Recently Charles and Kathy Starr sent me a story of a young man serving as warrior in the Iraq conflict.He was giving testimony to the miraculous protection of God on his and hiscompany’s life. They had not experienced the usual brutalities of war, they hadnot witnessed a single person being killed, nor had they even seen a dead body,even though they had encountered the usual wartime dangers. Their companyremained free of harm because their church was giving them a prayer covering.

One day, that all changed.The protection seemed to lift, from losing soldiers to running short onsupplies to just an over-all sense of being unprotected. What had once been athick wall of protection on Leslie Gerald King, Sergeant US Army, had quicklylifted. 

Eventually, a call was madehome to discover that on the day that the God protection seemed to lift,pictures of service people were taken off the prayer board at the church athome. In short, people who had been praying for their protection had quit orslowed their praying. 

I am reminded and prompted,so the goal of the article is accomplished. Prayer matters. Prayer somehow hasan effect on God and those toward whom prayers are directed. Sergeant King goeson to write that when the pictures were put back up and the praying resumed, sodid the extraordinary protection. 

Such a simple reminder. Let’sbe a prayer covering for someone. It matters, it counts, God listens, Godmoves. Psalms 91 is a great passage to work from as you pray for those who arein harm’s way. Whether they battle in a war overseas or battle at home againstother kinds of demons, God seeks to be invited to do what He does best, rescueand protect. For whom am I praying prayers of protection?

Psalms 91:1-7 NKJV

He who dwells in thesecret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Iwill say of the Lord, “He is myrefuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of thefowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers,and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield andbuckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow thatflies by day, nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of thedestruction that lays waste at noon-day. A thousand may fall at your side, andten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you.