 It happened when I was only 16 years old, but it is a moment I will never forget. It is a moment that seems like it happened to me just yesterday. Just a few weeks before the moment of which I speak, I, as a 16-year-old, had received the priced treasure every 16-year-old young man wants, and that is a driver's license. And I remember one Saturday evening, my cousin called me. We lived in Eugene, Oregon, and he called me, and he said, tomorrow morning, Sunday morning, I'm going to drive up to Hood River, Oregon, about 150 miles away from where we lived and listen to our uncle preach. My uncle was a pastor in Hood River, Oregon, and so my cousin said, would you like to go with me? And I said, oh, that would be awesome. And so I remember waiting at my house, and early on a very cold Sunday morning, he pulled up in his car, and he asked me a question. He said, would you like to drive? And asking a 16-year-old who just got his driver's license if he wanted to drive, it's like asking my wife if she wants chocolate ice cream. And I said, of course. And so we began driving north on Interstate 5, and we were having a wonderful time just talking together. And we were just south of Portland, Oregon. I was in the far left lane of four lanes headed north on the Interstate 5, and we just went down under an overpass when suddenly, unexpectedly, and without warning, the nose of the car hit a patch of black ice and dove into the center concrete divider. The impact spun the car around. And here, as a 16-year-old inexperienced driver, the car's sliding backwards, and I'm looking into four lanes of oncoming traffic. I didn't have time to think, and even if I wouldn't have known what to do, it was just instinct in that moment as I was looking at those cars coming at me. I cried out, Jesus, help me. Jesus, help me. And all of a sudden, the car whirled around, moved over to the side of the freeway, slowed down, and came to a stop. And I assure you it wasn't because I was a good driver. It was a miracle God had rescued me. And I learned in that moment what I've seen so many times in my life. I learned in that moment what so many of you in this room know, and that is that God's help is only a prayer way, that no matter who you are and no matter where you are and no matter what is going on in your life, if you cry out to God, our God is a God who hears and answers prayer. And this is why God's people have so loved Psalm 107, because it is a Psalm all about the power of prayer. It is a Psalm all about how God answers prayer. Now this Psalm was written at the very end of the Old Testament era. The Jews had gone into captivity and then been released from captivity. They went back to the land of Israel and they rebuilt their temple. And this Psalm was written as they reflect back across all of the Old Testament. And they called to mind how many times God heard them when they cried out to him, how many times God rescued and delivered them. And in this Psalm, there's a key phrase. It is the phrase, then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them from out of their distresses. Not once, not twice, not three times, but four times. And that's this Psalm. You find that phrase repeated. Look in Psalm 107 in verse 6. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of their distresses. Verse 13. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them or delivered them out of their distresses. Look at verse 19. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them or delivered them out of their distresses. Verse 28. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he brings them out, he delivers them, he saves them out of their distresses. Four times you find that phrase because in this Psalm, you find four different locations where God answered prayer. Four different situations in which God's people found themselves and he answered their prayer. As we're going to see in verse 4 to 7, all of a sudden as it were, you are transported out into the middle of a wilderness and there you see some fainting travelers. They're lost in the desert. They need food and water and when they cry out to the Lord he hears them and answers their prayer. Then all of a sudden you're transported from that wilderness into a dungeon. There you find captives who are bound and they need to be set free and they cry out to the Lord. He answers their prayer and he brings them out of that captivity and then all of a sudden you're transported from the dungeon into a hospital and there you find a sick patient on a deathbed about ready to die and that person cries out to the Lord and God hears their cry and heals them and then all of a sudden you're transported out into the middle of the ocean in a terrible, horrible storm and a group of sailors cry out to the Lord and the Lord hears their cry and delivers them and it shows whether you're lost in the desert whether you are locked in a dungeon whether you were lying on a deathbed or whether you're laboring out in the deep God answers prayer and maybe you're here tonight and you feel like you're in a wilderness and you need God to provide if that's you, this psalm is for you maybe you feel like you're in a dungeon of sorts and you need God to bring freedom to your life listen psalm 107 is for you maybe you're a person who has sickness in your life or you know someone who has sickness in their life and they need healing listen psalm 107 is for you maybe you're in a storm you feel like you're in a raging, the worst storm of your life if that's true, psalm 107 is for you because it's a psalm all about how God answers prayer notice how this great psalm begins it begins with an introduction in verses 1-3 the psalmist writes, oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good God is good all the time and all the time God is good God is gooder than good and how do you know that he is gooder than good well for his mercy endures forever in lamentation chapter 3 verse 23 the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases his mercy never comes to an end it is new every morning it is God's faithfulness day after day after day after day after day after day after day the mercy of the Lord is new the loving kindness of God is new the steadfast love of the Lord is new oh give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy endures forever let the redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has redeemed from the hand of the enemy and gathered out of the lands from the east and the west and from the north and from the south notice verse 2 let the redeemed of the Lord say so now the word redeemed often in the Bible is used of making a payment to buy someone out of slavery but the word ga'al herein he remains much more than that it means literally let the rescued of the Lord say so let the delivered of the Lord say so let anyone who's saved by God in any kind of way say so oh I like this let the redeemed of the Lord say so not think so, not feel so but say so if God has answered your prayer if God has rescued you if God has delivered you then say so I remember when I was a boy growing up in church on Sunday nights as a part of the worship time they used to have what they called testimony time testimony time and what would happen is one after another we used to do this in the early days of Calvary and one after another somebody would raise your hand and stand and say you know what I was out of a job I prayed and God gave me a job someone would say you know in my marriage I thought we were headed for divorce but we prayed and God brought us back together praise the Lord another person would say I had a prodigal son that was wandering out in the world and we prayed and God answered that prayer testimony time let the redeemed of the Lord say so let us open our mouth and tell about how God has answered prayer how God has rescued us how God has delivered us and then the Psalm describes different situations different circumstances in which you might find yourself and when you cry out to God he answers your prayer let the redeemed of the Lord say so then all of a sudden you're transported out into the middle of wilderness and at verses 4 to 9 you see how God answers prayer verse 4 they wandered in the wilderness in a desolate way they found no city to dwell in hungry and thirsty their soul fainted in them then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he delivered them out of their distress as he led them forth by the right way that they may go to a city for a dwelling place oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men verse 9, 4, he satisfies the longing soul and he fills the hungry soul with goodness listen, when you need provision in your crowd to God he will hear and answer your prayer now the Old Testament saints when they were reading verse 4 to 9 they couldn't help think of what happened when they as the people were out in the wilderness you remember they went out of the land of Egypt and they began to walk throughout the wilderness and it is believed there were some three million of them and they had no food and they had no water what to do look to the Lord and God brought water out of the rock God brought bread down from heaven and they learned that when you look to the Lord he can provide for your needs New Testament believers when they read this portion of Psalm 107 they couldn't help but think of Jesus feeding the 5,000 the Bible says there were 5,000 men but with women and children some 20,000 people and it says they all ate and were filled they were totally stuffed they were totally filled because Jesus provided for their needs and dear ones if God provided for his people in the Old Testament and if Jesus provided in that kind of way in the New Testament then God can provide for you and for me in Philippians 4 in verse 19 the Bible says and my God will supply all of your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus I like how David said in Psalm 37 verse 25 he said I've never seen the righteous forsaken and I've never seen their seed begging bread God's people over and over and over and every day and every time and every place when they've been in need and they cry out to the Lord he provides for their need no one saw that more than a great man of God in the 1800s named George Mueller George Mueller lived in London and he founded orphanages for thousands and thousands of orphans and he walked by faith he never told anyone of his needs whenever there was a need he would just pray and God would answer prayer he wrote a great biography I love the title of the biography it's called a million and a half answers to prayer a million and a half answers to prayer and in that biography he tells about what happened one morning they woke up and there was no food in the cupboards there was not even a crumb that was there and one of the little orphans said Mr. Mueller what is for breakfast this morning and he said well let's put out the plates and we'll see what the Lord will provide so we sat the children down and he began to pray Lord we thank you you've never seen the righteous forsaken or there's seed begging bread and as he's praying all of a sudden there was a knock at the door he opened the door it was the baker from down the street the baker said do you know what Mr. Mueller God woke me up at three o'clock this morning and told me that your orphans were going to need bread today so I baked a bunch of extra bread here's this bread for the orphans oh thank you he said he took the bread and they began to put it on the plates of all of the orphans when the last piece of bread was put on the plate all of a sudden there was another knock at the door and Mr. Mueller opened the door and there was the milkman and the milkman said you know what he said my cart broke down right across the street here from your orphanage he said all of my milk is going to spoil and go bad would you like to have all of my milk and those little orphans learned that our God is a God who answers prayer maybe you feel like you're in a wilderness and you need God to provide for your need his help is only a prayer away but you're in a wilderness then all of a sudden the psalm transports you to a dungeon and there you find captives that are bound they need deliverance they need to be set free in verse 10 to verse 16 those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death bound in afflictions and irons because they rebelled against the words of God and they despised the counsel of the most high therefore he brought down their heart with labor they fell down and there was none to help but then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distresses he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death he broke their chains in pieces oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness his wonderful works that the children of men why for he has broken the gates of bronze and he has cut the bars into God answers the prayer of the person who needs to be set free now the Old Testament saints as they're reading this portion of Psalm 107 they couldn't help but think of what happened when they went into captivity the Babylonians came and led them away by chains and put them in dungeons and put them in prisons and put them under slave labor but they cried out to the Lord and the Lord brought them out of that bondage as the New Testament believers were reading this portion perhaps they thought of the demoniac of Godera you remember the story in Mark chapter 5 Jesus and the disciples they crossed the sea of Galilee to that northeast corner that region called Godera and when they come ashore there's a man that comes running out possessed with demons and Jesus said what is your name and he said Legion for we are many Legion was 6,000 Roman soldiers I take the Bible literally I see no good reason to believe that that man was possessed with 6,000 demons that's a person who was bound and yet Jesus set that person free to show that whom the sun sets free is free indeed and there is no person that is beyond the reach of God there's no person that is so bound and in such darkness there is no prodigal that is too far there is no son or daughter that's too addicted to drugs or alcohol or pornography that Jesus Christ cannot set that person free God answers the prayers of his people for freedom and for deliverance I like a great hymn by Charles Wesley called Amazing Love I especially like the third verse of that hymn the third verse I love these words he writes long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night thine eye diffused a quickening ray I woke the dungeon redeemed with light my chains fell off my heart was free I rose went forth and followed thee Amazing Love how can it be that thou my God should die for me baby you're struggling with some sort of addiction or bondage in your life maybe you know someone in your life who is in a very dark place I tell you what God's help is only a prayer away for you or for that person no matter how deep and dark the situation God is there and will answer your prayer I believe everyone should read a book written by Corey Timboom called The Hiding Place when Billy Graham read that book he made a movie about it it was so impacted by it tells the story of the Tim Boone family during the days of the Nazis who were trying to exterminate the Jews the Tim Boone family they lived in Holland and because they believed the Jews were God's people in the living quarters above their watchmaking shop they carved a hole in the wall and made a hiding place to smuggle the Jews out eventually the Gestapo found out and they were all arrested and sent to prison camps and Corey and her sister Betsy a notorious prison camp called Ravensbrook the conditions there and the things that happened there were so horrible they are beyond describing but I like the part of the book in the movie so much when Betsy looks at Corey and she says we're gonna get out of here we're gonna get out of here and then she says this and when we do we're gonna go all around the world and we're gonna tell people that there is no pit where our God is not deeper still there is no pit so deep where our God is not deeper still and God answered their prayer Betsy got out by going to heaven and Corey got out and began to tell everybody there is no pit so deep that our God is not deeper still I tell you God answers the prayer in the wilderness God answers the prayer in the dungeon then all of a sudden you're transported from the dungeon to a hospital and there you see sick people lying on their deathbed no hope for them but they pray they cry out to the Lord in verse 17 to verse 22 fools because of their transgression and because of their iniquities were afflicted their soul abhorred all manner of food and they drew near gates of death and they cried out to the Lord in their trouble and he saved them out of their distresses he said his word and he healed them and he delivered them from their destructions oh the man would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of man let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving and declare his works with rejoicing you see in verse 18 they were so sick they drew near to the gates of death but they cried out to the Lord in verse 20 he sent his word and he healed them God answers prayer when people are sick and near death and can heal them now the Old Testament saints when they're reading this portion of the psalm they couldn't help but think of King Hezekiah in 2 Kings chapter 20 the Bible tells us that he got sick really sick and Isaiah the prophet came to him and said the Lord has told me that you're going to die and Isaiah walked out the door and the Bible says that Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and he began to pray oh Lord please don't let me die please touch me Lord please heal me Lord please answer my cry Isaiah is walking across the palace and all of a sudden the Lord speaks to him and says turn around and go back in there and tell him he's going to be healed and God answered the prayer of Hezekiah New Testament believers as they were reading this portion of psalm 107 they couldn't help but think of how Jesus healed the centurion servant and remember there's a centurion that came to Jesus one day and he said my servant is so sick he's about to die and Jesus said well I'd be glad to come and pray for him and that centurion had such faith he said you don't need to come to my house just say the word just say the word and Jesus I haven't found such great faith go your way he's healed and with just the word of Jesus Jesus touched him healed him the Bible says in Exodus 15 and 26 God says I am the Lord who healed it I am Jehovah Rafa when Jesus was on this earth he healed so many people of so many different illnesses and situations and this Bible says in Hebrews 13 and verse 8 that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever and I've seen it happen I remember years ago when Rolrius was diagnosed with leukemia and we prayed and three days later God healed him I remember when my wife's grandmother we called her granny when she was diagnosed with cancer we didn't feel it was her time and so we began to pray and she was reading her Bible one day she was reading Psalm 118 and her eyes fell on verse 17 you will live and not die and declare the wonderful works of God you will live and not die and declare the wonderful works of God and the Lord touched granny and healed her and later she got perfect healing like with Pastor Chuck we prayed that the Lord would heal him and God says I'm going to give him the perfect healing and Jesus still heals people today if you're sick, if you know someone who's sick God's help in that situation is only a prayer but you're transported to a wilderness and then a dungeon and then a hospital all of a sudden verse 23 to 32 you're out in the middle of the ocean and there is a terrible, horrible storm verse 23 those who go down into the sea to the sea and ships who do business on great waters they see the works of the Lord and His wonders in the deep for He commands and raises the stormy wind which lifts up the waves of the sea they mount up to the heavens they go down to the depths their soul melts because of trouble they reel to and fro and stagger like a drunken man and are at their wits and you can see it do you feel like you're there? I don't know if you've ever been on a cruise ship in the middle of the storm we have, no fun and the waves are going up and then you go down and then they go up and you go down and they're reeling to and fro they're staggering like a drunken man on the deck of the ship and notice this phrase at the end of verse 27 and they are at their wits end ever been there? I have so many times Lord, I don't know what to do I'm in the middle of such a horrible storm I've never seen anything like it I've never been through anything like this before God and I don't know what to do I ask this person they didn't know what to do I ask that person they didn't know what to do God I even googled it and I still don't know what to do what do you do when you're at wits end? oh the next verse then they cry out to the Lord in their distresses and he brings them out of their distresses he calms this storm when the slaves are still then they are glad because they are quiet and so he guides them to their desired haven oh that men would give thanks to the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works of the children of men let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people and praise him in the company of the elders oh I like this when you were in the worst storm God's help us only a prayer away only a prayer away God's people in the Old Testament saints when they read this portion of the song they couldn't help but think of Job everything was going so well in his life such a godly wonderful man and then in one day in one day it all changed and he entered the worst storm you could ever imagine he didn't understand what was going on in his life he talked about being at your wits end and yet the Lord brought him out of it and made his end even greater than his beginning oh God answers prayer New Testament believers as they're reading this portion of Psalm 107 they couldn't help but think of Jesus on the sea of Galilee remember they're out in the middle of the sea of Galilee Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat all of a sudden this terrible storm comes up out of nowhere and the disciples are freaking out and they wake Jesus up help us help us Jesus speaks to the winds in the waves the Bible says immediately immediately it went calm there was no sloshing around it went flat immediately and Jesus can do that in your life in my life when we find ourselves in terrible stormy situations if we call out to God in prayer I like Psalm 37 in verse 19 the Psalmist there writes many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers them out of them all one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Psalm 50 and verse 15 here's what God says call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me call on me in the day of trouble and I will deliver you and you will glorify me and God answers prayer when you're in the middle of a storm God can answer prayer in the wilderness God can answer prayer in the dungeon God can answer prayer in the hospital God can answer prayer in the middle of a stormy ocean God can turn absolutely any situation around that's the point of verse 33 to 42 read quickly of what he says there it's amazing you see how quickly God can just turn something around verse 33 that's what happened to the people in the Old Testament it went into captivity and their land was turned into a wilderness but then in a moment then in a moment verse 35 he also blesses them and they multiply greatly and he does not let their cattle decrease when they are diminished and brought low through oppression affliction and sorrow he pours contempt on princes and he causes them to wander in the wilderness where there is no way yet he sets the poor on high far from affliction in a moment he can turn it around and he makes their families like a flock the righteous see it and rejoice and all iniquity stops its mouth God can turn any situation no matter what that situation is it may not be a wilderness it may not be a dungeon it may not be a hospital it may not be a stormy sea but he can take any situation and turn it around in a moment and the psalm ends with these beautiful words verse 43 whoever is wise whoever is wise will observe these things and they will understand the loving kindness of the Lord are you a wise person? whoever is a wise person will observe these things what things? well when you are in the wilderness God will answer your prayer when you are in the dungeon God will answer your prayer God will answer your prayer when you are in the middle of a storm God will answer your prayer in any circumstance or situation God will answer your prayer because our God is a God who answers prayer whoever is wise will read the psalm over and over and over again and cry out to the Lord and whatever trouble there in whatever situation there in whoever is wise will observe these things will realize that no matter who you are and that no matter where you are if you cry out to God he will hear he will answer your prayer there is no more dramatic powerful unforgettable illustration of this that I know of than the true story of a lady named Janelle McMillan her story is told in a great book written by Jim Symbola the pastor of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York a great book called Breakthrough Prayer Janelle McMillan writes the morning of September 11th 2001 began for me like many others I got to work a little after 8 a.m. and rode the elevator up to the 64th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center where I worked I was making small talk with a co-worker when I heard a loud explosion I had no idea that American Airlines Flight 11 had just slammed into the building a few moments later I was swaying and rocking oh my God I said this building is going down knowing we had to leave we headed to stairway B and as we ran it down together we kept counting the stairs 63, 62, 61, 60, 59, 58 and as we were going down the stairs we could see the firefighters going up the stairs when we reached the 13th floor all of a sudden the whole building just went boom everything went black the building started to collapse 110 floors were coming down on top of us falling concrete and debris smashed me down onto my knees in my eyes and mouth filled with grit and dust it was surreal like a horrible dream there is nothing we could do and nowhere we could go we were being buried alive and the sound of it was deafening then as suddenly as it started it stopped and things got quiet really quiet my mind started racing I thought of my husband my children and my family how I would never see them again so there all alone in the dark buried under all that rubble I began to pray oh god help me please let me live please let them find me the minutes seemed like hours and the hours seemed like days but then I heard the sound of rescue workers above me crying out help me finally someone yelled back hello hello is someone in there I said yes my name is Janelle help me by now I could see a bit of daylight coming through a crack so I stuck my hand up through it can you see my hand I shouted someone grabbed a hold of it Janelle I've got you you're gonna be alright oh thank you lord I prayed it had been 27 hours since the towers collapsed and I Janelle McMillan was the last survivor to be pulled out of the wreckage that had once been the world trade center towers I spent weeks in the hospital recovering the doctor said I'd never walk again but I do have a living proof that God's help is only a prayer way that wherever you are and whoever you are if you cry out to God he will hear and answer your prayer