James Banks and his wife Cari were desperate - their teenaged daughter had run away from home.
Their daughter Katie began rebelling years before, influenced by people without faith. Finally, she left home to be with her friends.
Banks and his wife searched for their daughter everywhere in their city, believing she was on the street in their crime-ridden town. For weeks, they followed up tips which led nowhere, notified the police who sent out descriptions of their daughter, and were just a step behind when there were a couple of legitimate sightings.
"Exhausted, we finally began to realize that we needed to quiet ourselves and check in with God first," writes Banks in his book The Lost Art of Praying Together.
"As we took more time just to pray and wait on God, our leads began to get better," says Banks.
On Father's Day, they decided to take a day away from the search, visit their son and pray with him for Katie, and spend the evening relaxing together. They received a call from a waitress at a diner where the family had often eaten. She had seen Katie and a few minutes later they were reunited.
"With a lot of love and hard work, Katie was soon on the road to recovery at home. And Cari and I discovered the difference praying together can make for those we love most of all."
"Our time in the crucible taught us a life lesson," Banks says. "Prayer must precede action."
He says we must "learn how to walk at God's pace if we desire to truly hear God and discern his best for our lives". This means acting on what God gives us and going no further - sometimes very tough to do.
He refers to Nehemiah, the exiled Jew who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city destroyed decades before by the Babylonians. He found hostile Arabs and others in the area, threatening the work which had been approved by the Persian king Artaxerxes.
Nehemiah's first action was to organize a prayer gathering. And it was what he did after every threat until the city walls were rebuilt.
For Nehemiah, the road to rebuilding Jerusalem involved praying, waiting on God, and acting, Banks says.
For me, this is a timely reminder that I must slow down and pray before rushing into action. What God tells me is more important than my own plans.
Their daughter Katie began rebelling years before, influenced by people without faith. Finally, she left home to be with her friends.
Banks and his wife searched for their daughter everywhere in their city, believing she was on the street in their crime-ridden town. For weeks, they followed up tips which led nowhere, notified the police who sent out descriptions of their daughter, and were just a step behind when there were a couple of legitimate sightings.
"Exhausted, we finally began to realize that we needed to quiet ourselves and check in with God first," writes Banks in his book The Lost Art of Praying Together.
"As we took more time just to pray and wait on God, our leads began to get better," says Banks.
On Father's Day, they decided to take a day away from the search, visit their son and pray with him for Katie, and spend the evening relaxing together. They received a call from a waitress at a diner where the family had often eaten. She had seen Katie and a few minutes later they were reunited.
"With a lot of love and hard work, Katie was soon on the road to recovery at home. And Cari and I discovered the difference praying together can make for those we love most of all."
"Our time in the crucible taught us a life lesson," Banks says. "Prayer must precede action."
He says we must "learn how to walk at God's pace if we desire to truly hear God and discern his best for our lives". This means acting on what God gives us and going no further - sometimes very tough to do.
He refers to Nehemiah, the exiled Jew who led a group of exiles back to Jerusalem to rebuild the city destroyed decades before by the Babylonians. He found hostile Arabs and others in the area, threatening the work which had been approved by the Persian king Artaxerxes.
Nehemiah's first action was to organize a prayer gathering. And it was what he did after every threat until the city walls were rebuilt.
For Nehemiah, the road to rebuilding Jerusalem involved praying, waiting on God, and acting, Banks says.
For me, this is a timely reminder that I must slow down and pray before rushing into action. What God tells me is more important than my own plans.
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