They were also bringing their babies to him, that he might touch them. But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. Jesus summoned them, saying, "Allow the little children to come to me, and don't hinder them, for God's Kingdom belongs to such as these. Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn't receive God's Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it." Luke 18:15–17 WEB.


While at church one night, a visiting speaker called my six-year-old son upfront. They told him that the Lord had heard his prayer about the dog and a computer. Now I thought for sure the lady had missed it because he had never mentioned he wanted a dog, and we couldn't afford a computer. They were several thousand dollars at the time.

After talking with him, we learned he had seen the movie "Smokey and the Bandit," and wanted a basset hound similar to Jerry Reed's dog, "Fred." His mom said we would look, but I said, "Oh no, we are not helping God out. We already have a dog and aren't looking for another one. If someone gives you a full-blooded male basset hound, then we will know it's God."

A couple of weeks later, I came home from seminary one night, and much to my surprise, out walked a full-blooded basset hound puppy that was just weaned. He had papers showing that he had all his shots, was AKC registered, and was above and beyond what I had asked for. He was a picture-perfect basset hound with a long pedigree and could have easily been a show dog.

To sum this up, my son and his mom were at the grocery store. While standing in line, they began talking with a woman, and she mentioned she had a puppy for sale. She had recently purchased a full-blooded basset hound puppy for $600, but after she got home, she changed her mind. Puppies can do that for you. So she wanted to sell him but suddenly felt the Lord wanted her to give him to my son. She wrote "God bless you" on the papers and signed him over. The following week, someone gave him a computer when I didn't have one yet.

What could I say? I had spoken the requirements, and God surpassed them. My son had simply heard the word of God in church and believed it. Then he prayed, and God granted his request. A complete stranger gave him a full-blooded, AKC-registered male basset hound puppy. He named him "Buford" after the sheriff in the movie. We need that child-like faith and to believe that God will really do what He said. God is not dead, but our faith can be.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please strengthen my faith and give me opportunities to exercise it today. Help me see the impossible and let my faith grow. I want to learn to trust You more. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!

Note: Today, we will be hosting our Wednesday morning prayer service at the usual time of 10:30am EST! This is a short service, about 15-20 minutes, where we pray together for any needs you would like to share. Hope to see y'all there! As always, if you have a prayer need, we are here for you! We and the prayer team are ready to lift you up at our private prayer page: RHM Prayer Network.