I know you will; I know you will. Amen.

Many years ago, our granddaughter, four years old at the time, was spending a few days with us. She had brought her favorite possession, a Beanie Baby stuffed animal kitten she had named Prince.

On the day her parents were to arrive, Prince could not be found. In a child’s mind, emotional attachments to whatever the object, but a especially a stuffed toy pet, can be extreme.

Soon after we received a call from Madison’s mother. Overheard in her room, Madison had prayed that Jesus would help Prince find his way home. Madison had concluded her prayer with these words, “I know you will; I know you will. Amen.”

Jeremiah confessed of God: “It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.”

Joshua prayed that the sun would stand still at Gibeon; and his prayer was granted. Elijah prayed that it would not rain in Samaria for three and half years; and it came to pass. There is no limit to what God can do; but that limit also applies to the small arenas of our lives.

God is the God of the whale and the God of the sparrow. God is the God who counts the stars, but also counts the hairs on your head.

In a beautiful hymn, we sing: “And since He bids me seek His face, Believe His word, and trust His grace, I’ll cast on Him my every care.”

Jesus was referring to anxiety, hunger, want and real sustenance when he taught us to pray, “Our Father . . . give us this day our daily bread.”

Jesus was concerned about Peter’s embarrassment about being asked if his master paid the temple tax. So he performed a small miracle and provided two coins out of the mouth of a fish. Jesus was concerned about the joy of a wedding reception ending too soon, so he performed a small miracle and turned six jars of water into six jars of wine.

I believe the Jesus who told about a traveler who fell among robbers hears prayers for safe journeys. I believe the Jesus who ruled the waves and the winds hears the prayer of rain for a garden. After all, Jesus, too, loved the flowers of the field. I believe the Jesus who straightened the bent over woman hears the prayer for relief from a aching back. I believe the Jesus who went apart to be alone and meditate hears the prayer for peace and rest.

No one can know, or tell you, about God’s will for one of your particular petitions, great or small; but I do believe it is God’s will that we come to him with all of our lives, all of our cares, all of our desires and all of our fears.

Do not mistake me for portraying God as an errand boy or magic genie. God is not at our beck and call: we are at God’s. But God’s beck and call is for a faith, both childlike and reasoned, that will always come to him in the assurance: “I know you will; I know you will.” By the way, Madison’s Prince found his way home.