August
10, 2008
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Action
Required: Six Simple Prayers Everyone Should
Know
An
airliner was bound for New York City. The flight was routine
until the pilot began the descent. Then he realizes that the
landing gear would not engage. Working the controls back and
forth, he tried again and again to lock the gear into place.
No success. He circled the landing field, getting
instructions from the control tower. Airport personnel
sprayed the runway with foam as fire trucks and other
emergency vehicles moved into position. Disaster was only
minutes away.
The passengers were told of each maneuver in that calm,
cheery voice pilots manage to use at times like this. Flight
attendants moved about the cabin with cool reserve.
Passengers were told to place their heads between their knees
and grab their ankles just before impact. It was one of those
“I-can’t-believe-this-ishappening-to-me
experiences.” There were tears, no doubt, and a few
screams of despair. With the landing only seconds away the
pilot announced over the intercom:
We
are beginning our final descent. At this moment, in
accordance with International Aviation Codes established at
Geneva, it is my obligation to inform you that if you believe
in God you should commence prayer. The belly landing was
pulled off without a single injury. In fact, when a relative
of one of the passengers called the airline the next day to
ask about the prayer rule, the airline was back to cool
reserve, and responded, “No comment.”
Chuck
Swindoll tells this story and then says, “Amazing. The
only thing that brought out into the open a deep-down
“secret rule” was crisis. Pushed to the brink,
back to the wall, right up to the wire, all escape routes
closed ... only then does our society crack open a hint of
recognition that God just might be there and— “if
you believe...you should commence to pray.”
[Charles
R. Swindoll, “Growing Strong in the Seasons of
Life” (Portland, Ore: Multnomah Press, 1983),
273].
Worship folder
Sermon outline
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NORTH RALEIGH CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE
9200
Strickland Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27615
919.870.1141 Phone
919.870.1447 Fax
web@nrnazarene.org