An answered prayer is an opportunity for God to show us His love and goodness.

A couple of months ago, after eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant, my mom and I went back to her house for some quality time. Little did I know, this “quality time” would consist of a desperate search for Sophia, her missing cat. We searched everywhere for this cat. High and low, under every piece of furniture, in every nook and cranny. We searched for nearly three hours. For nearly three hours, this cat was nowhere to be found. I’ll never forget what my mom did. She pulled out her phone and pulled up a video of The Lord’s Prayer, a virtual rosary of some sort. I would’ve cracked a smile had I not been so stressed out.

What happened next humbled me greatly. About a minute or two into the rosary, Sophia decided to make an appearance. I looked at my mom, and the thing that struck me was her demeanor. She didn’t look the least bit surprised but just smiled calmly as if she already knew it was going to happen. In that moment, I was grateful for my mother. I was grateful for a mother who raised me to believe in the power of prayer. Some might say that little incident was just a coincidence, but I know better. Sophia deciding to come out at the very moment she did wasn’t a coincidence, it was an answered prayer. Never again will I make light of the way my mom chooses to pray, as old fashioned as it may seem. If there is one thing I’m certain of, it’s this: my mom is no stranger to answered prayers.

God hears our prayers, all of them. I think the most amazing thing about an answered prayer isn’t that we are getting what we want but that we are being heard—heard by an almighty God.