1 John 5:14-15 — And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.
I couldn’t stop smiling over the phone when I heard my dad. He sounded happy—really happy. And at the end he said, “Alright, I’ve gotta go. I’m about to play pickleball.”
Like what? Pickleball. My dad is 70 years old.
Now he’s always been in great shape. He’s 6’3, athletic, and you would think he was probably 45. But him going to play pickleball just made me smile even more.
I laughed and asked who he was playing with. He said people his age. And some younger guys too. He sounded excited. It meant so much to me to hear this. It wasn’t just that my dad had found something fun to do. It was that this happiness—had been missing for a while.
My mom passed away seven years ago. And ever since, I’ve carried this prayer for my dad.
Lord, send him friends. Send him joy again. Send him something to look forward to. I just wanted to hear him laugh again like this. And I kept coming back to this confidence when I prayed—that when I ask according to God’s will, God hears me, and He’s already working, even when I can’t see it yet. Now through pickleball, of all things, I’m seeing just how faithful God truly is.
It felt like God gently tapping my heart, saying, I heard you.
So today I’m choosing to notice the ways He has answered my prayers. To thank God for the phone calls, the laughter, the friends, and yes—even for my dad pickle-balling it up.
Take time to notice those pickleball-shaped moments in your own life today. The laughter bouncing like a ball. The friendships that surprise you. The small, fresh joys tucked in the ordinary. That is the echo of God’s faithfulness—and it’s amazing.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
- Is there a prayer you’ve been carrying for a long time that you haven’t seen answered yet?
- How does knowing that God hears you (even when you don’t see immediate results) change the way you pray?
- Can you identify a “pickleball moment” in your life—something small that now feels like a quiet answer to prayer?
- What does it look like for you to trust God’s will, even when the answer doesn’t come the way you expected?
- How can you practice noticing and thanking God for the ways He is already at work around you?