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GOD'S Amazing Answer to Prayer

AuthorHouse

Chapter One

Before making a special prayer to God more than twenty years ago, I had studied science and the Holy Bible, and I had attended various churches regularly, for all my life. I am also an inventor; I have more than seventy inventions. Many of my inventions concerned airplanes. Although not strictly an invention, one of my favorites is my Theory of Everything (TOE), involving multiple concepts and explanations relating to gravity, magnetism, electricity, space, ether, dark energy, light, mass, energy and more.

My dad was convinced, and thus convinced me, that the path to real riches in life was to invent something that would "make you rich." So as a little boy who was approximately nine years old, I had reason to pray real hard to God to "let me be the best inventor." Well, I have been inventing ever since that prayer.

One invention is a hybrid engine that runs like both a jet engine and an internal combustion engine. Star Rotor, a company in Bryan, Texas, is selling such an engine now, but I worked on this engine as a graduate student in the chemistry and physics buildings at Texas A&I (A&M) University in Kingsville, Texas. I built three prototypes of this engine starting in 1971 and carrying over to 1978.

Many of my inventions have not been released. Some have been discovered since I had the ideas, and I have the satisfaction of having had the ideas first.

When I was around nine, I had an idea for the adaptation of suspension systems for toy cars, trucks, and racers. Although I did not have the knowledge at the time to actually build the small, intricate parts, I knew how to tell someone else how I would want it constructed. I had already been helping my dad and slowly studying suspension systems under cars for a few years by then. Today, practically all toy cars and trucks have suspension systems.

The other two inventions I had back then involved a wing design and a fuselage design for airplanes. These two designs actually were incorporated years later, but again, no one had a clue that I had conceived of these designs except my mother, and she has since passed away.

When I was about twelve, I had an experience on a windy day while carrying a large piece of tin in an open area on our farm. The wind was around 30 mph, it seemed, and I was carrying the tin at my waist and straight out across (like a wing). I was amazed at how little effort it took for me to jump up high and be gently let back down to the ground.

I already had quite a bit of knowledge with small engines, including the horsepower (hp) required by different types of devices, such as lawn mowers, go-karts, small private airplanes, and outboard motors. I soon came up with numbers in my head. I then told two of my classmates what I had figured out: I could build a small airplane that would fly with a 5 hp motor, but I would double that figure and use a 10 hp motor just to have adequate power. One of these two friends said that small airplanes such as Cessna and Piper planes need more than 100 hp to fly, and if it could have been done, someone would have already done it. Well, a few years later, ultralight airplanes took to the skies! This one invention, the ultralight airplane, is probably one of the most important to me and the one that I wish I could have gotten credit for (yes, I have human desires too).

Right now, I am postponing an engine patent until I finish writing and publishing this book. I am also on hold with various new jet-engine designs and concepts that excite me. The point of all of this is just to share with you some of the ways God answered my prayer to become an inventor.

I now know that God used my whole life, up to now, to teach me a very important lesson: Always keep God the number-one priority in your life. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said that this was the greatest commandment of all when He said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37). I actually knew this, but we all slip at times, and I do not think that most churches emphasize this idea enough today. But I think I was close enough in getting this commandment right to get God's attention—maybe not His approval, as I hadn't given God 100 percent priority, but at least His attention.

No matter how smart or capable you are, or think you are, God will not bless you fully until you put Him first in all things. Whether you are an astronaut, a teacher, a construction worker, a student, a mom, a dad, a person out of work, or whoever, you need to think about God throughout each and every day. You need to think about how your next actions can include God, and how they will affect your relationship with God. I had always heard that you should put God first, but I do not think we get enough quality training in this area.

God had given me such an unbelievable gift of an inventor's inspiration that I thought I could take it from there. I could not believe that God would give me such a gift for nothing. He has to be blessing me, I thought. I must make the most of this gift, because God has blessed me so much with this gift.

Around 1991, I had spent approximately one year building a prototype of one of my inventions. At the end of this process, I realized that I had grown apart from God, and I was completely shocked that this had happened. My spiritual wandering had not been intentional, but such a mistake can happen. In general, I have tried to put God first in my life. Decisions in my life have had to pass a "How does this affect my relation with God?" test. Temporary interference is one thing, but permanent interference is never okay. Even the jobs I've picked have all had to undergo the test: How will this affect my time and relationship with God? Working every Sunday, for example, was not acceptable, doing something dishonest for an employer was not acceptable, and so on. Most people have moral character like this, but it is easy to forget how to put God first when we are under so much pressure in our daily lives.

When I realized I had not put God first, I overcame my mistake by letting go a lot of the interfering interest, and then immersing myself in prayer at night; attending more church functions; studying the Bible more using audiotapes; and in general, concentrating on God more throughout each and every day.

I had spent much of my life trying to seek God and analyze God. I had tried to merge true science with God's truth and make sense of all the seemingly great disparities. I had come to a point where I felt I had figured out several of the big mysteries of God and science and creation, but I could not put the final pieces of the puzzle in place. The ultimate truth of God still remained a mystery. When I had gone as far in understanding as I could on my own, I remembered two things: God had spoken to me twice before, and then God had given me a gift of access to extraordinary knowledge, as if all I had to do was to ask for it, and then I would receive it.

I felt that it was important to experience God talking to me. Prior to 1991, as I approached the age of forty, my need for this interaction intensified. If I could only experience a vocal message being given to me directly from God, that would be the ultimate proof to me that God existed.

Well, God did speak to me! Now comes the even more unbelievable part: God spoke to me not once, but three times. The first time God spoke, the message came to me in a dream, at which point I immediately was wide awake. The message foretold what was going to happen to me—and it did happen, two months later! The second time God spoke to me, He delivered a message as if the words were projected onto the inside of the front of my skull. He delivered that message on the inside of my brain twenty minutes after I had made one of the biggest decisions in my life—a decision for God.

One day in 1991, I thought, Maybe God would answer a very specific prayer. Well, I gave Him the chance. I asked, "God, I pray for total understanding of how You, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit really fit together, and the truth about creation and science in general. I also pray for ultimate knowledge about everything—the missing link that will unlock all knowledge of You, creation, and truth. I want to understand who or what You are and how we humans came to be on planet Earth. Amen."

About a week later, I received a verbal answer from God while I was walking into my bedroom. This was the third time God had spoken to me—and this time, He literally spoke, in the form of a voice. These words, and how and when they were spoken, answered all my questions that I had prayed for. I have never revealed the words of this message to anyone. These words, the Spoken Word, meant everything to me and would probably mean little to anyone else; this exact message was for me specifically.

God answered that prayer in a way that only I would understand completely, because God designed it that way—He tailored the answer for my comprehension. Now, everything fit! But now I realized that God had not meant for me to keep the information to myself. I had to share it, and sharing it would be no easy task.

God could have given you the same message that He gave to me, yet for you it could have a totally different meaning. Our backgrounds can differ in so many ways: education, upbringing, and many, many other factors too numerous to list. God analyzes us before He speaks—that is to say that God knows our education, our thought patterns, and how each of us would interpret an answer He might give. So if God speaks directly to you, those words are to be interpreted by you specifically.

At the time, I felt that God did not want this information out yet, but He was being true to me in answering my prayer, and I am sure God had also considered the possible consequences of that answer. I believe God had, there and then, made a minor adjustment to His plans in revealing Himself: He would now reveal Himself a little earlier.

I immediately knew from within that God had given me very special information. I realized that God had given the information to me so that I might use it to further the understanding of God for all people who would listen. I also knew that if I ever were to release the information, I would have to do so in a very special and stepwise fashion. I would have to honor God, and the information would be for the glory of God and not for myself.

It has taken me more than twenty years to come up with an acceptable way to share some of the answer that God had given me. Part of this sharing was to write the book you are now reading.

When God has spoken to me, He has communicated in very simple words and very short sentences. My first message was four words long, and then He repeated the last word. My second message was four words long.

My third and last message was three words long.

Are you thinking, It's impossible for God to speak to someone, or for God to give so much information with so few words? If you are wondering about things on Earth or in Heaven, or about God, do not be afraid to ask God! He might surprise you too.

Even if you cannot accept all you read here about my experiences, at least pick up the Holy Bible and find out all you need to know. What I present here is just another tool of truth, presented to help you understand God a little better. If the truth I present here helps you seek God more, read the Holy Bible more, and understand God more, that is great.

In addition to reading the Bible, attending church is a good way to connect with God. I have attended different churches over time. A few standouts over my lifetime include Calvary Missionary Church (during the years of 1961–1968) in San Antonio, Texas, where Frank Stribling was senior pastor. At this church, people were taught from the pulpit how to love others, from their brothers and sisters to strangers on the street; people in this church applied these teachings. Also I was blessed to be in the same church that Dr. George M. Lamsa moved to. Dr. Lamsa moved there mainly because our church was the first church that wholly accepted his Bible translation as being closer to the original meaning than any other Bible translation. Dr. Lamsa had translated the entire Bible using his knowledge and access to ancient manuscripts written in Aramaic. He also had written several other biblical books.

The Holy Bible KJV is the sixth language from Aramaic; now we had an English version, Dr. Lamsa's translation, which was based on the original meaning of the words in Aramaic. The truly amazing thing to me is that in Dr. Lamsa's English version, the meaning and the words were extremely close (almost identical) to the original English version (King James). Only the idioms in the Holy Bible differed in meaning, and that is to be expected according to Dr. Lamsa, who explained this very well. Idioms in Aramaic make no sense to anyone else except to Aramaic people of that era, but the Aramaic language has not changed for two thousand years, unlike the English language. Since Dr. Lamsa grew up speaking Aramaic, he understood the original meaning better than almost anyone else. And by obtaining his doctorate in the United States, he became very well acquainted with the English language and idioms as well. He was able to do what no other person had done so far: translate most of the idioms used in the Holy Bible that had not previously made sense. An idiom such as "straight from the horse's mouth" would have meaning to most people in the United States now, but would probably not make sense to anyone else in the world. Dr. Lamsa helped me greatly understand the Holy Bible more, possibly, than anyone else could have. I treasure the time I spent around this great man, and I treasure the time I attended this church and body of believers.

Another church I was privileged to attend was First United Methodist Church in Houston, where Dr. Bill Hinson was pastor. While I was there, this church also hosted a biblical scholar by the name of Jim Fleming, who added to my understanding of the Holy Bible in the time of Jesus Christ's ministry on Earth.

Pastor John Hagee's Church has and is helping me tremendously, mainly through its TV ministry. His church is known by the name Cornerstone and is also referred to as John Hagee Ministries, located in San Antonio, Texas. I am blessed to be able to attend this church when I pass through San Antonio. I recommend this church to anyone, for it appears to be one of the most knowledgeable churches anywhere and has an unbelievable grasp of knowledge concerning the Book of Revelation. This church also provides the most complete biblical teachings of any church I have ever seen. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. This church also honors the Jewish heritage through CUFI (Christians United for Israel). The Jewish people brought us most, if not all, of the Holy Bible that we Christians currently have—also, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born Jewish.

The church I presently attend is also providing a very good place to worship God in the presence of other struggling Christians such as myself. This church has a strong missions program. The congregants' love for one another is also one of this church's strong attributes. The Apostle Paul stated that "People should have faith, hope and love, all three, but the greatest of these is love" (1 Corinthians 13:13). We have a very loving pastor, along with his family, and this church tries to be accepting and loving toward all people who come in, just as Jesus Christ wants us to be.

I have to especially thank all of the churches I have attended over my lifetime for all the inspiration and teaching of the Holy Bible. With their help, I gained a deeper understanding of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the history of God's interaction with His prize creation: humans. Yet for much of my life, I had not given much credibility to the idea that God plans as much as He does. I used to believe that any notion of God making long-range plans, such as choosing your parents or grandparents, was foolish at best. Now, I am grateful and amazed that God planned and put all of this together for me, and I encourage you to find the blessings He has in store for you.

Despite their strengths, churches may have a shortcoming. You may be surprised to learn that many churches, colleges, and seminaries teach that God has not revealed Himself to anyone since the time that Jesus Christ came to Earth. I consider this belief a human weakness that has shown itself even in churches. I believe the notion is more of an attempt to control people and keep their perceptions consistent and limited to only one main book and one main person, Jesus Christ. But if these same people read the Holy Bible enough, they would know that Jesus Christ revealed Himself years later to a non-Christian, Saul (later a Christian given the name Paul) and later to John, for the Book of Revelation. So you see, even the Holy Bible rejects the notion that God did not speak to anyone after the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from GOD'S Amazing Answer to Prayer by Jim Baker Copyright © 2012 by Jim Baker. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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