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Verse:“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you . . . when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” —Isaiah 43:2, ESV
It was around seven o’clock on Sunday evening.
I had just finished eating dinner and cleaning the kitchen.
As I sat down to relax and read the Sunday paper, I heard the Spirit of God speak to me, saying, “You need to pray.” Baffled but obedient, I left the kitchen and hurried upstairs to my study. I lay the unread newspaper on my bookshelf and started to pray like an innocent child—not knowing what I should pray about. Right in the midst of my praying, my cell phone rang. It was our oldest son. I answered, and he said, “Mom, I just had a car accident! I tried to call my wife, but she did not pick up. Can you get in contact with her? I need to hang up now because the emergency medical services has just arrived.” The phone went silent in my hand.
I felt anxious, but immediately Bible promises flashed vividly into my mind. “The prayer of a righteous person has great power” (James 5:16, ESV).
And another one, “Thus says the LORD who made the earth, the LORD who formed it to establish it—the LORD is his name: Call to me and I will answer you, and tell you great and hidden things that you have not known” (Jeremiah 33:2, 3, ESV).
As I held on to those promises, God gave me the reassurance and peace that my son would be all right. I felt especially grateful he had been able to reach me a few moments earlier on his cell phone. Later that night, after our son had spent several hours in the hospital, I found out more about the accident. He had been involved in a head-on collision.
They had to use the jaws of life to cut him free from the mangled vehicle.
Our son walked away with a broken collarbone and several fractured toes.
The driver of the other vehicle was a young man.
He received no injuries at all. What if I had not listened to the Holy Spirit prompting me to pray? Even though I was unsure what to pray, I praise God that I listened to His still, small voice. I am grateful for the power of intercessory prayer and—most of all—for God’s watchfulness and care for His children.
Ann Hickman Smith