God answers prayers

I've been a Christian for a long time. I've prayed daily for decades. But I remember when I was a nonbeliever and watched others pray and thought it was only a crutch.

We've all heard of the ole foxhole prayer - when you get close to the front lines, everyone is a Christian. But that wasn't my experience. I recall vividly an incident on February 21, 1991. I had just arrived at my unit before jumping off into combat in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. Our operations officer was briefing us on the upcoming fight. He showed us on the map where we expected to get gassed with Sarin - a deadly chemical agent. Sarin was known to cause a horrific death as a result of suffocation and other unpleasant side effects. He went on to describe our mission and timeline. But what was most striking to me was that after the briefing, several of the soldiers huddled up and prayed about the days to come. I walked back to my truck alone and prepared my weapons for the fight to come. And I was envious of my praying comrades because they had a sense of peace while I had only a sense of impending doom. They had a superpower that I couldn't tap into. Being 20 years old, I saw it as a sign of weakness or avoidance . But, without faith, prayer made no logical sense to me.

Flash forward a decade, I had become a believer and prayer was a routine part of my life. I prayed for others and for wisdom and peace. But I was taught not to pray for myself. I was told that God knows what I need so no need to ask Him again - He would give me what I need, not what I want. I prayed for discernment of His Word. And I prayed to be a better man, father, husband and Christian. I prayed for my sick loved ones. I prayed because I was supposed to.

But, I had never really prayed. Let me explain. Even during three subsequent years in combat as a believer, I would not pray for myself. I prayed for victory, I prayed for my troops and for my family to have peace. Yet, somehow, to pray for myself seemed contrary to my teachings. It seemed selfish.

However, with the benefit of hindsight and with the insight of the trail, I understand that I didn't pray for myself because of the most pernicious of sins - namely Pride. In my mind, praying for myself meant that I was too weak to prevail on my own. It meant that I wasn't in control. I had never really turned my life over to the control of the Almighty. I was happy to have him in the copilots seat but I couldn't give him all of the controls. I wanted him but I didn't need him.

Flash forward again. This time I was climbing the first mountain in NC after crossing the border out of Georgia. I don't recall the name of that mountain but it is notorious for its poor trail layout. Straight up with no switchbacks. I was struggling - climbing for 50 feet then catching my breath. Then climbing again - slower than before until I almost sat down. Quitting wasn't an option - no one was coming to help. If I was getting out of there I would have to do it. I was desperate - so I prayed. I prayed for me. I prayed for God to give me strength. I prayed to understand how I should climb this mountain. I waited for God's answer. I kept struggling to climb and God did not speak into my ear. I was disappointed - why wasn't He answering me - why wasn't He helping me.

Exhausted, I leaned on a tree to catch my breath. There was a mile to climb and I had only come a few hundred yards. I looked back down the hill, maybe to consider going back that way, and I saw someone.

He was a big, heavyset guy that I had seen at the bottom of the mountain. He was sitting on a log eating a snack before the climb. He had been friendly but I'd never met him. Now he was steadily climbing. Not quickly but steadily. I pressed on - maybe in an effort not to be passed by this big guy. I climbed another 50 yards and rested. I sneaked a look back down the hill. He was gaining on me and seemed unbothered by the steep climb. Like a machine - right trekking pole, left foot, left trekking pole, right foot...each moving in a slow, deliberate rhythm. Seemingly oblivious to the pain and the challenge ahead of us.

I pushed on and the cycle repeated itself for half an hour - him gaining on me all the time. Eventually, the inevitable happened and he came alongside me on the trail. He was breathing hard and sweating but moving deliberately .

I said, 'Nice pace, how do you do it?' .

He didn't pause, he kept climbing and he replied 'Heel to toe and don't stop while you're climbing'. That was it.

After he passed by, I fell in behind him. Heel to toe. Don't stop. Heel to toe. Keep climbing. I didn't catch him until I got to the top of the mountain. He was exhausted and had taken his pack off for a rest. I approached him and asked his name. His trail name was Toothless, for obvious reasons. I remember giving him a 'bro hug' (kind of a pat on the back and a semi-hug) and telling him that he had saved my butt with his simple advice. I told him that I has been praying to God for the knowledge or wisdom to climb that mountain with no Heavenly answer but he had come along instead and showed me the way. I don't know if it was the look on his face or something in my oxygen deprived mind but it was at that very moment that I learned God Does Answer Prayers! And He had answered mine. He didn't voice it in my mind - he sent Toothless (mercifully re- trailnamed Delta) as an Angel to answer my prayer.

So, the trail teaches. It taught me that I can pray for myself. Why had I not known that? Where had I learned that it was selfish to pray for myself? Jesus taught us:

My Father, Who is in Heaven...Give ME this day my daily bread...Forgive ME my debts...

Prayer is our language to the Holy Father.

Armed with this new knowledge, I began to pray frequently and to pray for myself often. I recall climbing Clingmans Dome, there was no earthly way I was going to climb 6000 feet with 40 pounds of equipment. But after an hour I started praying for God to give me the strength to keep going. And after two hours.....and after six hours. I was still climbing. Every step, trekking pole, then step, then trekking pole. All the way to the top. Without the power of this prayer, I would have laid down. But I made it because now I believed in prayer. And prayer became a superpower for me.

I still pray for my family and friends and loved ones. I pray for our leaders and I pray for peace. But, I pray for my self diligently. And my prayers are always answered. Maybe not the way I expect but they are answered the way I need.

For instance, after 3 straight days of cold spring rains in Virginia, I prayed for relief...for some mercy. I was soaked and my gear was waterlogged. I had no connectivity on my phone to call a shuttle. I prayed for just one hour of no rain so I could set up my tent and dry out. But the rain didn't stop. I was freezing, hungry and discouraged. I questioned if God was listening. But the rain didn't let up. And when some stranger showed up at a remote road crossing with an all terrain van and drove me to a motel that was nearby, I questioned the whole prayer thing. I sulked in my dry motel room while Cristina had hot food delivered to me. Why had God forsaken me!? I just asked for relief from that damn storm. I hope you get the picture. I didn't need for the rain to stop - God gave me exactly what I needed and He even sent an Angel to get me.

Flash forward again. I was hiking alone near Hog Pen Gap in Virginia. The weather was beautiful and the terrain was kind. I was strolling along and enjoying the beauty of the late Spring forest. Suddenly, I was tumbling and I woke up after an uncertain amount of time. I was laying below the trail. One of my shoulder straps was broken and my pack was torn in several areas. I did a quick assessment and gathered myself and my gear. I made a hasty repair to my pack and decided to head down the hill to get looked at and to get my gear repaired. I was well aware that my period of unconsciousness might be serious and that I needed to get to town. Once again, I didn't have connectivity and my only connection to the map was on my Far Out app - a GPS driven tool that doesn't require cell service. But it also doesn't show anything off of the trail. So, I did my best interpretation of where the nearest town was based off of some information that was on the app. I chose to head down the west side of the ridge and eventually came upon a gravel road. I was overjoyed. A gravel road should lead to a paved road and eventually to town.

So, I started walking down the hill on the gravel road (with my broken pack and my mild concussion). After 4 miles the gravel turned to pavement. Still no cell signal. I walked for five more miles (broken pack and noggin) and I saw a house. I was going to see if I could call for a shuttle but was quickly attacked by two farm dogs. I had my trekking poles so we declared a truce and I kept walking. For a couple more miles. Then I came to a fork in the road. The left fork went up a small hill and the right fork followed the stream that I had been walking beside. Time to pray! I asked God to show me the way. No answer. My gut said go up the little hill - there seemed to be more light in that direction. So, I set off up the hill. And then I heard a vehicle. I was disappointed to see it was a FedEx truck. I waved him down and said, 'I know you can't give me a ride, but can you tell which way to town?'

He was apologetic that he couldn't give me a ride but told me I was going the wrong way. He told me to go the and way and I'd run into town. So, God answered my question. And I struck off the other way. For about 2 or 3 miles with no town in sight. I was praying for the town to be over the next rise or around the next bend to no avail. Again I heard a vehicle coming up behind me. I didn't even turn around, I just through my thumb out. And the car stopped - it was an older lady and her grandson. She looked me up and down and asked, 'Are you a trail walker?' I smiled and said, 'Yes ma'am, I'm a hiker'.

'Hop in' she said. I put my pack and poles in the trunk and hopped in. We introduced ourselves and had a great chat for about 20 miles. Yes, 20 more miles to town. I would not have made it. God answered my prayer again. He didn't make town any closer to me but he sent another Angel to get me there.

Flash forward again. I was hiking through Maryland with my dear friend Tim and my Godson Bo. We had an amazing few days together and made memories that will last all of our lifetimes. But I woke up on the last day of our trek and my feet were burning with the recurring blisters that I had been fighting with. As we walked off the last mountain to Tim and Bo's pickup point, I prayed that God would fix those damn blisters so that I could continue into Pennsylvania. By the time we reached the Mason-Dixon Line it was clear that I couldn't hike any further and I arranged for Tim to drop me off in town so that I could address the blisters. My plan was to go to an urgent care and get the blisters lanced, cleaned out and taped.

Tim and Bo needed to get a ride back to their start point near WV and we reached out to several shuttle drivers until one answered. But he couldn't do it. He suggested other drivers until finally our third choice accepted. We were picked up by 'Wild'. He had hike the trail in 2020 and amazed us with his story about completing the trail in that COVID year. The conversation turned to my blisters and I was respectful but didn't want to hear his advice - I had hiked 1,000 miles and didn't need his input. But 'Wild' was persistent and I humored him by telling him where it hurt and what I had done to try to alleviate the pain. His response was direct, 'Get sock liners and use the Heal Lock shoe lace tying method'. Like a flash of lightning , I knew that he had given me the solution. Here again, God had answered my prayer. Not by whispering in my ear but by sending an Angel in the form of another person.

So, yes, God answers prayers. Not always with burning bushes or parted seas. And I don't always get what I ask for but He gives me what I need. And He gives it to me through other people. Every person that I meet can be that Angel that God sends to answer a prayer - so, I need to treat everyone like they are sent by the Lord because you never know....