Me:  What do you have there, Prodigal?

 

Prodigal:  It is a coin that reminds us to pray first.

 

Me:  That is a great reminder.  I have a true story about someone who did just that.

 

Daniel Christiansen tells about a relative, a Romanian soldier in World War II, named Ana Gheorghe.  It was 1941, and troops had overrun the Romanian region of Bessarabia and entered Moldavia.  Ana and his comrades were badly frightened.  Bullets whizzed around them, and mortar shells shook the earth.  By day, Ana sought relief reading his Bible, but at night he could only crouch close to the earth and recall verses memorized in childhood.

One day during a spray of enemy fire, Ana was separated from his company.  In a panic, he bolted deeper and deeper into the woods until, huddling at the base of a large tree, he fell asleep from exhaustion.  The next day, trying to find his comrades, he moved cautiously toward the front, staying in the shadows of the trees, nibbling a crust of bread, drinking from streams.  Hearing the battle closing in, he unslung his rifle, pulled the bolt, and watched for the enemy, his nerves near the breaking point.  Twenty yards away, a Russian soldier suddenly appeared.

“All my mental rehearsals of bravery served me nothing.  I dropped my gun and fell to my knees, then buried my face in my sweating palms and began to pray.  While praying, I waited for the cold touch of the Russian’s rifle barrel against my head.

I felt a slight pressure of my should close to my neck.  I opened my eyes slowly.  There was my enemy kneeling in front of me, his gun lying next to mine among the wildflowers.  His eyes were closed in prayer.  We did not understand a single word of the others  language, but we could pray.  We ended our prayer with two words that need no translation:  “Alleluia…..Amen!”

Then, after a tearful embrace, we walked quickly to opposite sides of the clearing and disappeared beneath the trees.”

 

We are told when we see an enemy, to attack to protect ourselves.  We are told I must get him, before he gets me.  God shows us another way.  Stop and pray no matter how many enemies are around and no matter how close they are too you.  In the midst of prayer, you will be amazed at what can really happen!

 

 

 

Jennifer Van Allen

 

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org