answering prayer
- noun
:
respuesta a una oración
- After years of trying to conceive, their baby was an answering prayer they had hoped for.
Examples
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♪ God is so good ♪ ♪ He's so good to me ♪ God answers prayer.
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The community considered the donation to the local shelter an answering prayer in their time of need.
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♪ God answers prayer ♪
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♪ God answers prayer ♪
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♪ God answers prayer ♪ ♪ He's so good to me ♪♪
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Many people believe that finding a job after months of searching is an answering prayer.
Synonyms
2
5.1
A thing or person that gives just what you need in a hard time
2
5.1
A thing or person that gives exactly what someone needs after a long wait
How Fulfilled
- Informal
2
5.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built from 'answer' (to fulfill a need) + 'prayer' (a request to a deity), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to something that fulfills or answers a prayer (i.e., the fulfillment of a hope/request). The pattern ('an answered/answering prayer' meaning a result that meets a petition) is common in English and has parallels in other languages, making the meaning predictable for B1 learners.
Etymology
Answering prayer comes from the idea in many religions that a prayer is heard and given an answer. So when the thing you hoped for really happens, people call it an 'answering prayer' to show the request was 'granted'.