On a wing and a prayer

“Pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” 1 Thessalonians 5:16

On a wing and a prayer is an old idiom actually becoming popular after a WWII movie where John Wayne portrayed a pilot losing a wing in battle and landing on prayers and one wing.

Most of us have experienced dire situations where there was nothing left to do but pray. It was totally out of our hands and there is nothing more we can do to change the inevitable without divine intervention.

Many prayers are launched from the waiting rooms in hospitals when bad news is delivered to families, but it’s in these times a bond is formed which cannot be broken when we come together in prayer. I know this to be true because years ago when Mama was recovering from back surgery, she developed pneumonia. She was quickly put on the ventilator and after about five days, we were told they were taking her off and we had to make a decision if she couldn’t breathe on her own. At that moment Daddy, my brothers and I prayed that if it was the Lord’s will, she could take a breath but we knew she would not want to go back on a ventilator.

I don’t think we give prayer enough credit and we use it sometimes as a last-ditch effort when everything else we have tried has failed. Prayer is our line of communication to God and we can go directly to Him. He never puts on hold and the call is never dropped. He cradles us in His arms during the tender moments of our lives and soothes us during the turbulent.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” We definitely felt the presence of the Lord as we all prayed for Mama, and as I prayed an overwhelming calm swept over me. She survived on a wing and a prayer because the surgeon certainly didn’t give us much hope. God is the great physician and He can heal, mend, and restore what others say cannot happen when we go to Him in prayer.