I want to tell you a wonderful story about how God will answer your prayers.
A couple of years ago, my wife Jessica and I went to the nation of Pakistan to conduct a great Gospel Festival. The week before we went, there was a pastor in Texas who had a dream about us. In her dream, she saw that we were in danger.
She called me and said, “Daniel, I am committing to pray for you the entire time that you’re in Pakistan because I had this dream. I believe God wants me to pray.”
I said, “Thank you very much. I appreciate your prayers.”
So we went to Pakistan, and we had a wonderful Gospel Festival. Thousands and thousands of people came. Many of them were Muslims.
In fact, one of the local Muslim imams came to the festival and saw all the people who were being healed. The next Friday, he stood up in his mosque and told everyone, “If you need healing, go to the Gospel Festival, and Jesus will heal you.”
God was doing so many miracles among the Muslims. It was wonderful to see.
But on the last night of the festival, we had a big problem.
As we were leaving, there was a suspicious car that began to follow us. We were very concerned about security. There were five young Muslim men in the car, and they were acting very suspiciously.
The bishop we were working with told the driver, “Drive fast. Get away from this car.”
When we sped up, the car sped up too.
We were out in the middle of some farm roads, driving on dirt roads as fast as we could go. We looked behind us, and the car was still following us.
Then, up ahead, there was a motorcycle parked right in the middle of the road. Beside the motorcycle stood a man with a rifle over his shoulder. In his other hand, he had a piece of cloth, and he was waving us down, trying to get our van to stop.
Because of the suspicious car following us and because this man had a rifle, the bishop told the driver, “Just drive around that motorcycle as fast as you can and keep going. Whatever you do, don’t stop!”
So we drove around the motorcycle and passed the man.
Suddenly, the man pulled the rifle off his shoulder, pointed it at us, and pulled the trigger.
Boom!
It surprised everyone in our van.
Immediately, the bishop’s wife started praying in tongues as loudly as she could.
Then I looked over at the bishop. You have to understand, this bishop was a kindly old gentleman. He was like a big teddy bear.
When I preached at the Gospel Festival, he would sit on the platform right behind me and fall asleep while I was preaching. I’d be preaching, look over at him, and his head would be down. Every once in a while, he would wake up and shout, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” Then he’d fall back asleep.
So I was surprised when this kindly old teddy bear of a man suddenly pulled a pistol out of the back of his pants!
He started yelling at the driver and waving the pistol all over the van.
Now, I don’t know very much about guns, but I do know you’re not supposed to point them at me!
So I kept saying, “Bishop, point that gun out the window!”
Then I looked over at my wife. She was ministering to the bishop’s daughter, who had a little baby with her. The bishop’s daughter was terrified. She thought maybe her baby had been shot.
Jessica was comforting her and saying, “God has not given you a spirit of fear. You’re going to be okay. Your baby is okay.”
Meanwhile, I was looking out the back window, trying to see what was going on.
So my wife was ministering to the bishop’s daughter, but she kept turning to me, pulling me down, and saying, “Daniel, if they shoot someone, they’re going to shoot the white guy. Get down!”
She would turn to the bishop’s daughter and say, “You’re going to be okay.”
Then she’d turn to me and say, “Get down!”
Of course, I didn’t listen to my wife. I kept looking out the back window.
For about 20 minutes, we continued down those back roads as fast as we could go, and the suspicious car followed us the whole way.
Finally, we reached a main road. We made some turns, passed some vehicles, and eventually lost the car that was following us.
I knew everything was going to be okay when I looked over at the bishop. His gun had disappeared, and the bishop had fallen back asleep!
When I saw him sleeping, I knew everything was going to be okay.
But here is the amazing part of the story.
All the way back in Texas, the church that had committed to praying for us was in the middle of its Sunday morning worship service.
Right in the middle of worship, the worship leader suddenly heard from God: “You need to pray for Daniel and Jessica right now.”
They stopped singing, and everyone in the church began to pray and intercede for Jessica and me.
They prayed for about 20 minutes.
Then they felt everything was okay, so they went back to their regularly scheduled worship service.
When we returned to the United States, we told them about the dangerous situation we had faced in Pakistan. Then they told us how God had prompted them to stop their worship service and pray for us.
We started comparing the time zones and the difference between morning in Texas and nighttime in Pakistan.
We discovered something amazing.
The very moment God told them to pray was the same time we were in danger and being shot at in Pakistan.
In the middle of a very dangerous situation, God was telling His people to pray for us, and God protected us.
I want to encourage you today: Your prayers are powerful and effective.
When God brings someone to your mind, begin to pray for them.
You may not know why God is asking you to pray. Maybe they are facing a difficult situation. Maybe they are in danger. Maybe they need healing. Maybe they need special encouragement from God.
You may never know what is happening at that moment, but God knows.
So when God brings someone to your mind, begin to pray for them. Your prayers can make a difference!
Check out Daniel King’s book: The Power of Prayer
