book at a small shrine. A note lay on the book: “Those who pray for this soul, Jens Svenson, shall please enter their name and address.” The first page was blank. No one had yet prayed to send Mr. Svenson off to heaven, and that made Eduardo sad.
I’ll stay as long as I can, he decided, and he prayed for Mr. Svenson for a half hour. It was a bit difficult, since he knew nothing about the man, but Eduardo believed prayer is never wasted. When it was time to go, he remembered to sign his name and address, just as Mr. Svenson had asked. The church was still empty.
Several weeks later, Eduardo answered the phone. It was a representative from the Swedish capital, informing him that he had just inherited several million dollars. At first, Eduardo suspected a wrong number, but when the lawyer finally convinced him that it was all true, Eduardo was almost speechless. “How can this be?” he asked.
“You prayed for a man in Sweden, Jens Svenson.” Eduardo could hardly remember the event. “Mr. Svenson was a wealthy real estate dealer with no close relatives,” the lawyer went on. “He specified in his will that whoever prayed for his soul would receive all his belongings.”
“But…” Eduardo protested, “Many people must have prayed for him.”
“No,” the lawyer explained. “Your address was the only one in the book.”
What goes around comes around. Can you remember an unexpected result when you decided to take a risk and do something just for God? Let us know about it.
