The Broken Boiler
By Jaël Naomie
The winters in the state of New York can be harsh, and the winter of 2021 was no different.
It was December when Sonia's boiler stopped working. Since it was already 30°F degrees outside, she needed heat, and she needed it immediately. When she called the technician to come look at the boiler, she was told the boiler needed a part that would not be available until February of 2022. That was some alarming news for Sonia and her family.
Since the 2020 pandemic, Sonia had been working from home, and working in a freezing cold house would be very uncomfortable. Even if she had a space heater, it would only heat a small space, and the rest of the house would be freezing cold. Sonia's husband also was worried about what could happen to the pipes if they had to go so long without heat. Also, they had tenants who had small children, and everyone was relying on that boiler to heat up the house. What were they to do?
Sonia was a praying woman. She knew that her Heavenly Father would give her a solution to this new problem that she was facing. Sonia prayed to God for wisdom and repeated the promise found in Luke 12:27-29: “Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.” Sonia ended her prayer by saying, “I trust you, Father.” Then she left it at that and refocused on getting her work completed for the day.
That evening when Sonia's husband got home, he asked if the boiler was fixed because the thermostat was reading 77°F. Sonia answered, "No, since the technician first came, no one has come to look at it."
But unseen hands had worked on that boiler. The hands of God were at work the minute Sonia ended her prayer and said, “I trust you, Father.” Like a trusting child, Sonia had gone about her work for the day, and the Lord had honored her faith.
She and her husband decided not to touch the thermostat. Miraculously, they had heat from December until the part they were waiting for came in March of 2022. Even when they opened the windows to air the house out, the temperature stayed at 77°F degrees. God is so merciful!
My encouragement to you friends is, trust God! If He hasn't given you a solution to your impossible situation, then He intends to solve it for you Himself. When the children of Israel had Pharaoh and his army chasing them from behind and the Red Sea before them, they did not have a solution to solve their problem. Then God, in all His might, glory, and power, did a “new thing” and parted the Red Sea. That was then. Today God is still doing “new things” and meeting our immediate needs. He met Sonia's needs by fixing the immediate boiler problem and maintaining the home temperature at 77°F for months! God is still doing “new things,” and He can do them for you.
Jaël Naomie is the author of One Minute with God, a prayer devotional journal. At sixteen she decided to give her life to Christ. Although Jael has faced many obstacles for her decision, God remained faithful and Jael’s trust in God grows with each passing day. In all her years she has never “seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread" (Psalms 37:25 NKJV). This testimony is reprinted with permission of Time to Get Ready Ministries.
World Church Prayer Requests
December 9 - 15, 2022
- Pray for God to do a “new thing” in our hearts and homes. Pray that we would learn to trust His Word and walk and live by faith.
- Pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured out on your local church. Pray personally for the baptism of the Holy Spirit in your own life.
- Pray for the 10 Days of Prayer that will be running January 11-21, 2023. Pray that many churches and groups around the world will take part.
- Pray for refugees in your part of the world that are struggling to survive. Pray for ways to reach them, to minister to them, and to teach them about Jesus.
- Pray for our brothers and sisters in Eastern Europe, and especially in Russia and Ukraine that continue to live with great hardships and separation from loved ones. Pray for God to bring an end to this conflict.
To download this week's testimony and prayer requests, click here!