The following is a personal testimony shared with us by a Pastor in Texas.  

                                                      
"Every morning, the routine is the same. At 6 AM, my 15 year old daughter, Andrea, wakes up to drink her coffee and have her morning devotion. At 6:30 AM, she goes for her morning walk. Every morning, my wife or I will sit outside to watch her walk around the block. The entire city block is owned by our church, and is cleared off for parking and outdoor activities; consequently, we can easily see her while she walks. On the days when I'm home from evangelizing, I will sit outside, drink a cup of coffee and read my Bible, while watching Andrea walk.

But last Thursday morning was different. My son's car battery had failed, so I took him to work. On my way back, my wife (who was still in bed) texted me the following message:

"Don't let Andrea walk until you get back so you can watch her"

When i got home, Andrea began her walk. While i was watching her walk and checking out the car battery, I looked up to see a red, older model Chevy truck moving very slowly down the street. Although we love in a very busy neighborhood, I immediately felt something wrong with the scenario. I walked to the end of our driveway, and watched. The truck appeared to be following Andrea. As she made the turn at the corner, the truck sat at the stop sign for a few moments, then turned, and began to follow her again. 

Immediately, I called her phone, and told her, "Watch the truck behind you." Because she had her earphones on, she had not heard the truck. When she turned around and saw the driver, she began to run home. As she ran, the truck appeared to leave, and I got in my Jeep to go pick her up. Out of nowhere, the truck returned and circled around in two of the church parking lots. Before I could get to her, she had made it to me! 

I began to follow the truck, recorded the tag number, and comforted my daughter. He made his way down the block where a 3 kids were standing, waiting on the school bus. He turned around in another parking lot, passed by the bus kids again, and left the area. I'm certain he realized I was following him.

I called the police. While waiting on them to arrive, I googled the tag number....my heart sank! He is a convicted, registered sex offender!

Yes, things could have been different for me and my family...but, "The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."

                                                       
Andrea told me, "Dad, yesterday (Wed) while sitting on the couch before going on my walk, I felt a check in my spirit not to go walking that morning, so I didn't go."

My wife told me a few minutes later, "I was so glad that Andrea didn't go walking Wed morning. I never said anything to her, because she didn't go after all, but i just didn't feel comfortable about Andrea waking Wed morning. "

Neither of them had said anything about it to each other until after the episode Thurs morning.

I have relived this event several times over the last few days with mixed feelings of what could have been, and what God did for my baby and my family. 
Daily, He loads us with benefits!"

WOW! is all I can say.  I know this family.  I Know that they are praying people.  I Know that they stay close to Jesus' side so that they can hear His voice and heartbeat. At first as I pondered this story it really disturbed me for the "What could have been".  Then the Lord spoke to me and said "instead of dwelling on what could have been, understand that it was prevented by a life of prayer".

I talked last week about how much he desires time with us.  How blessed we would be by taking special time each day to spend with Him.  However, there is more to living a life of prayer than your daily time.  If I take an hour a day to pray and then the rest of the day my mind and heart are so full of other distractions and my thoughts never dwell on Him, I may miss something that He wants to speak to me at even an unlikely time.  This is what the writer of the book of Thessalonians meant in chapter 5 verse 17 when he said "pray without ceasing".   He is telling us that we should live our lives in a spirit of prayer. 
                                                          
A life of prayer is a life of peace.  A life of prayer is a life of calm in the middle of the storm.  A life of prayer is a life of faith.  A life of prayer is a life of confidence in His love that never fails.  The benefits of living a life of prayer are endless and the Word of God is full of promises to those who live a life of prayer.

I would be remiss if I didn't give you some suggested resources to help you as you walk a journey of prayer.  Some books that I highly recommend on prayer are:  "Too Busy Not To Pray" by Bill Hybels, "The Power of a Praying wife" by Stormie Omartian, "When Ye Pray" by Joy Haney, "Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson, "Praying Circles around Your Children" by Mark Batterson.  The list goes on and on and on.  As my husband says, "The only way to build a life of prayer is to pray".

So, today is the day to begin your new life, a life of prayer.  Will you?

Praying for you!

Gwen