My friends have a game they play with their three -year-old daughter. It’s called hide-and seek, but it’s not played in the traditional way. The parents sit on the sofa while their giggling little one runs off into her bedroom and hides. The parents start counting down aloud, from ten to one. At t he number one, the little girl squeals with delight and runs back to the room where her parents are, shouting, “Surprise! I found you!” Every one laughs and hugs. Such delight for a three-year-old! She is read y to repeat the game, and multiply the laughter and hugs. “Again, again please, mom and dad,” she say. The parents chuckle to themselves. Their daughter’s delight is infectious in the home.

We can learn something about our relationship with God from this giggling three-year-old. Often, we ask God for something which is very easy for Him to provide—even easier than sitting on a sofa and counting backwards from ten to one. Perhaps in the morning when we pray, we may ask for guidance, help with a task, or protection for ourselves and those we love. Then, though we may not fully under stand how it all works, we leave the scene of our prayers and trust that the good Father will be with us and answer our requests. At the end of our day, if we stop to count our blessings, we too can come running back to the arms of the Father with delight, than king him for another day’s blessings. Sometimes, like the experiences of a three-year-old, we in the adult world cannot figure out with our puny human minds how God works things out for our good. Sometimes answered prayer seems like it could just have been a coincidence. Other times, we are surprised that our prayer is actually answered, and we react with disbelief.

Earlier this week while we were out walking, my friend Stephanie lost an envelope containing important checks. We looked everywhere for it, and we asked God to help us find it. Just when we had given up, there it was—stuck in the side of someone’s bag near the soccer fields. We were elated and thanked God. But we were also mystified. How did the envelop get there? Who was the person who found it and put it there? Was it just a coincidence that I stopped at that arbitrary point on the path, or was it God’s leading that directed me there? Surely God must sometimes chuckle when our minds are mystified and we have so many questions. But my faith leads me to believe that even the coincidences in life are often God ordained ones.

One of the churches in my area began praying for property to buy. One day the pastor of this church was driving his son home from school when his son realized he had forgotten an item at school. As they made an extra trip back to get it, the pastor drove on a route he didn’t normally drive. On the way, he noticed a church building. He felt God tell him to go inside and ask if the building was for sale. The idea seemed crazy! There was no “for sale” sign on the property. So he didn’t go in. The next day his son again forgot something at school. So, taking the same route as the day before, he passed the church building again. Once again he felt a tug on his heart and the same instruction from God. This day he hesitantly went in and told the pastor that he had felt God leading him to ask if the property might be for sale. In sheer amazement, the pastor explained that the night before he had dreamed that a man would come to his office and ask if the property was for sale. And here stood the man God had brought to buy the property! Incidents like this make me really grateful to a God who works behind the scenes on our behalf. He can bring the right people across our pathway, and He knows exactly how to fulfill our requests. Sometimes, instructions from Him that might seem a bit strange are just part of His bigger plan to bring us the answers we are seeking.

I recently had the privilege of going to Brazil on a mission trip and saw God answer prayer and orchestrate amazing things. One night my roommate Jennifer prayed with a Brazilian teenager, and she believed in Christ. Jennifer told her that because she believed in Him, she was completely forgiven of all her sins, and she was a new creation. Then, Jennifer reached into her bag and took out a small gift she had brought with her from the States. It was a pink sticker with purple butterflies and the words “New Creation.” As she handed it to the Brazilian young lady, she realized that she was wearing a shirt which was the same shade of pink as the sticker and that it had several purple butterflies just like the one on the sticker! What are the chances of that? The young woman was astonished and began crying with joy. The sticker was a sign confirming to her God’s special love for her, and His personal message to her was that she truly was a new creation in Christ! Another amazing thing—there were at least fifty of us who were part of the ministry team on this trip, and Jennifer was the only one with the stickers. It surely seems that God orchestrated the different pieces of this puzzle to come together to give this wonderful gift to his daughters.

Occurrences like this should not shock us, for God promises to direct and guide our steps and lead us in the right path. We see this happen in the lives of the early believers in the book of Acts. Something terrible had happened to Peter, the apostle—he was unjustly thrown into prison. The church gathered to pray and ask God for justice to prevail and for Peter to be released unharmed. Then one morning a visitor appeared at the door of the house where they were praying—it was Peter standing outside! “You are out of your mind!” they told the woman who answered the door. That God actually answered their prayers and brought Peter home to them was too mystifying for their minds’ immediate comprehension. Often we are no different from the early believers in the way we respond to answered prayers.

On the same Brazil trip, Jennifer and I went to an outdoor plaza area, and we prayed for an older woman who had pain in her back and her feet. She checked her back after we prayed and the pain was gone! The pain in her feet was still there, however. I touched her feet and prayed a short prayer over them once again, asking for healing to come to them in the name of Jesus. After that prayer, her countenance really brightened. She said the pain in her feet was totally gone! This lady was a Christian, and earlier that morning when she was putting cream on her feet, she felt God tell her that her feet would be healed that day! We were amazed that God had orchestrated circumstances so that the woman would be in the plaza at exactly the time of day when we were there, and that we would get to be a part of praying for her healing and seeing it happen. God delights in surprising us with answered prayer.

My American friend Julie recounted another instance of God at work, which occurred when she visited London last year. Having no company, she ventured out to see a play one night, then began the hour-long walk back to her hotel, trusting God to protect her. As she walked, she met another lady, an American, who had also been to watch a play that night. The two new friends carried on warm conversation all the way back to their hotels which were only a block apart. In their companionship, they found safety and camaraderie. Now, was it just a coincidence that this other American lady was there that night walking back from a play when Julie wanted company? Was it just coincidence that of all the hotels in London, they were staying only one block apart? Or was it a divinely orchestrated meeting to bring protection and assurance to two women?

As my friend’s three-year-old cannot comprehend a lot that happens in her life, we too cannot comprehend the way God orchestrates and organizes all things for us. I am happy to be the child of a Father who is always ready to hear my requests and orchestrate wonderful surprises and divine encounters. He fulfills his promises even when we cannot figure out how. “For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

Wendy-Kaye Russell and her husband Andrew are Jamaican nationals who currently reside in the Dallas, Texas area.