Do You Pray to the Lord for a safe trip in the Military?
Posted : 18 Mar, 2012 08:49 PM
LEN'S LINES --A Little Religion On A Positive Note By Len Granger
Pray For A Safe Journey
In this busy world, Do we look to our Lord in prayer for a safe journey through the path of life? Are we following in the footsteps of our Lord down the roadway he takes us or do we sometimes stray into the wilderness. If we continue to put our faith and look to Him whenever we stray, Our Loving and Gracious Lord is there to receive us back under his protecting arms. Our daily prayer and reading of God's Word the Bible, gives us a wonderful personal relationship with the Lord of our Salvation.
We see in Matthew 7- where we must ask the Lord for his guidance and protection, Verses 7-8, " Ask and it will be given to you, seek, and you will find, knock, and it will be opened to you. " For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened to you".
When ever or where ever we plan a journey through life our travel plans should not be complete until we pray for the Lord's guidance. He may want us to delay or even cancel our plans as He knows best and we cannot see the future. Being in the service many years ago, my travel plans were set by the Air Force, but I still prayed to our loving Lord for his protection on a trip that was full of adventure and might hold unknown danger.
As the plane winged over the Mediterranean Sea, high above the beautiful blue sea, the trip was enjoyable. They had sent me as a member of an inspection team to Adana AFB, Turkey. for the next month. The base runway is one of the longest so the pilot flew the aircraft, a C-54 four engine prop just above the runway for some distance. Then he cut the engines and the plane dropped on the surface and blew two tires on one side, causing swerving and a very rough landing. I thanked the Lord for a safe flight and was put up in a cabin type tent, as the base was still undergoing construction. The area is only some 20 miles from the birthplace of Paul the Apostle , in Tarsus , and I was able to cross the Roman Bridge in use today that Paul used to begin his travels.
The inspection went as planned and when finished I had no travel established to return to Greece, so the transportation officer set up a trip across Turkey. First, was 2 days by a coal burning steam train, going through 27 tunnels with the smoke coming in the train windows. On arriving at Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the train was late, so was rushed to join the plane at the end of the runway before it left. The THY (Turkish Airlines), was an old DC-3 and we had a rough storm ahead which caused the passengers a lot of grief as we passed through. I prayed knowing the Lord was in control, and went to sleep only to be awaken by the hostess fearing I was in trouble. The aircraft landed safely in Istanbul, a seaport city, where I was to catch a BEA (British European Airways) plane back to Athens.
This plane was the latest in that day, with turboprop engines, and I looked forward to another peaceful trip over the beautiful shinning sea. The next day as we rolled down the runway for takeoff an engine failed and the pilot was able to bring the plane to a stop just short of end of the runway and the awaiting water of the sea. We waited 3 days for another engine to arrive from London, so was able to visit the area. The flight home to Greece was uneventful and I thanked the Lord for a safe journey and his protection over that eventful month of my life. We never know what lies a head as we travel through life but it helps to have the Lord as a travel companion.
May we all join in praising and worshiping our Lord Jesus Christ in the church of our choice this Sunday.
