PRAYER ACROSS AMERICA 2000
Almighty God,
Please remember my new sister Lisa from Bainbridge Island, Washington who recently converted from being an atheist to being a Christian. She writes: “Thanks for sending a postcard to us asking us to send you a prayer. I’m so glad I got to share my experience with you!” She prayed:
“Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank you so much for helping me see your light and becoming a Christian. Now I have a reason to live and I know you are always with me helping me through good times and bad...”
Please remember my brother Jim Simon and his family form Littleton Colorado who wrote: “We have kept you always in our prayers, asking Almighty God to watch over, protect and bless each mile of your journey...”
Please remember my sister Mary from Ishpeming, Michigan who writes: “I am praying for your cross country bicycle trip in memory of the martyrs at Columbine. I praise God for the courage of the Columbine Christians and for your loving testimony of love as you travel.” She also prays for her book writing ministry-books waiting to be published that will lead others to salvation through faith in Christ and to success in becoming more like Christ.
Please remember my brother Bruce Vanderhoff from Seattle, Washington who often wishes he were pedaling with me. In these moments he prays for me and is with me in Spirit.
Please remember by brother Paul Hargreaves from North Brookfield, Massachusetts. Please fulfill the dream you gave him to bicycle across America again with me when he retires. May we also reach Trinity Peak together.
Please remember by sister Dixie from Logansport, Indiana who prays,
“Dear Lord,
So far today I’ve done all right...But in a few short minutes I’m going to get out of bed, and from then on, I’m probably going to need a lot of help...She also prays for all her family to be saved so they may serve you. She asks for all her children and grandchildren to find spouses who share the same Christian commitment. She asks for help to sell their business so they can start their ministry, Lighthouse of Logansport. Please send healing and love through their lives to everyone they know. Bless them with health, joy and peace.” Dixie writes: “I really felt God planned our visit because I had just read Cassie Bernall’s tract, from Good News Publishers, ten minutes before you came...” (We were total strangers before we met).
Please remember my friends from Sudbury, Ontario who prayed:
“May our lives be as red hot for you as Sudbury’s fiery slag! (Rev. 3:15). We thank you, Lord, for the enduring testimony of Cassie Bernall and we ask for you blessing and protection on our brother Mac each day as he lives and rides for You...”
Please remember my sister Helen Gray from Swan Valley, Montana who puts me last on her prayer list because Jesus taught that “some are last who will be first..” and because she likes to have something uplifting to pray for when they close their prayers.
Please remember my sister Pat from Swan Lake, Montana who was reading Romans 10:1-15, “...how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news...” when she sent her prayer. May we walk everywhere with a desire to reach others for Christ.
Please remember my home church in Indianola, Washington. They pray for ....”our nation and leaders- that we will turn to God...that all children will have a godly person to guide them...that everyone will do God’s will and say no to ungodly and immoral behavior...that my trip will be full of joy and that Sandra’s journey to join me for our 20th wedding anniversary will be wonderful...that the Lord will purify his people in his presence...for young people to escape the traps of drugs, sex and alcohol...that young people will grow in faith...One person shares a promise from scripture, (Joel 2:25), “I will restore to you the years....”
Please remember my brother Allen from Indianola, Washington who is headed for more training in the Navy. Thank you for continuing to work in his life.
Please remember my mother, Margaret Thwing, from Stanwood, Washington who prays: “Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for my son, Brother Mac, who is a faithful and sincere witness for Jesus Christ. Please bless and keep him safe as he is traveling across our great country...”
Please remember my brother Albert Skinner from Mobridge, South Dakota, who prays: “...that Christians of America live such a life that the rest can see that we are different and the difference is truth, and that we live the truth....that Christians please take a stand for Jesus!”
Please remember by sister Linda from West End, New Jersey who prays that all hearts everywhere be touched and influenced by the goodness of the kingdom of heaven and that my journey be filled with the spirit of Christ.
A prayer of Brother Mac from Three Eagles Mt., Montana: “Almighty God, I bow before your throne which is eternal...What beauty you have made! I see majestic peaks to the north in Glacier National Park. Far below me is a deep, blue lake, surrounded by snowfields...Black Hawk Mountain above that. A few white clouds are building in a mostly blue sky. To my surprise and delight a mountain goat has wandered up nearby, amidst pretty little flowers; white, purple, and yellow, scattered everywhere I would least expect them.
Thank you for this day. I just ask for a new spirit of self sacrifice and faith in Jesus Christ. Let you Holy Spirit sweep this land and purify your people for the day of your return. May we speak the truth of your gospel with courageous boldness in honor of the martyrs of Columbine and the martyrs how have faithfully stood for your truth down through the ages. May those who have lost loved ones find shelter in the shadow of your wings. Be their great refuge and strength. Lead me to be a blessing to them.
Please remember my brother from Hope, Idaho who writes: “My prayer is for the teens in America. they are at many crossroads in their life...may they follow the way of Jesus’ cross at each intersection and clearly see the path...”
We remember Brian Andrew Schlientz, from Harvey, Michigan, a dearly loved teenager who died in 1995 of brain cancer. On the day he died these were the words from his daily devotional reading by Max Lucado, March 25th:
“Final acts. Final hours. Final words. They reflect a life well lives. So do the words of our Master. When on the edge of death, Jesus too got his house in order: A final prayer of forgiveness. A plea honored...Jesus said, ‘Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing...’ Jesus answered his fellow victim, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise...”
Please remember Brian’s parents, Don and Dort who invited me in for breakfast and told me about Brian while we watched a beautiful sunrise over Lake Superior. They said Brian loved eagles because eagles reminded him of a promise from scripture: Isaiah 40:31, “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up on wings as eagles...” This is symbolic of resurrection and the rapture of believers when Christ returns. They said God often sends eagles their way when they especially miss Brian. I told them how I take a prayer journey to Three Eagles Mt. each year, showing them the picture of Three Eagles Mt. on the front of my Prayer Across America postcards. We sensed your presence in a special way that morning.
A prayer of Brother Mac from Mt. Grace, Massachusetts: “Almighty God, This is the day that you have made. Thank you for bringing me here with Paul Hargreaves and his dog, Abby. As I fly a banner of the Lord from a fire tower on top of this mountain, I pray for the youth of America, that you would send revival and turn many hearts to the Lord...Prepare the way of the Lord!”
Please remember Paul’s parents of West Brookfield, Massachusetts who have always opened up their hearts and home to me, like a home away from home. Gwendolyn prays: “Dear God, In time of tragedy we all need to be spiritually uplifted. Thank you God for those that believe in you and meet this need. Your word, spoken through concerned people, reassures us that you are a God that loves us and will meet our emotional needs. May all the people who experienced great sorrow from the Columbine High School shootings know your love.”
A prayer from Brother Mac after seeing a billboard advertising casino gambling:
“In the name of Jesus, I rebuke the spirit of deceptive riches and ask the spirit of true riches of the Holy Spirit’s wisdom to sweep this land!”
Please remember my sister Trina from Erie, Pennsylvania whom I met outside of Rite Aid Pharmacy where she had applied for a job. She has a deep concern for inner city kids and a five year old son that she is trying to raise on her own. She is trusting you to lead her so that her career and life will bring blessing to others and count for your kingdom’s sake. Please help.
Please remember my sister Vonnie from Mt. Ayr, Iowa who prayed for my safety and thanked me for stopping to celebrate her dad’s 91st birthday.
Please remember my brother John from Littleton, Colorado who wants to be set free. He writes: “It was encouraging this weekend talking with you and observing your interaction with the teens at Jim Simon’s house. God bless you and keep you continually.”
Please remember my brother Gary Morton, pastor in Swan Valley, Montana who prays for me concerning participation in men’s ministry.
Please remember my great aunt, Helen Louise Thwing form Seattle, Washington who sent an anniversary prayer that our day (20th wedding anniversary) would be filled with joy.
Please remember my dear sister from West Fargo, North Dakota who stopped her car beside the road (near Detroit Lakes, Minn.) when you told her to give me a donation. She also said, “There’s a big angel watching out for you, buddy!” And eight hours later my life was spared from a tornado that struck one quarter of a mile away from me as I rode into Staples, Minnesota on July 8th. Her prayer is: We praise you God for your power/We praise you for you spirit/We praise you God, the only One./We know that we will hear it./We thank you for our lives on earth/And for our country’s freedom./But mostly for eternal life/In your coming Kingdom.
Please remember my brother, Pastor Nethers, from Carey, Ohio who writes, “Thank you very much for coming our way. ‘The steps of a righteous one are ordered of the Lord.’ God bless you and continue to use you for His glory!”
Please remember my brother Steve Moore and his family of Carey, Ohio who writes, “Sandra,...We were very blessed to have Tom visit us...we so dearly wish to meet the other part of Tom’s life. As he shared during his ministry last Sunday morning his love for you is so clear and vivid, I feel we know you already...My encounter with one of God’s angels last Saturday has served to invigorate me and my walk and certainly instilled much into my family that will stay with each of us always.”
Please remember my brother, Michael Mikulenka, of Knight of Light Productions, a photo journalist and poet(we met near Rock Springs, Wyoming) who shared with me a poem about his beloved daughter, Brittany, whom I also met and pray a blessing upon also. He writes in dedication to this poem, entitled, “A Rose I Found,” that the poem is dedicated to all believers in Jesus,”....whether the glory of your hair is that youthful curl, or the silver strands of God ‘s good gift of years, whether you are a man or a helpmate, whatever you are in this world, you will return to that new Creation filled with His purest innocence...” I will never forget two lines of the poem: “A rose I found on a desert plain...and in her smile was innocence...” I love it! Dear Lord, may a hunger for the innocence of Jesus sweep this land and captivate many hearts so that we will really treasure the salvation you won for us.
Please remember Rachel Scott’s family and Dana Scott who writes: “What you are doing is awesome! Picking up the torch that Cassie and my sister dropped...I commend you and encourage you just as you have inspired many and encouraged us. Thank you...God bless you richly!” Here is Dana’s prayer: “Thank you so much, dear Lord, for not allowing my sister Rachel Joy Scott’s death and others like Cassie and John, to have died in vain. Thank you for your continual love toward us. Thank you for starting a holy rebellion across this country where we have an amazing opportunity to carry the torch of your unconditional love and sovereignty. Thank you Jesus! In your name, Love, Dana Scott.
Please remember my sister Sallie from Erie, Pennsylvania who wrote a prayer while the song that Michael W. Smith wrote about Cassie, “This is Your Time,” was playing on the radio. She writes: “Here is a prayer for the Bernall family: May God continue to give you strength, peace and love in your daily lives. You may never know me, but I read your book and think of you and Cassie often. My tears, too, are often hidden behind my smiles. God Bless You, with love, Sallie Mitchell.”
Please remember Cassie Bernall’s family. You know how it has become my dream to meet them and give them on Your behalf and Cassie’s. You also know that I wondered if they would want a half crazy bicyclist like me to visit them (you see it’s not crazy anymore to bicycle across America. A lot of sane people do that. But it is crazy to bicycle across America and back in a summer-that half is crazy!) So when I got to Littleton I stayed with my friend Jim Simon and his family and was fascinated to hear about his recent mission to the Sudan. Jim invited me to a men’s prayer breakfast and then I went to bicycle up Mt. Evans. A funny thing happened. I fell asleep in a creek. When I woke up I began to pray. Suddenly it dawned on me that maybe You had something else for me to do that day. So I turned around and headed back to Jim Simon’s house. Meanwhile, Jim was getting ready to speak that evening at a college fellowship group. On his way to church he glanced across the multiple lane highway and said to his daughter, Kelley, “There’s Tom!” He called his wife, Jancy, so she would be expecting me. But I never showed up.
I was almost to Jim’s house when I stopped to talk to three teenagers beside the road. One of them was pointing a long tool with a claw on the end of it at passing cars, like he was shooting at them. After they became interested in my story, I gave them Cassie tracts, took their picture and right then two security guards pulled up. They sent the teenagers away and then they became interested in my story. As I was telling them about the big angel that had saved me from a tornado, a truck pulled off the road. Two men got out. One of them was an FBI agent. At first, I did not notice the men because I was busy talking to the security guards, that is, until I heard one of the men ask, “Are you Brother Mac?”
I said, “Yes,” wondering who knew about me in Denver.
He said, “I am Brad Bernall.”
“Brad Bernall!” I shouted, turning to the security guards with my arms wide open, ready to hug everyone in sight. “Here is the father of the girl I have been riding for. I have always wanted to meet him and here he is!”
Brad turned to the FBI agent and said, “John Dudley, weren’t we just talking about miracles?”
Why is that miracles seem to happen when you’re around? I’ve got to bring you with me more often.” So Brad invited me over for dinner-Misty said it was a miracle that she had already made a big dinner. They had just moved to their new home one week before this! I had unknowingly bicycled right into their new neighborhood.
Lord, everything you do is so beautiful! Sandra flew to Denver the next day for our 20th anniversary. The Simon’s went hiking with us and hosted a barbeque as Kelley filled their home with teenagers who listened intently as I shared what You have done. The Bernalls put us up in the best hotel this bicyclist had ever been in, hoping Sandra and I would have a nice romantic time to ourselves. We did. Everything was very special. They wrote: “It was wonderful to meet both of you... We pray Tom has a safe journey home. Love, The Bernalls”