Matt Whitacre

Leann: I don’t remember the exact circumstances. Maybe it was following Dr. Cook’s Urban Ministries class at Cedarville. Or his poverty weekend. Or after hearing stories of God’s provisions from one of many challenging chapel speakers. Whatever it was, my passionate prayer went something like this:

“Lord, I want to know what it’s like to rely on you to provide for my needs.”

If you’ve walked with the Lord for some time, you know there are some prayers you wish you could cancel. Sometimes, this prayer is one of them. He certainly answered my cry—and He hasn’t stopped!

With the goal of making His glory known (and because He prompted me to write it down), this is the story of how He has provided.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.

~Psalm 115:1

Though my prayer was answered many times in the past several years, I’ll begin with current events.

As Matt’s seminary graduation drew near, he was praying and searching for work. He was searching for everything but missionary work, because, really, who wants to raise support? (Warning: Don’t try this at home. It is not wise to tell the Lord what you are NOT going to do). We were praying for him to have a job secured before graduation. Following an interview with a nearby church, one of the pastors observed that Matt’s greatest passion was cross cultural ministry. After mulling this over, we realized this was true and Matt began to include support raising positions in his job search. He found a position at OMF International, applied, interviewed, and after much prayer and debate and struggle, accepted the job the day before graduation. God provides!