On the Wings of Prayer

(Day 8 of 15-day Prayer Challenge)

Serving is much more than just doing a job; it includes ministering to the body of Christ. Ken Van Weerdhuizen realized this one Sunday evening as he listened to Simon speak in church.

Simon, a translator working in Asia, had come from another country to the Philippines to attend a translation workshop.  Having traveled for several days, Simon arrived in the Philippines totally exhausted; but he still needed to make one more flight before he reached his final destination.  He could hardly bear the thought.  This flight, however, proved to be different.  After boarding the small plane, the pilot paused to pray before taking off. Through that prayer the Lord revived Simon.

Ken listened to his Simon’s story in stunned silence. That day was still vivid in his memory as well.  Ken had been that pilot.  It was his third flight to Cagayan de Oro that day. He was tired, sweaty and worn out from loading and unloading cargo, and he still had two more flights to complete before heading home.

After the passengers were buckled into the twin-engine airplane, Ken prayed, asking the Lord to bless and protect the flight and to be with each passenger. “I have tried to make this my normal practice whenever I make a flight,” Ken said. “But sometimes I am so rushed and tired that I just want to climb in the airplane and get going. That’s how I felt that day.” Yet, the Lord used the half-hearted prayer of a tired pilot to minister to another of His servants.