That Urge to Pray

At the end of World War II Mildred and Rolland Rice returned to Peking to resume their missionary work. One day they heard a loud commotion on the top deck. They rushed up the stairs and found their captain standing at the bow, pointing to a round object in the water close to their ship. It was a mine left from the war. They had narrowly escaped this grave danger.

Weeks later, the director of their mission, Dr. C. P. Culver told them that one day he was at home emptying some trash into his furnace. Just as he prepared to dump the mass of scrap paper into the flames, he caught a glimpse of the Rice family sinking beneath ocean waves and calling for help. He dropped his trash basket, fell to his knees on the basement floor and began praying for their deliverance. When they checked the time of his experience, they found it was exactly the hour they had passed so close to the sea mine.

One rainy night Shirley Dobson was working in the kitchen when she felt she should pray for her daughter Danae's protection. She prayed right then for Danae's safety, calling for a legion of angels to protect her.

A while later, a policeman came to their home and told her that Danae had been in an accident. The car had hit a slick mixture of oil and gravel and flipped over, sliding on its top within a few feet of a five-hundred-foot precipice. Danae was not seriously hurt. She pictured those angels, standing wingtip to wingtip, providing a safe guardrail.

Dear Lord, help me to always be obedient when the Holy Spirit gives a strong urge to pray.

"Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere" (Ephesians 6:18 NLT).