Answered Prayers
"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." ~ Mark 11:24
Read the following entries before this one
Sunlight beams down to our campsite as we wake from our rest. Arising from my slumber, I look towards Harim to see he is already up.
“Did you sleep well, Markus?” He asks me as he packs the flintstone and wraps bundles of sticks with leaves at their tips.
“What is that for?” I ask. He wraps as he responds, “I’m making makeshift torches, at least to the extent I can.”
He then motions to the forest as I veer toward it, there is a thick mist that cloaks our path down to the lake. Then Ron and Ves stretch as they sit up, “Good morning.” They say in unison.
I look toward Harim who says with a smile, “Good morning, did you two sleep well?”
“Kind of,” Ves says as Ron stretches and yawns, “I miss our cots. How many more nights will we have to sleep out here?”
Harim packs the final bundle and gazes toward Ron, “Come now Ron, don’t tell me you’re already done with our adventure here.” He teases him.
“What are you talking about?” Ron stands up and changes his demeanor, “I’ll show you! I’m not afraid of anything!”
“I didn’t say you were,” Harim smirks widely. It’s odd, Harim seems to be calm even with the thick mist that covers our pathway down almost like he is a different person than he was yesterday.
“Everything alright, Markus?” He breaks me from my thoughts.
“Oh, yes. I’m alright, and yes, I slept as best as I could given the place we find ourselves at.” I finally respond. Then I recall that teacher instructed us to pray every morning when we wake. I quickly get in a proper position, close my eyes, and pray aloud.
Heavenly Father
I am grateful for Your protection through the darkness of the night. With the new day upon us, may Your faithful eyes watch over us and bring us down the mountain and through the valley that is between our path. In every moment we struggle and worry, let us remember that You give us strength to move forward.
In Jesus name
Amen
Before my eyes open, I hear them all say amen with me. Then Harim stands up and slings his pack around his shoulders, “Thank you Markus for leading us in that,” he tilts his head up, “And Lord, please guide us and remember our prayer from last night.”
The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace because he trusts in You.
Isaiah 26:3
Wading through the mist-filled forest, each step taken makes my heart beat faster and faster. It’s one thing when a beast is hunting us, but now with the mist, my fear is much greater.
I feel Vesper’s hand squeeze mine, and my neck snaps down toward her, “Hmm?”
“I’m scared.” She whispers to me.
Lord, help me stay strong as You did for me last night. Help me to be strong for Ves, please. I need Your wisdom and courage. Trust…
“Remember Ves, we have Him watching over us. Trust that He will get us through this and He will.” I smile at her as my heart slows down the more I believe my words.
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12
As she holds my hand, her grip loosens up. Looking toward her again, she has her eyes closed with her head bowed down in prayer.
When I think about how far we’ve come in such a short time, I wonder how much of our progress was teacher’s guidance or if it is the Holy Spirit that teacher spoke about.
Harim suddenly looks back and asks with a smile, “How is everyone doing?”
His smile has me in awe. I haven’t seen him smile like this since my father was alive. It’s not just his smile, but his whole body. The way he carries himself as we move through the mist. His worries seem to have disappeared.
I can’t help but smile back and let out a breath, “We are trusting.”
Harim nods as his eyes lock with each of ours. Ron looks at him, “How much further do you think?”
Harim turns around continuing forward, “Well, we just passed a marker I placed for a steep decline coming up. Once we pass that, there should only be an hour left.”
We all nod to him and continue moving with him.
Following him as he follows You.
Once reaching the steep descent Harim spoke of, the mist begins to clear up. Harim looks to us and says, “Alright, here is the plan. I will go down first with Ves following behind me in case I need to catch her. Then Markus, you will come down after followed by Ron in case Markus needs to catch you. Got it?”
I veer toward Ron as I see him nodding in agreement. Then my head tilts in Vesper’s direction and she also nods.
Lord, in just one day, You’ve brought us from the brink of grief to a place of faith in one another. Trust that is stronger than any chain.
I nod with them.
Then we begin our descent. One step at a time, I watch Harim and his foot pattern and lean toward Ron, “I know you can do this without my help, but remember, I’m there to catch you. Just watch Harim’s foot pattern and follow them. I’ll be doing the same.”
Ron looks at me and smiles, “Got it!”
Next, Vesper begins down right behind Harim. After three steps, she slips but Harim quickly catches her and smirks. Once regaining her footing, they continue down until they reach about halfway. Now it’s my turn.
Following Harim’s example, I place my foot down to check where a firm foundation resides on the decline. Once finding it, I begin doing the same with the other foot. After about five steps downward, Ron asks, “Should I start now?”
“Yeah, go ahead. I’m right here. Just do what I do.”
Ron begins doing the same thing. At first it takes him some time but once he closes his eyes and seems to pray, he takes his first step and smiles, “I knew I could-”
Ron suddenly slips and begins sliding down on his rear! Lord, please! I cannot lose him! I step out in faith, trusting that the ground beneath me will not slip as I reach my hand out to grab Ron’s arm.
With a clap that echoes down, both Harim and Ves look up and Harim calls out, “Are you two alright?”
Holding tightly onto Ron, I am able to lift him up and get him back on track. He hugs me and I respond to Harim, “We are all good, thanks to Him.” I point up to You. Thank You, Jesus.
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”
Numbers 20:12
Praise the LORD! Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever.
Psalms 106:1
As we finally reach the bottom, we rest for about and hour. In our rest I nudge Ron, “Are you doing well?”
He was quiet the entire climb down, “I thought that Jesus wouldn’t let me fall if I asked Him. But I still did.”
When looking back, that must have been what he prayed about before taking his first step. However, right after he slipped as soon as he said I knew I…
“Ron,” I squat down next to him, “Remember what teacher said about asking Jesus for things and then claiming we did them? We have to give credit where credit is due.”
He looks down in thought. I nudge him again, “How about we pray and thank Him for saving you?”
He looks at me and nods.
Heavenly Father
We thank You for saving Eronadel. We thank You for delivering us from the steep mountain side so we may reach the lake where we will baptize in Your name. Lord, may You receive all the credit for our success as we place our trust in You. When we surrender, may You have victory through us.
In Jesus name,
Amen
As we finish praying, Harim stands up and says, “Alright, just a bit more to go and we will reach the lake.”
We all pack up and head out, marching toward the lake in the middle of the valley. The mist still lurks around our feet but has mostly faded.
Then after an hour or so, there’s a strange parting of the mist that forms an arch for us to see a portion of the lake. Sitting there at the shore, we see a man on his knees, praying.
Harim suddenly slows down and drops his pack. With his back to me, it’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, “Harim? What’s wrong? Have you seen that man before?” I ask.
He nods and says under his breath, “It’s teacher…”
He runs toward the man he claims to be teacher. Then we all follow in pursuit. One by one, as the man turns to face us, we feel the heaviness of the last of our grief pour out of our eyes as we cry in Your praise! Thank You Jesus, for You have answered our prayers!
Our teacher, Zaith, is alive!