Flat Tires and Prayer

An excerpt from Do You Believe…In Changes: Flat Tires and Prayer?
By Zach Motts, Japan
October–December 2011

Some weeks ago, my wife, my daughter, and I began a trip to Colorado for three weeks of missionary training. It is a long drive from eastern Ohio to Colorado. In fact, that was the first time I had ever driven across the Mississippi River, so it seemed like a rather monumental trip to me. Also, it was the first long trip that we had taken with our daughter, who was about three months old at that time. However, we made very good time and arrived uneventfully at our destination.

Of course, if things ended there, this would be a rather boring story. The next day, we were told that our parked vehicle had a flat tire. I went out, hoping that there was some mistake, but, sure enough, the back right tire was deflated.

It took me a couple days to be thankful for that flat tire. Before we had left for Colorado, I had sent notes to ministry partners and churches asking them to pray for us as we headed out on this long trip. If that flat tire had blown somewhere along the road, I don’t think I would have seen that as God answering prayers for traveling mercies. On the other hand, with the trip being so uneventful, I almost missed God answering the prayers for safety that were prayed on our behalf. A tire that goes flat in the parking lot of your destination is one of the best possible places for that to happen. Sure, the flat was annoying, but I needed the annoyance to make me see that God had watched over us.

ACT: Visit www.wgm.org/safetravels to pray for the Motts family and other WGM missionaries who are currently traveling many miles on homeland ministry assignment.