The Power of a Five-Year-Old Prayer

By Bro. John Mabry III

Good day! My name is John Mabry III and I am a young adult who has had various experiences in my life. Well you may say, “Wait, you just said you are a young adult! You have so much time left to go and advance in other life involvements.” That is very true, however, I have been dealing with this one experience for several years. About five or six years ago I was finishing up high school before moving on to be a college undergraduate and ultimately graduate. Of course, it sounds much nicer to put that down on paper than to get up and physically do it. The struggle for me was making sure the “it” was something that I wanted and could do for the rest of my life.

Growing up you have all these dreams and aspirations of what you want to be when you grow up. Well my dreams always changed. They changed from wanting to be a police officer, to being an actor, director, producer, video editor, handy man worker, game designer, YouTuber, security analyst, artist, musician, and so many more. You can imagine that by the time I was getting ready to graduate, my mind was all over the place. And without an already set plan, I was still unsettled on the destination to embark upon.

One Sunday evening at a district meeting, an altar call was made for those seeking the Holy Ghost. Honestly, I was not seeking but I knew I needed prayer. I went up to the altar and had a talk with God. I knew that by myself I could not sort out anything on my agenda. By myself, everything – and I mean everything – would be in different directions and I most certainly would be in a hole right now trying to dig myself out of it. My prayer on that altar was simply for help. I did not know how to further advance my life. Up until this point, my life was rather routine and laid out for me. I got up and dressed for school, got on the bus and went to school, paid attention in class and did my work, participated in any after school sports, and went home to study and complete more schoolwork. That night I distinctly felt God’s comfort around me and the notion that He had a plan for me already. God cares about anything we care about. We are His children and He wants to see us happy and to succeed in all that we do.

The time had come, and I graduated high school in the class of 2015 and went to Northern Virginia Community College with some feelings of uncertainty still. Prayers work, but you must be patient and keep faith in God. It was okay for me to feel a little uneven because most things do not just happen at the snap of a finger. I had an internship with the Naval Research Laboratory, I assisted with logistics for huge conferences, worked at election polls and had retail experience from store associate all the way up to general manager. Little did I know, all the people that took me under their wing, to provide experiences around a certain career, shaped and rounded me to be equipped for anything. That prayer that was said five years ago is coming to fruition now. I am no longer scared and petrified of what I am going to do as far as a career.

Look at me now! I left my former job of almost four years this past Christmas to become a substitute teacher for Prince William County and I just got offered a new position in Prince William County unexpectedly! It is only because of God that I am moving up. I have a plan to join the United States Coast Guard and become an Officer, able to lead and hopefully leave an imprint on this world the way I should. Who would have known that a prayer said over five years ago is being testified about now and glorifies the God I serve? Prayer still works and this is my testimony. God has always worked for me. He can work for you too.