{"id":559,"date":"2015-03-04T00:19:27","date_gmt":"2015-03-04T05:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/randy-smyth\/?p=559"},"modified":"2015-04-27T10:04:50","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T15:04:50","slug":"prayer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ethnos360.org\/randy-smyth\/prayer\/","title":{"rendered":"Purposeful Prayer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tribesmen\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Hey, Randy! We just got a call for a medical evacuation.” The flight coordinator\u00a0told me the location.<\/p>\n

A bunch of thoughts ran through my mind about the nature of the emergency, the urgency of the injury, weather conditions, the amount of fuel in the aircraft, the duration of daylight remaining, the known airstrip condition and what I might find at the destination.<\/p>\n

“How soon can you get there?” I quickly calculated flight times and the required fuel. I gave him an ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival). “Lord, please keep the weather open along the way and give me wisdom in the decisions.”<\/p>\n

Flying over the beautiful peaks and valleys of the mountainous terrain, my destination appeared\u00a0next to a group\u00a0of grass huts\u00a0as a<\/span>\u00a0smooth sloped\u00a0<\/span>patch of grassy green carved out of the side of a rugged mountain. The water gushed through the deep river\u00a0<\/span>valley below. I could see no sign of conflict on the ground. “Lord, please help me to see what I need to see. Give good judgment and safety in landing.”<\/p>\n

The steep\u00a0runway appeared clear of people, dogs, chickens, logs and any obvious\u00a0soil erosion. I turned to final approach over the river and landed up the hill. I had to add power to taxi up the 10% slope\u00a0to the parking bay.<\/p>\n

I shut off the engine, climbed out of the aircraft and began preparing the cabin. Should we use a back board to load him into the aircraft? Is he able to walk or is he unconscious? How should I configure the cabin? There would be a guardian. Would a nurse be coming, too?<\/p>\n

As I\u00a0walked over to the patient I\u00a0quickly realized there was a transportation problem. The patient had a five foot long arrow protruding about two feet from both the front and the back of his chest. He could not lay on his back. \u00a0Laying on his side, the long arrow would prevent the cargo door from closing. He could not sit up in the aircraft and lean against the back of the seat. “Lord, please give wisdom and direction.” “What should I do?”<\/p>\n

This is a story about something that happened years ago but I have lived there long enough to know that my co-workers continue to face similarly challenging circumstances. As they pray through their circumstances they would appreciate your prayer for them.<\/p>\n

\"Mudman\"<\/a>It has been said that the only step you can take by faith is the next step.\u00a0Walking by faith has many faces but only one adequate object.\u00a0We place our faith in God while we walk by faith through\u00a0our circumstances.<\/p>\n

Elizabeth Elliot wrote, “\u201cFaith does not eliminate questions. But faith knows where to take them.\u201d (A Chance to Die)<\/p>\n

Missionaries often face decisions during a day which affect the physical and spiritual well-being of the people they serve. Sometimes those are life and death decisions. Occasionally\u00a0it is to diffuse a volatile situation. Once in a while\u00a0it is stopping the flow of someone’s life blood while calling for medical help. In each of those decisions they need to turn to the Lord to give\u00a0wisdom and to breathe life in their decisions. When they ask you to pray it is not a casual thing. It’s not one of those type of things where you say, “Oh, yeah! Call me someday when you get a chance!”<\/p>\n

There are many\u00a0situations which brought us to our knees for our co-workers.<\/p>\n