My husband is attending an anti-terrorism class this week. Usually his police training is all about how to make an arrest without killing the suspect. This class is just on how to "take out" the bad guy.
Yesterday the officers trained with their duty weapons and live ammo, aka real bullets. Why would they do that? Well, because they were going to be shooting. The instructors strive to make the training as realistic as possible so if the officers are ever in that situation, they will have had experience in how to respond. Years ago officers were being killed because they were shooting in real-life situations the way they had been shooting in training. Something about picking up shells as they were shooting or standing in the same spot so as to easily pick up the shells when they were done. I can't remember it, Google can't find it, and hubby is currently unavailable as a reference because he is "playing" with BB guns today.
In yesterday's training session the students had to select a partner. Hubby was with two coworkers he had trained a couple of years ago. Two of them could partner up, but the third one would have to partner with another officer that my husband knows as being less than reliable. He let his coworkers partner up and selected for himself this other guy so he could keep a better eye on him. This is one of those situations where when you are first falling in love with your husband you really like that he is selfless. But when you are married to him and raising his four children, you really wish he would be a little less self-sacrificing.
Last night hubby admitted to me that he knew of a few times that this partner had pointed a loaded weapon at his face, chest, etc. Then after the session, others watching told him there were several times that this other guy had been pointing his gun at hubby's back. Not on purpose, just in lacking weapon safety or common sense.
Knowing they would be using live ammo, I prayed off and on throughout the day. I love that I felt nudged to pray and then found out that he was in harm's way several times. I prayed and my husband did not get shot. Who knows how much cause and effect was involved in it all.
A few years ago I woke up in the middle of the night, at about one a.m., and could not fall asleep again. Hubby was working that night and I felt the urge to pray for him. I prayed that God would send extra angels to go before him and follow him. The next day I found out that hubby's trainee was driving. They were responding to a call where they had to drive through a canyon. The trainee (who is no longer a police officer - at least not with hubby's department) was driving really, really fast. Like 90 miles-per-hour fast in a 50 miles-per-hour canyon with hairy turns. When was this occurring? At about one a.m.
Here is what I know about prayer:
- God tells us to pray.
- "Pray without ceasing." 1 Thessalonians 5:17
- "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." Luke 18:1
- God answers prayer.
- 1 John 5:14-15"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him."
- "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." Matthew 21:22
- "And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." John 16:23
I love it when God answers my prayers. I know He does so often and I am just not aware of it. I am confused about prayers that seem to go un-answered or are answered in a way that I did not anticipate. I know there are wonderful things that He does all the time without my asking for them. I know there are cops' wives who are right now praying for their husbands to return home safely and some won't. I don't know why. I do know that I trust Him. I know that He is sovereign.
The Bible tells us that "God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28) We don't always know what that looks like, but sometimes we get little glimpses.
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