Words to God

By Annie Yang 													             

	Dear God, I am so happy to have a chance to know you.  Before I knew you, I never had that kind of joy and peace in my life. I didn't know that through you I could have such an abundant life.  Thank you Lord.

	Actually, I have only been in church for about half a year. Being an open-minded person, I didn't reject any kind of religion. So I went to church when I had free time. I met a group of young devoted Christian over there.  I am so lucky to know the true God.  Some people make up their mind to refuse the Lord even before giving themselves a chance to know Him.  Of course, they will never know the true God, Lord, the way, the truth and the life.
	At the beginning, the purpose of my going to church was only to make some friends.  I didn't think that it would change my religious belief.  In Taiwan, I never had any contact with Christians.  When I was a little kid, I played with some friends once inside a church.  That was the only time that I had been in a church.  At that time, I didn't know that most of the families in Taiwan worshiped idols.

	After I came to the States to study, I could not adjust to the American way of life. I was homesick and felt that everything was against me. One day, one of my friends borrowed my car.  On his way home, before entering his garage, three stocky guys blocked his way.  They beat him up, took my car key and drove off with the car.  Fortunately, my friend wasn't seriously injured 

	I was at a loss.  I didn't know what to do next.  I couldn't survive without a car.  Here in the States, being without a car is like being handicapped.  I hated those people who stole my car.  But what could I do?  Nobody could help me.  The only thing that I could do was to pray to God.  I said, "Lord, if you are real, please help and bring my car back.  I promise I would go to church regularly to learn more about you."  My friends in the church also prayed for me. 

	Three days later, a miracle happened.  The police found my car.  Halleluiah, I couldn't believe it.  Thank you, Lord.  A strong desire led me to borrow a Bible from the church.  I began to study the Bible diligently and eagerly.  The more I studied, the more questions I had.  But my friends from the church helped me to search for answers to most of my questions.

	Gradually, I started to question what I used to believe.  At the same time, I also began to worry about how my family would react if I decided to get baptize some day.
After the retreat, I realized I had to make a choice for my own eternal life.  I wanted to find peace and joy in my life.  Nobody, not even my family, would make the decision for me. I prayed and hoped that the Lord would have mercy on all the members of my family, and accept them as His children.  When I decided to accept the Lord as my savior, I really needed my mother's understanding and blessing.  I prayed constantly and cried all the time.  It was a period of very emotional time in my life. 

	My friend, Marian, told me that it was because the Holy Spirit was working inside of me.  I was not sure about that.  But when I opened the Bible, I found the verse in Revelation 1:10, "On the Lord's day, I was in the Spirit...."  Thank you Lord, you answered my question and took away my doubt instantly.  I am really a blessed person.
As I mentioned, long time ago when I was a kid, in my hometown, I played with my friends once inside a church.  There, I saw Jesus Christ hanging on the cross.  At that time, I didn't know who He was and why He was on the cross.  But today, I'm so happy to know who He is and why He is on the cross.  He died for our sins.  What a great love it is.  It is the true love, true belief that we are looking for.

	Dear heavenly father, I thank you for accepting me.  I know I am a sinner. Oh Lord, I lift up my soul to you.  Please guide me to follow you, help me and give me strength to behave righteously.

	Thank you, Lord. I pray in the name of Jesus.  Amen.