The Power of Prayer On A BART Train
Prayer is a very powerful thing, often more powerful than we realize. On Thursday, May 7 1998, I had an unusual experience where I was permitted to observe the power/effectiveness of the prayers of two intercessors who I did not know personally. It was the national day of prayer, which sort of snug up on me that year and I had not gotten linked in to any of the intercessory activities that day.
I had gone to work really early that day and was coming home earlier than usual because I had a ministry obligation that evening. Perhaps it was the time of day, but BART (the SF equivalent of a subway) was quite a bit more crowded than usual. I get on at the Montgomery Street station, so typically when the train is crowded, there is "standing room only" by the time it reaches this station. This day, there was barely enough room to pack everyone in (like sardines). I was one of the standers and was jammed in with other standers, literally pressed on all sides. If anyone shifted their weight even a tad, it effected pretty much everyone who was standing anywhere in the vicinity. Typically when the BART is that crowded, the mood and spirit on the train is quite strained. Yet there was a delightful spirit here -- folks were smiling at each other (people don't normally make eye contact with each other on the BART) and nodding and even a bit of polite small talk. Not a single person was complaining or shoving or "defending their space" -- all of which are common behaviors when the train is really crowded.
Not only was there a sweet spirit among the folks, but I could sense the Lord's presence in a tangible way. I was surprised by that, so I silently asked Him why His presence was so strong on the train. He pointed out two women to me, both in their early twenties. He told me that they were both intercessors and that they were riding the BART today merely to pray, to intercede and invite His presence. He showed me that they were praying for a release of His spirit and His presence and His blessing, that the Lord would break off bondages and oppressions and open people's ears to truly hear the Good News of the gospel. I found myself silently joining in that prayer.
About then, one of the two ladies that the Lord had pointed out to me smiled at me and nodded. I asked the Lord if she knew I was praying too and He said "Yes, I told her."
I wanted to say something to her on my way off the train, but it was too crowded to be able to maneuver next to her and still make my exit in time. So I got off without being able to talk to her. There was such a strong sense of God's presence on the BART that day. It was awesome. I was so amazed and pleased and blessed at the power and effectiveness of the prayers of two intercessors. Their intercession literally transformed the atmosphere on the BART (subway) that day.
Yet, there was a part of me that wondered if God really pointed these women out to me and told me that they were intercessors, or had it been my imagination? Typically I am pretty good at hearing God's voice, but sometimes I do wonder. So I asked God to please confirm it to me if that really had been Him.
That was a very busy month for me, so I did not give this BART experience much more thought. About two weeks later a friend sent me an e-mail that detailed the intercession activities that happened around the area on the National Day of Prayer. YWAM had organized a campaign where they had intercessors riding every Mini (bus) and BART (subway) line, praying blessings and interceding. As I read that post, God whispered in my ear, "See, here is that confirmation you asked Me for 2 weeks ago. They really were My intercessors on the BART that day."
Wow, prayer is so powerful! God is so awesome! Their prayers were so powerful that I could easily observe the effect of them.
Experiencing the Benefits of Intercessory Prayer
This testimony happened when I still worked a secular job in addition to my ministry job to help "pay the bills." This happened in May of 2000. At that time, I worked in San Francisco's financial district, and I commuted there by BART. Since parking was a premium, I often parked in a very bad neighborhood in Oakland about a mile from the BART station and walked to the station to catch the train. I always tried to return home before dark because the walk to my car became quite dangerous after dark. It's not always safe during daylight -- I have been mugged once (my purse stolen) and attacked by a teenage gang once.. only two serious incidents in six years of commuting. But after dark, the commute is noticeably less safe.
When I arrived at work that Tuesday morning, I had no idea I would be working so late. I was busy with an interesting technical problem and lost track of time. The next thing I knew, it was after 10:00 PM, and I was already into the unsafe commute times. So I threw up a prayer, asking God to grant me protection. There'd been some bad incidents on BART late at night recently, and someone had been mugged the night before. In fact, the day before, my own car had been vandalized... sigh.
Suddenly I was strongly impressed that this potentially dangerous commute home was a "setup from the enemy" and that he'd laid a hurtful snare for me. I was not sure what to do. I tried calling my husband to come and get me, but he was unreachable. He was not at home or at his work. So I tried praying again, asking God to protect me, and I started out the door.
Suddenly I had an auditory vision. I am not sure whether I heard this in my "mind's ear" or if I heard it audibly. But I heard one of my intercessors, a female, praying for me. She told God that the enemy had laid a physically dangerous snare for me, hoping to hurt me severely. She asked Him to protect me and then asked God to alert me to that fact and to impress me to take a taxi instead of doing my normal commute on public transit.
I was startled. I have never heard someone's prayers for me. It really got my attention!
A taxi! I would have never thought of that in a million years. There was a taxi station only two blocks from my office and I could take it to my parked car in the bad part of West Oakland. I knew it would be expensive, but hearing someone else's prayers had really gotten my attention. (That sort of thing doesn't happen every day!)
So I went to the taxi stand and took a taxi to my car. To my surprise, it was only $22.00. I expected it would be quite a bit more expensive than that. I arrived at my car safely and uneventfully and drove it home.
I believe I heard a real prayer of a real intercessor in this "auditory vision." The next day one of my intercessors from the UK contacted me and told me that God had impressed her that I was in danger and she found herself praying that God would send me safely home in a taxi. (I was pleased to report to her that God had in fact let me hear her prayer and I had taken a taxi home that night.)
That was quite an experience for me. God literally opened my ears to hear another's prayer for me, and that prayer contained direction to get me home safely in a potentially dangerous situation.
God is amazing, isn't He!
Here is an aside about taxi prices. They were supposed to be raised earlier that month (almost doubling in price), but something happened to postpone the fare hike, and the prices whet up four days after this incident. I suspect God had something to do with delaying the rate hike until after this incident.
Intercessors, you never know how God is going to use and answer your prayers. They can be more powerful and impacting than you realize.
[Previous Article] [Next Article]