God’s Protection and Answered Prayer
August 10, 2012 by Lillie
Those of you who have been reading this blog for a while know that Jack and I do our grocery shopping at Walmart in the wee hours of the morning. A few weeks ago Jack had an episode of low blood sugar, got dizzy, fell down, and strained his back. He’s been spending most of his time sitting in his chair in front of the TV with a heating pad on his back. We’ve made the trip to the store every couple of weeks instead of every week, and Jack has stayed in the car while I shopped.
Last night, he suggested I go shopping without him. I definitely didn’t want to be out alone after midnight and told him I would wait and go during the day if I had to go by myself. He decided to go with me but sit in the car again. After I finished and loaded the groceries in the car, a man walking to his car shouted at us and pointed to the right front side of the van. He said there was gas leaking from our car.
God had been protecting Jack. Although he smelled gasoline, he didn’t know it was coming from our car. He sat in the car smoking while gasoline puddled on the ground.
We didn’t realize how bad the leak was, so Jack headed for home. At the first intersection, the car backfired several times and stopped. Jack managed to get it running again, but he could barely keep the car moving. On declines, it went about 25 miles per hour; on inclines, it would slow to less than 10 miles per hour. If I had been alone, I would not have been able to keep the car running at all, and I would have been in a panic out alone in the wee hours of the morning with a car that wouldn’t run. The little nudge I had not to go alone had to be the Holy Spirit warning me.
Jack is an excellent driver, and he kept the car moving. At 2 AM, there were few cars on the road, and Jack ran red lights rather than taking the risk that the car wouldn’t start again if he stopped. My jobs were watching to be sure there no the cars in the way and to pray.
All the way home, I prayed, “Lord, please, just get us home and get the car in the garage” and “Thank you, Lord, that you will get us home safely.”
The car sputtered and stopped several times, but each time Jack got it going again. About a block and a half from our home, the van came to a stop, and it seemed that it might not move again. Jack kept trying and I kept praying and soon we were underway again. As we approached our house, I continued to ask God to get us safely parked the garage. Our driveway has a steep incline, but the van made it up the hill and into the garage.
Thanks to God that we had started out with a full tank of gas. About an eighth of the tank leaked out in the six-mile, thirty-minute trip home.
This morning Jack called the car dealership and arranged for the van to be towed to the shop for repair. He told the wrecker dispatcher that he would move the car from the garage to the street. However, when he tried to start the car, it wouldn’t start. The tow truck driver had to push the van out to the street to load on the truck.
I wasn’t surprised. After all, I had not asked God for the car to start again. I had asked Him to get us home and safely in the garage. That’s exactly what He did!
photo credit: Mark-Hobbs
wow, Lillie, that was scary. I can see God’s presence and protection during that journey. Glad you both are safe. Thank you for sharing this beautiful testimony of faith.
Doris
It was scary, Doris, but we were always safe in God’s hands.
What an inspiring story –and you are so right–we’re always safe in His hands! Thanks for sharing this; you and Jack continue to be a testimony of God’s faithfulness!
Thank you, Christie. My sister read this and said, “Don’t you think that the man pointing out the leak was God telling you not to drive home?” I said maybe she was right, but I’m sure glad He showed mercy and grace on us when we didn’t get the message!
Lillie, thanks for this story…we have to know, God is watching for his sheeps
Zoznamka,
Yes, if Jesus will go after one lost sheep, God will certainly watch over all his sheep.
Thank God you and your husband are safe, Lillie. Your story serves that God is always there protecting us from harm. We may not see Him but we can actually feel His undying love for us almost every day.
Jane,
Sometimes we don’t recognize His care–we think we’ve been lucky or we’ve succeeded at something by our own power. We should recognize and give Him glory for all His goodness we tend to overlook or take for granted.
Your story was really scary . I read it with thrill. God pless you and your husband.
Thank you, Michelle. We are truly blessed.
God is always by our side . Don’t ever give up faith in God.
Clair,
I don’t know how people who don’t have faith get through life without the Lord.
Thank for sharing your story ,Lillie. It confirms our belief in God.
Thank you, Sam.
Lucky you are ok! That was a scary story and glad that everything went well in the end.
Thank you, Michael. I believe God watched over us.
Glad you made it through. It was a scary situation to be in.
Jane,
It was scary. Probably the worst thing that could have happened would have been that we stranded on a desert street at 2 AM. But I sure didn’t want that to happen!
I hope you and your husband are doing well now. I must say god must really love you and your husband Lillie. I think the angels have been sitting next to you on that day. You are very lucky. Some of us are not that lucky. All I want to say is I am very glad you are ok and thanks to god was protecting you…
Ilayda,
God loves all of His children; Jack and I aren’t special. Sometimes He answers our prayers the way we want; other times He doesn’t do what we want because it isn’t in accordance with His will. But He is always with us and will always help get through whatever hardships come our way.
very nice story Lillie…thanks…I will use it for nurturing my kids
mikiny,
I’ll be glad for you to use my experience to tell them about God’s love and protection. But it’s even better if you look within your life and your family’s lives and point out the many examples we all encounter but don’t always recognize.
I know exactly what you mean Lillie, I use my experience and experience of others to get everybody’s eyes and ears open.
That’s great, mikiny. Kids understand and learn better when they see real-life examples.
Lillie,
thanks for this story
ehab,
I’m glad to share the story of God’s protection.
Wow… that was scary. sounds like a scene from a horror film.
Wish you all the best,
Thomas
Thank you, Thomas.
So glad you got home safe, Lillie. Yes, God was indeed watching over you and hearing your prayers. It is such a blessing when prayers are answered. Take care.
Thanks, Dawn.
This is really not funny and pretty scary too. I believe in God and pray a lot; I am not surprise at all that his is watching and protecting you.
Wish you a wonderful weekend,
Mark
Mark,
It was pretty scary but “all’s well that ends well.”
I am glad that you and your husband are ok. That is right, celebrate life instead of thinking about the material things that we lost.
Nina,
God’s timing is perfect. He wasn’t ready for Jack on this occasion, but Jack’s time on earth was up a few weeks after this.
Keeping our faith into God will always keep us safe in times of dangers or lowest points of our lives. I am glad that you and your husband are safe.
Elaine,
We came through this experience safely. However, my husband died almost two weeks ago.
The story was thrilling. When panic strikes, sometimes you are out of yourself. But in God’s will, happy that you are safe. Let’s put our trust in God and have faith.
Yes, Remy, we’re always safe in God’s will.
This proves that nothing impossible to God. Pray hard it works.
Tina,
Absolutely — nothing is impossible for God!