Years ago, I attended a powerful conference at a church in Cincinnati. The presence of Holy Spirit was almost palpable. His presence seemed to increase as the pastor touched the palms of my hands to transmit the anointing.
When I left, I had planned to go to dinner. However, I kept having the thought to go home. My husband was out of town, and I thought there was an important phone call from him on the answering machine. I’m glad I paid attention to that nudge to go home.
There was indeed a message on my answering machine, but it was from a Catholic couple I had met a couple of times on vacation in Michigan. I did not know them well at all, and they had never visited us before. They were from Chicago, and were in town just for the day. They wondered if we might be able to have dinner together. I called them and said that would be fine. I was excited, because I just knew it was going to be a divine appointment!
When they arrived, they explained that they had started having car trouble on the way to my house, and they’d had it before with their car. They could not turn off the engine, or the car would never start again. They wanted to drive home to Chicago that night. (They left the car running while they came into the house to talk with me). I knew there was a car repair place about 15 minutes away, and I said I’d follow them there. While their car was being repaired, we could go to dinner. Meanwhile, I shared with them briefly about the conference.
As it turned out, the car repair place was closed! I had been praying in the Spirit the whole time I followed them there. I kept hearing over and over to “Lay hands on the car.” That seemed very strange to me!
I told them they needed to eat, and of course, they needed to turn off the car engine. They said they just knew it wouldn’t start. I told them that, if necessary, I would drive them to a hotel for the night until the car repair place opened the next day.
All during the meal, while I was witnessing about the amazing things Jesus had done in my life, I was praying for a holy boldness to obey the Lord with the car. When we left the restaurant, I said, “This may seem strange, but I would like to pray over your car.” The woman rolled her eyes, and crossed her arms in front of her. The man looked extremely skeptical. However, they said to go ahead, but they knew it wouldn’t start. By now, it was also dark, and they were eager to get to a hotel.
While they stood off to one side at a distance, I quietly said, “Lord, I don’t know anything about cars, but I will obey you.” I had no idea where to lay my hands, so I put them on the hood. I told the Lord that He was the Miracle Worker, and He could do anything. I asked Him to allow His power to go through the car. He must have given me the gift of faith, because I truly believed it would start! Then I softly prayed in the Spirit.
Next I asked them to go ahead and get in the car, and to start the engine. The woman would not get in the car, because she knew it wouldn’t start. The man was reluctant but finally got in. The car started immediately! They both looked flabbergasted, and I reiterated that the Lord could do anything. I was overjoyed to play a part in building their faith.
They drove all the way to Chicago, and had no more problems with their car. It ran for years, without any problems, and they told all their friends about what happened. God is good, and He speaks today!