Prayer at Midnight

Marjorie was in a sound sleep one night when she awakened with a start. She glanced at her clock. Midnight. She dropped back onto her pillow, and as she did, the name Addie Gordon came to her mind.

Realizing the Lord must be prompting her to pray for Addie, she asked, “Why should I pray for her, dear Lord? I only met her once when she was home on furlough from her missionary work in Taiwan.

Then she remembered the advice her Bible teacher had given: “When the Holy Spirit brings someone’s name to mind, pray for that person. Pray specifically if you know the need. If not, pray that the Lord will meet the person’s need.”

So Marjorie prayed until she felt peace and could go back to sleep.

Later when Addie she came home on furlough, Marjorie told her about her midnight prayer.

“When was that?” Addie asked. As they pinpointed the time, she said, “Oh, thank you! That was the time a typhoon struck Taipei, where our mission compound is. It broke the dam, and the river flooded. The river was only 200 yards from my house, and the water poured into the house. I had no way to get to higher ground—the water was about three feet high and rising too rapidly. I grabbed my Bible, opened the top part of my door and called, ‘Save me, save me!’

“A naval officer gets up because he was on his way back to the naval base. Suddenly he had a strong impression to return to the mission. He hurried back and heard me calling. He quickly got a boat and rowed me to top of the hill.”

Thank You, Lord, for those who respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings to pray.

“The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT).