The visas had hold ups and it looked like we might not even get them, or at least not in time. Even though I thought maybe we would be stopped through that, I kept doing everything I could to chase them up as I didn’t want to lose the money! They came just a few days before travelling and I ended up getting on the plane completely convinced that it was going to crash, but willing to do whatever God was wanting me to do in the process – like standing up and preaching as it was going down! I’d told my mum and told her to share the story with everyone she knew if it crashed so that even more people would be saved. I wrote down the signs and stuck them on my fridge.
On the day, my husband was pretty angry at me by this point so I had stopped talking to him about all the signs and things. I was praying silently the whole time as we were boarding and taking off, and I prayed whenever there was turbulence and when we were landing. I was even a bit disappointed that nothing had happened, so I did the same again on the next flight. This flight also turned out fine and we arrived in England. So then I began to think that it must be one of the flights home that would crash and that God had granted us that last time to see my family and enjoy the trip as planned first.
I didn’t obsess about it and got on and enjoyed the trip – like I said, I was at peace with it and knew God would have some purpose for it: Romans 8:28 – ‘And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.’ I shared the story with a few friends; especially the one who I thought had sent the video on facebook – that’s how I found out it was actually from her Aunt who was a nun! We took my step son to visit Liverpool football club (his dream) and a trip around London. We had a lovely family Christmas celebration on Christmas Eve, and took a special family photo (which would be the last before my dad passed away the following year). We then left to go home on Christmas morning.
Again, I silently prayed a lot during the flights – especially during takeoff, turbulence and landings. I prayed for protection, salvation for all the passengers, guidance for the pilots, and also for a man who became unwell during one of the flights (they called for a doctor over the intercom). All the while though, I never thought I was doing enough. I thought God wanted more, like for me to stand up and pray out loud or to actually go and lay hands on the sick man. So when nothing happened again, I ended up feeling disappointed with myself and with God for leading me on. I felt like I’d failed some kind of test and hadn’t had enough courage to pray out loud. Or maybe I was supposed to not get on the plane in trust, and forfeit the money we’d spent.
It was only when I shared this experience with some friends a couple of weeks ago, at a bible study group, that I was shown another perspective. One lady told me that she truly believed that the plane had not gone down because of my fervent prayers and my faithfulness to get on that flight no matter what it meant for me and my family. I was reminded of how important and powerful our prayers are in the spirit realm and how God and His angels are always working even when we can’t see it: James 5:16 – ‘The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much’. Since that experience I have always automatically prayed more than before on flights!
In the bible study group we also shared stories of people we knew being miraculously saved from car crashes – there are a surprising number of testimonies in this area and I even have one myself. Last winter I spun off the road in ice on a blind corner. As I was spinning I shouted out loud ‘Help me God, Help me God!’ and came to a stop on the verge facing the opposite direction with a telegraph pole right in front of me and a fence/trees beside me, but not hitting anything. I have heard many stories like this, and even more amazing, from Christian friends. Do not underestimate the power of your prayers and the invisible protection they bring to your loved ones.