THE POWER OF PRAYER
December 1, 1999

Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it
on a list and said, "I'll pray for them later?" Or has anyone ever
called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need?"
Read the following story that was sent to me and may it change the
way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. You
will be blessed by this one. It is said that a missionary on furlough told this true
story while visiting his home church in Michigan.
Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting, one of whom had been seriously
injured. I treated him for his injuries and at the same time talked to him
about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then traveled two days, camping overnight,
and arrived home without incident. Two weeks later I repeated my journey.
Upon arriving in the city, I was approached by the young man I had treated.
He told me that he had known I carried money and medicines. He said,
"Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would
camp overnight. We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.
But, just as we were about to move into your camp, we saw that you
were surrounded by 26 armed guards."
At this I laughed and said that I was certainly all alone out in that jungle campsite.
The young man pressed the point, however, and said "No sir, I was not the only person to see the
guards. My five friends also saw them and we all counted them. It was
because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone."
At this point in the sermon, one of the men in the congregation jumped to
his feet and interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the
exact day that this happened. The missionary told the congregation the
date, and the man who interrupted told him this story:
"On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I
was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge
to pray for you. In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong, I
called men in this church to meet with me here in the sanctuary to pray
for you. Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?"
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up. The missionary
wasn't concerned with who they were - he was too busy counting how
many men he saw. There were 26.
This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord moves in
mysterious ways. If you ever hear such prodding, go along with it.
--- Author Unknown --- Sent in by Patricia T. Love --- California
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