Morning Prayer

We did not expect anything different that morning as we knelt down and prayed, asking for protection and success in our ministry efforts. As far as we could tell, it was a day like any other, filled with finding and teaching people the gospel of Jesus Christ. I was between high school and college, volunteering in a personal ministry of Jesus Christ and his teachings. I was working with a friend, and each day we worked at finding people to teach about God and the scriptures. We worked hard, and each day the Lord blessed us in so many different ways. That morning as we left to begin our work, we had no idea what lay ahead, and the personal blessings in store for us.

The day went by quickly and by late afternoon we had not found many people home or even willing to listen to our message. We finished knocking doors on several streets and decided to start on our way to our dinner appointment.

As we stopped the car for a red light at an intersection, my body tensed slightly and my fingers tingled as I gripped the steering wheel. The sudden anxiety was curious to me and I glanced around, searching for a possible cause. We were stopped, north-bound in the far right of three lanes. A green SUV sat idling in the far left lane, waiting to turn left. The middle lane between us was empty and a small car pulled in several feet behind our car. The vehicles driving south, opposite to us, still had a green light and were passing through the intersection, going straight and making left turns. I could tell when the light on that side turned yellow because cars still several hundred feet away from the intersection began to slow down.
I glanced at the dashboard, then over at my friend. I could see no cause for the tension that I felt at that moment.

Not even a second had passed when suddenly I heard, very distinctly in my mind, "Look up!"
I did so quickly, out of curiosity more than anything. I saw that the light had changed to red and an east-bound, green car started through the intersection. I did not even notice the white car speeding south through the red light until it smashed into the side of the green car, with a sickening crunch. Glass and metal exploded in all directions as the two cars, instantly mangled, slid into the SUV and bounced off. The momentum and force of the accident kept the two cars sliding insanely fast towards us. I heard in my mind, louder than before, "GO!" an instant before my friend shouted the same message. I stomped on the accelerator and we lurched forward, dodging the sliding cars by inches.

The accident happened so quickly that I almost questioned the reality of it all as we pulled off down a side street. I was still in shock of the horrible scene that had just played before our eyes; the voice of warning echoed in my mind. My thoughts reverted back to our prayers that morning as we left and I knew that we had just been protected, as if the hand of God had literally shielded us from harm. I am sure that without the warning of the spirit and the attentiveness of my friend, we would have been hit and seriously injured. I whispered a prayer of thanks as we ran back to the accident to see if we could help. Later that evening, as I reflected on what we had experienced, I couldn't help but be filled with gratitude and love towards a Father in heaven watching out for two of his servants.