Lisa Barry: Gateway To Joy has been on the air for more than 10 years now, and Elisabeth Elliot's books go back a lot farther than that. So it stands to reason that there are many people out there who have been exposed to Elisabeth's ideas through one or the other. All this week on Gateway To Joy Elisabeth is sharing letters from people who have changed their behavior and subsequently their lives because of something they learned. So let's hear from a few more today who are talking about answered prayer. Now here's Elisabeth.

Elisabeth Elliot: "You are loved with an everlasting love." That's what the Bible says. "And underneath are the everlasting arms." This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, reading some more letters today from Gateway To Joy listeners. Thank you so much for your letters. How I wish I could answer every single one of them personally, but I'm sure that many of you understand that that's quite impossible. But I do read a good number of them. I'm so grateful for those of you who take the time to sit down and tell us something that you've learned because of Gateway To Joy. That means so much to us.

Now here's a letter from someone who was a Wheaton student in 1933 and 1934--which means that she is more than ten years older than I am because I graduated in 1948. She says, "What a privilege, what a high point in my life to have been a Wheaton student. Had there been more free time I would have preferred to share this in person, but writing will have to do--on this paper made by Christian prisoners in the Philippines a long time ago, using sharpened nails for punches." It is an interesting letterhead, these very beautiful little decorations that are made by sharpening nails for punches.

"In February 1998 I was pleased to attend Wheaton College once again. But I just want to share an electrifying morning chapel hour with John Piper. He spoke on suffering, even to rejoicing in them. Colossians 1:24 speaks about suffering. 'Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior, but now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight without blemish and free from accusation.'"

That passage fits in so beautifully with what we were talking about yesterday. Toward the end of the program I was talking to those who had given away the priceless gift of virginity, but the assurance that God will forgive you and you can start over. "But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in His sight without blemish and free from accusations if you continue in your faith established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the Gospel."

And she says that, "John Piper said nothing can stop people to whom to die is gain. He told of the many people groups yet to be targeted, to be suffered for, to complete Christ's afflictions. A new thought to me," she says. "Then he gave poignant stories of martyred missionaries and the Revelation 6:11 passage telling of the souls of those slain because of the Word of God who cried out in a loud voice, 'How long sovereign Lord?' The answer came. 'Wait a little longer until the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed has been completed.'"

That's a passage I've often pondered over--"the number of those fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed. And that number has to be completed." Only God knows when that will happen. We hear so many stories of mass killings. We wonder when will the killings be completed.

"Then John Piper, recalling the story of the Auca Indian massacre, gave the projection that in 1999 the estimate is that there will be 160,000 people--whose names and numbers only God knows. 'But in the very chapel seats where you sit today and Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, and Ed McCully sat, some of you may be likely to be among those martyrs.' That's a quotation from what John Piper was saying to the audience there in the chapel at Wheaton College. He was suggesting that since the projection is that there will be 163,000 martyrs in the year 1999, isn't it possible that some of those would be Wheaton students that were sitting right there in Edman Chapel listening to John Piper.

"There was not a sound in the auditorium," she said. "But tears were rolling and hearts were beating faster. I write you this because once again as hundreds of times, the influence from the losses you young women sustained has gone on to move many to action. Some forty years later, earnest, sober, young Wheaton students surged forward for individual prayer and counsel with John Piper while the president stood by in tears himself. 'Apparently martyrdom and suffering are not an interruption of God's plan but a strategy.'"

Bernice puts that in quotation marks. I suppose that's what John Piper said. "'Martyrdom and suffering are not an interruption of God's plan but a strategy.' And there are those among those students who are saying 'yes'. Thank you for your ongoing part in the past and in the present. And my thanks to Lars as well. What a loving, fun, supportive servant of God he is--a great protector."

Lars, of course, is my husband. And I'm very grateful for him. Now here's another letter. This one from somebody named Denise in Pennsylvania. She said, "Although I have supported about five or six radio ministries, I have probably learned the most about one through Gateway To Joy.

"When I first listened to your ministry I thought you were a little extreme. But day after day you spoke on marriage and mothering, and duties of both. It took a long time--I won't admit to how long. But slowly I was convinced that you were right. But the biggest change came when I took seriously your idea of being a stay-at-home mom. I didn't believe it possible. Women didn't do that today. This was the nineties after all!

"I'm sending a copy of the letter I put in our church newsletter on my answered prayer as I reread it. It strikes me funny how we try to solve our own problems. I'm so glad God is a whole lot smarter than I am.

"Elisabeth, you are partly responsible for me being a stay-at-home mom today. I use to start work at 3:00 p.m. until 11:30, Monday through Friday. I would get into the car at 2:30. Your radio program here is at 2:15. My hours were changed to 2:30 p.m. to 11:30. Now I had to get in the car at 2:00. I hated the change but I know now it was to get me to listen to your show. I'm convinced of it.

"God uses everyday things to change our lives. He used your program to help change mine. It's been about 10 weeks since I quit the postal service. My husband and I both worked there. We worked opposite shifts so we were home with our two boys, ages 9 and 4. Our salary is now cut in half. I love it! I'm here in the morning, here after school. Here to read books, have devotions and supper, baths, bedtime--all things that I had missed on a regular basis.

"I'm very thankful. It was a bold move in today's eyes, but I'm glad we did it. We all need to trust God more than we do. I'm learning this daily."

And one more letter.

"Answered prayer. Yes, prayers are answered. And yes, sometimes they are answered the way we want them to be, but not always the sequence we planned. Four plus years ago, being pregnant with my second child, Travis, I kind of half prayed--'Oh God, if only I could quit my job and stay home with my kids,'--knowing, of course, that it would be impossible. After a three-month maternity leave I cried the day I had to go back to work. But then didn't all moms go through this?

"I bought into society's thinking that in the nineties you could have it all. But yet, I didn't have it all. Still I knew that with our mortgage and other bills one salary wasn't enough. So I seriously prayed to God, 'If we could just hit the lottery for X number of millions, then I could quit. You know, God, not a couple million, but just enough to cover expenses.' Well, God is in the business of listening to prayers. He heard what I was really trying to say. And no, of course, He didn't do it my way. Sometimes we forget that our ways are not His ways.

"As I kept praying the 'lottery' prayer things started changing in our lives. Shortly before Travis was born my stepmother was re-diagnosed with lung cancer. The summer of 1995 she and my father asked me to lunch one day. Still not telling us the truth, she asked if Ron and I and the kids would like to move in the downstairs of her house and help take care of the house and the eight acres around it. Mentioning both of their failing health and strength, they just couldn't take care of things properly. I told them I'd talk to Ron about it just sure that he would not do it and that would be the end of that.

"But unknown to us, this was God's plan for my prayer. I didn't see it right away. After many discussions Ron said 'Yes, let's do it.' Christmas of '95 we told the boys and the rest of the family our plans. Janie passed away March '96, relieved to know that her husband and house would be taken care of. We moved in the spring.

"It was only then that it hit me. The main point for me was that my stepmother and I didn't get along. The first time Ron met her he told me later he knew that she didn't like me. So when I thought about all that had transpired in the last 18-month period, I was convinced. I kept thanking God for this first important step and praying for a softening of Ron's heart. He was saying things like, 'Okay, so you want to quit.' Fall of '97--'Okay, if you quit.' Spring of '98--'Okay, when you quit.'

"Yes, God answers prayers in His way and in His time."

Lisa Barry: That's a great way to close our time together today. And our prayer is that you'll take what you've learned from these testimonies and apply them to your own life. We're also praying that God will prompt you to offer your support for this program. As you know, we don't like the hard-sell approach to giving financially. We want to trust God to sustain this program, but God has made us intentionally dependant on your for our needs. He wants you to feel ownership in this program, and He wants us to be accountable to you. That becomes our check and balance system. And it ensures that we're consistently meeting your spiritual needs. To send a financial gift you can mail it to:

Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska 68501. That's Gateway To Joy, Box 82500, Lincoln, Nebraska 68501. Or call toll-free 1-800-759-4JOY. That's 1-800-759-4569. If you're on the Internet be sure and check out our Web site. You'll find daily resources, program topics, transcripts and more. That address is gatewaytojoy.org.

Gateway To Joy has been a production of Back to the Bible. Tomorrow Elisabeth reads letters from those who have gone through suffering. We'll find out what they've learned the next time we meet for Gateway To Joy.