In Erin’s new release, Eight Cats of Christmas, the male protagonist faces a situation where he earnestly seeks God’s guidance regarding his career path. He’s willing to wait however long it takes to get a clear answer.
When he arrives at his office the next morning, events unfold right in front of him, so unexpected and so stunningly clear, there is no doubt in his mind that this is God’s answer. Best of all, he realizes the series of events had been put in motion days or perhaps weeks earlier—before he ever prayed the prayer.
God promises in Isaiah 65:24, “And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear” (KJV). The New Living Translation says it this way: “I will answer them before they even call to me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers!”
I love when I can draw on my own experiences from my walk with Christ and weave them into my books. The most vivid example of this happened about four years ago. I became aware of an opportunity to attend a Christian conference, and the registration deadline was in two days. It was something I thought would really benefit me, but it was January, and I didn’t have the entrance fee (you know, Christmas shopping and all that). I tried everything I could to figure out a way to scrape together the money, but it just wouldn’t be possible in two days. I wasn’t expecting a windfall from overtime I’d worked or anything of that nature. I couldn’t even come up with anything to sell online. Total zero.
So, I prayed. I told God that if this conference was in His plan for me, He would need to provide the entrance fee. I prayed this prayer at my desk mid-morning.
When I arrived home from work, I went to the mailbox (you know what’s coming, don’t you?) and pulled out an envelope. It was a refund check from the insurance on my daughter’s car that we had sold about three months earlier. If I’d ever known we were due a refund, I had completely forgotten about it. The check had been mailed three days ago and processed three days before that.
And it was exactly the amount of the conference registration, with four dollars left over.
I imagined the joy on my Father’s face as He watched me walk to the mailbox, take out the envelope, and open it. He may have even been laughing and saying to Himself, “Daughter, when you prayed that prayer in faith, I had already answered it!”
Since 2014, Erin Stevenson has been writing faith-based romance novels for Pelican Book Group and Winged Publications. She is a member of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), where she has served as a judge and was a 2021 Carol Award finalist.
Erin grounds her stories in reality and crafts characters who encounter events and hardships familiar to all of us. Her inspirational writing will take the reader down paths of both joy and pain, but always highlighting God’s faithfulness.
When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren and playing in the garden at her home in central Iowa—which mainly equates to pulling weeds. Her secret indulgence is plain M&Ms.