And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
—Isaiah 65:24
It was my freshman year in college and we were a car-load of excited young people heading out on a trip to attend a wedding of a close friend. We had a late start because some of our fellow students had to work or attend classes till late in the day. Now nightfall had come and we were just starting the most isolated section of our trip, a section which traversed Kootenay National Park in south eastern British Columbia.
The October storms had already produced snow in the higher elevations, while in the valleys rain and frost were prevalent. A cold crisp night with clear skies and brilliant stars made traveling through this section an exciting adventure.
As we were ascending the summit of one of the higher sections of the highway, we felt the car veer and swerve around as we hit the patch of “black ice”. Moments later, we were off the road and high centered in the ditch. Quickly we jumped out and tried to push our vehicle back up unto the roadway, but it was of no use. We were definitely stuck and there was no way we could get out on our own.
Cell phones were yet available, and even if they had been it would have been doubtful if this area would have had coverage. We were at least ten to fifteen miles from the well-traveled Trans Canada Highway that we had exited earlier, and we hadn’t met another vehicle traveling this road. It was at least forty more miles to the next town, and we knew that little if any traffic would be traveling this highway late at night. What were we to do?
As we talked it over one of the group suggested, “Why don’t we pray and see what God will do?”
Heartily we all agreed, and together we bowed our heads and each of us asked God to send help. One of our group even asked that God send someone with a rope, since we didn’t have one.
As we said “Amen”, we opened the car door so one of the fellows could be out to wave down any approaching vehicle if one might happen to come along. Almost immediately he yelled, “Here comes someone.” Soon we to could hear the hum of a truck engine as it worked its way up the grade and slowed down behind our car.
“You need some help?” asked the driver. We most certainly did, and what was even more satisfying was the fact he had plenty of chain to hook on to our car for pulling us back into the road.
Within a few minutes, we were once again traveling toward our destination. Now we were all thanking God for his answers to our prayers, and singing together because of our joy and relief. We became even more impressed with what God had done as we never met another car on that highway for fifty miles! Indeed God had heard and answered our prayers even before we had started praying!