How often are we willing to trust God to provide for major things in our lives? This is just what one man in Cambodia did while holding on to a seemingly impossible dream.

How big are your prayers?

Without a doubt, Jesus believed in and consistently practiced a life connecting with the Father through prayer. He not only modeled a prayer-centered life but also encouraged us to pray big prayers, instructing his disciples, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7, NIV).

One Cambodian man took Jesus at his word, prayed big prayers for something entirely outside his ability to accomplish for himself; and the Father responded.

An Insurmountable Obstacle

Kimhoun lives with his wife and son in a village near the Thai border of Cambodia. For several years, they shared cramped quarters with relatives and dreamed of owning their own home, but that dream seemed far out of reach.

Kimhoun and his wife earn their livelihood as farmers while also faithfully visiting neighbors and nearby villages to share the gospel and valuable health lessons. In their rural part of the country, people are hungry for practical information on health and hygiene. Many preventable diseases leave the people here unable to work and indebted to doctors and loan sharks simply because they don’t know where else to turn for help.

Through teaching practical health lessons and disease prevention practices, Kimhoun and his wife have developed trusting relationships with many of their neighbors that have opened opportunities to share the gospel.

Meanwhile, Kimhoun was faithfully saving money in pursuit of their dream to build a 1 room 10x20 ft home, but their savings couldn’t keep up with the constantly rising costs of building materials.

Having reached this impasse, they followed Jesus’ command to ask and knock.

An Act of Generous Love

The two young people invited their pastor, Daly, to pray with them about the issue. She had helped raise Kimhoun when he was orphaned as a young teen, and she was like a parent in many ways to this couple.

Pastor Daly felt compelled to share their need with the local Christian development committee and the church. Not long after, the Lord moved on the hearts of the local church body. Kimhoun shared, “Many of the believers began helping me. Some gave wood and timber; some of them gave cement; others gave bricks and some of them gave money.” The church then gathered together over several days, providing their time, talent and energy to help build the house.

When the construction was finished, Kimhoun and his wife prepared a large pot of cooked rice for everyone to eat and celebrate all that God had done. 

Sometimes our needs will seemingly exceed our resources, and we may be tempted to despair, but God’s economy works differently. Kimhoun’s story demonstrates what is possible when the people of God pray big prayers, love and serve one another through simple acts of love.