A Rock Called Giant Killer

A Rock Called Giant Killer

by Betty Malz

Transcribed from the original recording; may contain errors.

The stories you are about to hear are true. The names have not been changed to protect the guilty, namely me. I’m a survivor. I’m going to talk about survival. Did you say yes this morning? Do you know anything that you do 35 times becomes a habit? If you will do this for a month, you will have started a good habit that will change your life. I want to talk about survival. I’m a survivor. I was born during the Great Depression. The year was 1929. My father was a pioneer pastor of nine small churches. He not only preached, but he built with concrete blocks nine small churches. I had five children in the family, four brothers. I have been thrown from two wild horses. I had a ruptured appendix for 11 days, was in a coma 44 days, died for 28 minutes. I survived a tornado in Indiana, a cyclone in Dallas, a hurricane in Florida. I survived spinal surgery. They took an English walnut-sized tumor out of my spinal column and said I probably would never walk again. I laid for two months looking at the ceiling, wondering if I would ever walk. I did three miles this morning at 6:30. I had throat surgery.

I started getting choked easily and couldn’t swallow. They found five nodes on my voice box. I went to the Houston Medical Center where they removed two large nodes and three small ones. And the doctor explained you may never talk again. It was right on the voice box. I promised myself that if I could never speak again, I would write ten books to declare the glory of God and His faithfulness to me. Book number ten I brought with me just to show to you God’s faithfulness when you determine to serve Him with a whole heart. I’m a survivor. Right after my death experience, my husband went into Gainesville to J. Hillis Miller for heart surgery. He lived for five and a half weeks. On the morning that I went to pick him up to take him home, my daughter and I found him dead in bed. The nurses didn’t even know he was gone. I was pregnant for our second baby when he died four months later, alone. I had our second child. It was stormy and it was rough. I survived for six years with two small daughters on Social Security and bouillon cubes. After dating five men in six years, there’s a lot of bums out there, girls. I finally determined to quit gawking and window shopping and if God had somebody for me, He would have to show me.

I was doing a Daily Vacation Bible School and I didn’t want to do this. They asked me and I said, “No, there’s no future. I’ll teach the men’s Bible class.” And the man that invited me says, “You’re not real smart, Betty. Don’t you know that every little girl has an uncle or a father or a grandfather?” One of the little girls in the room at the end of a session said, “I told Dad I’d run away if he ever got married again when my mother died, but I’d like to have you for my mother.” And she introduced me to her dad and nine months later we got married. Be good to those little girls. When I stood at the altar and said I do to Carl, I became a bride, a wife, a pastor’s wife. I became a mother, a grandmother, a mother-in-law, a stepmother. And now my initials are BM. I’m a survivor.

I want to talk about survival this morning. I’ve been through a lot, but I have learned some practical things, and I want to pass them on to you. Seven things necessary to survival. Health. Humor. Relationships. Prayer. Simplicity. The hope of His coming. And the Word. Now take good care of your health. God works miracles and He is still the healer. But you’ve got to do your homework. Breathe deep. Sleep cool. Eat light. Walk. Drink lots of water. Get plenty of sleep. Last night I was in bed by 9:30. That’s why I can keep going. I get plenty of sleep. I want to talk just a little bit about the fact that you can be replaced. And I’m telling you, the stories are true. I was living in Springfield, Missouri as a house mother at Central Bible College. I developed a wonderful friendship with an employee, a young woman at the Gospel Publishing House. She took a headache one evening and died in her sleep with a brain hemorrhage. It was very sudden. She and her husband really cared very much for each other and we thought he would never survive. We went to her funeral on Thursday afternoon at 2 o’clock. On Sunday afternoon he called a lady and took her out. Now that’s pretty quick, ladies.

He’s from Thursday to Sunday. He had his first date. And the moral of the story is you can be replaced. So take good care of your health. I spoke at graduation at Zion Bible College a couple of springs ago. I was sitting at the speaker’s table and Jack and Roberta Mitchell, our teachers on the staff there, both are college professors, and they leaned over and they said, “Wasn’t that awful about so-and-so and so-and-so?” We were shocked. And so Roberta leaned over to Jack and she says, “Jack, honey, if I die, are you ever going to get married again?” He says, “Oh, Bert, I probably eventually will. You know, I never did like to go to funerals alone.”

Now everybody laughed. But the moral of the story is, ladies and gentlemen, take good care of yourself. Do your homework because you can be replaced. My next point is a sense of humor is so, so essential to survival. My husband is a family and marriage counselor. He said, over and over again, an intelligent businessman or minister or professional will leave a super-duper intellectual spiritual woman and run off with an airhead. Do you know why? The last thing a man needs after a hard day’s work is a weepy woman. And the last thing a woman needs at the end of a day of wiping little runny noses and small behinds is a technical legal eagle who comes in the door blowing the whistle like a referee, calling the fouls instead of playing the game. Now, if you have a tendency to be a technical legal eagle or a super-duper spiritual intellectual woman, relax a little. Have some fun. If you had been that weepy and that technical during your dating, your mate would never have said yes. We actually need to learn to have fun together. Do you know Elijah was depressed and wanted to die? And it was not spiritual. After he had some food and some sleep, he rose up and not only had more miracles in his life, but he trained Elisha that took his place.

I want to talk a little bit about humor. I worked at Trinity College and Central Bible College. Both of these colleges, the average age of their students was the age of 20 years old. Now I’m working in Florida with senior sits. The average age in Pinellas County, 72. I took the same poll and survey at two colleges that I took last year with a group of senior citizens. And I asked them, whether it’s your first marriage or your next one, I would like you on this sheet to tell me, numbering one through six, which you think is most important in a mate that you will choose. Looks, religion, age, money, education, or sense of humor. 68% put a sense of humor as number one, essential, in the mate that they were looking for. Do you know why? Long after your figure has increased and your hair has decreased, and when your wrinkles appear, your sense of humor, the candle, the spirit of a man is the candle of the Lord. The spirit of a person, their sense of humor, their touch with God, the Holy Spirit. Those are the things, the real world. Touching the unseen world. The real world is the invisible world. These are the things that are not temporary, but are permanent.

And joy is the undeniable sign of the presence of God. I love the scripture in Colossians. Colossians 1:11, “Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, with joyfulness.” I interviewed a psychiatrist in Jamestown, North Dakota. He said, “A patient is not hopeless that we can induce to laugh aloud or at least hum or sing. We need to work on our sense of humor to survive and to make life pleasant for other people.” And my grandmother had a wonderful philosophy. She said, “If you are depressed, hurry, quick, give something away.” It works. Every time you went to her house, when you left, she gave you something. It may be a leftover piece of pie, some cookies, some flower seeds. One day, I turned down the lane and was hurrying home. And I saw her coming behind the car, running like crazy. And I put on the brake. And when she came to the window, she said, “I didn’t give you anything.” So she took off her apron and threw it in the window. Well, I didn’t need that mantle. But I said, “Mom Perky, why are you so good? You make me feel miserable by comparison. Why do you…” “Oh,” she says, “I’m not good. I’m selfish. The reason I do that is because when I’m depressed, if I give something away, the depression goes away.”

Try it. You’ll like it. Sense of humor. Now, I have learned to develop a sense of humor. If I didn’t have one, I would have quit traveling a long time ago. I could write a whole book on bloopers. I have to tell you about a sense of humor coupled with prayer. I left the house to drive to the Minneapolis airport to catch a flight. My husband put his arm around me and said, “Lord, make Betty a blessing to someone today.” I quick went to the telephone and I said, “Rosemary, I must tell you where I’m headed. I am going to Minneapolis to the airport where I will fly on to Canada. I am the banquet speaker for the National Booksellers Convention this year. Isn’t that wonderful?” She said, “I’m going to pray for you. I think you’re on an ego trip.” Well, I thought because she’s a writer too, she would be thankful and rejoice with me. Instead, she was jealous because I had been chosen to speak at the Booksellers Convention. On the way, it began to snow and sleet a little bit and I had to slow down. I stopped in a clothing store. I actually, at this point, when we were working at the Bible School, did not have anything that made me appear as a successful writer to wear on that plane.

So I stopped and I bought a brown velvet pantsuit and a beautiful blue taffeta blouse. I just wished I had had time to wash that blue taffeta blouse. You know how taffeta rustles and makes noise and it made a lot of noise. Well, when I got to the airport after the freezing rain, I was late. I rushed up with my briefcase and my carry-on up to the ticket agent. He says, “Lady, you’re going to have a coronary. Relax.” He said, “You’ll be relieved to know that all the flights are late. You did not miss your flight.” I thought, “Oh, Lord, here’s my grand opportunity to be really somebody and I’ve missed my plane. They will let someone else take my place.” I hadn’t missed my flight. And when he said relieved, it dawned on me how long I had been on the highway. So I went through the door marked women to relieve myself. And as I came out, I looked in the mirror and I did look like a successful writer. But that noisy taffeta blouse, I just wished I had washed that taffeta blouse. Coming out of the restroom, I looked around and all the seats were taken in the waiting area for my flight. And everyone was smiling at me. And I thought, “You know, they’ve all watched television.

They all know who I am. They’ve read my book.” And, you know, I was really hurt. I found some people here that had never read one of my books. But I thought, “Well, this crowd, that’s why they’re all smiling. They know who I am.” But then all of a sudden, I realized these people were not really smiling. They were grinning. So I felt self-conscious. And I went up to the arch where I would be the first one to go through when the flight was called and turned my back to those people. All of a sudden, a big, heavy, freckled, red-haired Texas woman walked up. She says, “Darling, I’m going to do you all a favor.” And I pulled back. I thought, “Man, this has got to be Mary Kay or Avon right here in the airport. Do I really look like I need a face job?” And she got up closer. And she says, “I’m going to remove you of this here flag of humility.” I thought, “Boy, she’s drunk. She’s got to be a loony.” And I leaned back again. Well, she reached into the waistband of my brown velvet pantsuit and pulled this out.

Complete with the hole in the middle. The culprit that was rustling was not the blue taffeta of ours. It was this dumb toilet tissue seat cover. Oh, I was so humiliated. And listen, don’t you laugh. God’s got a pin just the size of your balloon, too.

When the flight was called, I jumped on that plane and got in between row 11 and 12 and took an in-flight magazine and put over my face. Here she came again for a second act. I just wish she would drop dead.

She walked up and leaned over and she says, “Darling, I needed a good laugh.” She said, “I’m on my way to San Antone to bury my mother.” Well, my husband prayed, “Lord, make me a blessing to someone today.” And He had. And Rosemary prayed that the Lord would heal my pride. And He had.

Oh, I tell you, you need a sense of humor. The next thing I want to talk about is relationships. Now, there’s all kind of relationships. You know, Adam was God’s only friend on the earth. And I thought Adam would be content with God in that beautiful paradise. One evening when God came down to walk with His friend that He had created, Adam, Adam looked up at God and he says, “You know, I really worship You and I love where I live, but what I really need is a woman.” God said, “My God shall supply all your needs. I’ll grant that request, Adam. I’ll give you a woman. I’ll make you a woman. She will be perfect. She will be beautiful. She’ll do anything you ask her to. But it’s going to cost you an arm and a leg.” Adam looked up to God and he says, “What could I get for a rib?” And that’s what you got, guys.

It’s all Adam’s fault. What I want to say to you is, forgive your mate for not being everything you need. Only Jesus can be that kind of a friend. And then I want to give you, to pass on a few little quotes from people I’ve met. I did a writer’s workshop for Billy Graham in Minneapolis. Jill Briscoe was the other workshop leader. She’s from Liverpool, England. Now a pastor’s wife in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I said, “Jill, what is the most important thing in life?” She thought a minute. She says, “The ability to get on with people. You know you can be ever so handsome and educated. But if you don’t have the ability to get along with people, you’re not going to make it out there.” I was probably the only person at that writer’s workshop that didn’t have a degree in journalism. But see, God knew I had a love for people, and He gave me the tools and helped me. I want to talk about relationships. If you are not successful at home, you are a failure. Carol Burnett put me onto something. I never met her personally, but I listened to an interview. She said, “Love your kids enough to let them hate you for two years till they get their heads screwed on straight.”

You know, we talk too much. We don’t give our kids a chance to become adults. Now, we need discipline. They need discipline. But love them enough to back off and let the Lord develop them. And don’t try to get them to be adult too quickly. I would encourage you to treat… Ladies, treat your husband with the same respect that you treat your boss at work. And fellas, treat your wife with the same kindness as you do your best-paying customer. You’ll be surprised how it will pay off around the house. The other relationship I want to recommend is that you find a prayer partner. Someone that will not talk about your confidence, but will pray for you. And then don’t hang around with people who don’t like you. Do you know you can… The devil will get you sidetracked trying to please one person that doesn’t like you. Suffer without complaining and be misunderstood without explaining. Don’t try to please everyone. Jesus was perfect and they pulled out His beard and killed Him. So everyone won’t like you. Do you know Jesus didn’t hang around with folks who didn’t like Him? One day He took His disciples out to the edge of town. He says, “Boys, let’s get out of here. Now take off your sandals and if there’s any sand from this town left in your shoes, dump it out.”

“We can’t do any good here. They don’t like us.” Don’t hang around with people who make you feel badly. And if you have a tendency to be paranoid, a little negative, get with people who laugh a lot. It’s very important that you laugh. Now, I know women in their relationships that say, “Well, if I had a different husband.” I want to talk about Eve. I’ve been mad at her ever since she put the curse of pain on us for childbearing. My kids both came very hard. Now, I know God created Eve, but she turned out to be a wench. Let’s just really admit it. Have you ever wondered, Edwin, what ailed her? I mean, she never was an underprivileged child. Her brothers never molested her. Her mother did not give her poor potty training. And she had no competition with prettier women. What was wrong with Eve? She just wanted to complain. Ladies, don’t complain. I mean, get on with life. See what you can do. Oh.

I really believe… I’m not even going to get into that. But I do… I’m going to… I told you I would tell you the truth. Okay. All right. I will. My husband, Carl, and I… And let me say something else. If you don’t like him, put him out on the… out on the back porch Saturday night when you get home. Do you know what? By Sunday morning, there will be nine women lined up to pick up your husband. There’s not very good men… many good men left out there. But I want to tell you.

My husband and I, Carl… Be good… If you’re still with your original first mate, be good to them. It is hard to adjust to a second mate. When Carl and I got married, I had two children. He had three. His first wife was a very quiet, cooperative throne polisher. My husband thought I could do no wrong. Carl and I were both spoiled by easy first mates. And when we got married, the adjustment was very difficult. My husband is as smart as a tree full of owls. He has several degrees. He’s world-traveled. And I majored in kids and minored in quarter horses. You talk about unequal yoke. We were both born again, spirit-filled. But after three weeks of being married, one night when the kids were all in bed, we sat down. First we cried, and then we started laughing. The only thing we had in common was we were married on the same day.

We actually took a yellow tablet and wrote down 34 ways where we are opposite. It was hilarious. We finally decided God had a sense of humor, and He decided if He put us together, it would spare two other nice families all that misery.

And then, do you know what? We just got honest with each other. If we can’t make it, you’re not going to read my books. And who’s going to come and hear him preach if he can’t adjust to a second mate? So we made it, and you’re going to make it. If we can make it, you can make it. And do you know what? God had something in mind. That’s why we do marriage seminars. Do you know what? The Bible says there’s a reward for the overcomer. But to get a reward, you’ve got to come over something. Listen, we’re survivors, and I want to talk a little bit about that.

We finally developed some signals when to back off. When I displeased my husband, he would start singing and he can’t sing. “If I had the wings of an angel out of these prison bars, I would fly.” And I got enough of that and I’d say, “I wish you would.”

And then I decided I’m going to get me a signal. Rather than quarrel, because you’re not supposed to quarrel. Hey, listen, I want to add a PS to that. Do you know what the Bible says if you don’t treat your wife right? He’s deaf. He’s not going to hear your prayers. God will not hear your prayers unless you’re kind to your woman. I had to add that. Whenever Carl got on my nerves, I started whistling.

I don’t know why leaning on the everlasting arms. But he knew that he had displeased me and he should keep quiet and back off. Oh, it’s funny how this all happened. One morning, now I have to tell you, I have a one-track mind, Carl’s stereo brain. He can do two things at once real well. He’s really smarter than I am. I never debate with him. I will write him notes that he can read at work. I mail it to his office so he can read it and cool off before he comes home. I pray and the Lord talks to him. One day, I knew he wasn’t listening. He brought home from the college. He gave the students his best brain, his best looks, his best charm, his best mind. And he brought home his leftovers. I got sick of it. His leftover charm. And I was trying to tell him something very important. And yeah, that’s okay. He said, “Sure, see you at noon.” And I said, “And then one more thing. On Tuesday, you will be served divorce papers.” “Okay, that’s fine.” He says, “I’ll see you at noon. I love you. Goodbye.” “Goodbye.” He knew he wasn’t listening. I was checking him out. He shut the door and got almost to the car and came back and opened the door.

He says, “You what?” I said, “I just wanted to be sure your ears were working. I was just teasing.” And he looked at me and he says, “Betty, I’m going to make you a deal. If you will talk half as much, I will listen twice as hard.” We shook hands. We made a deal. And you know what? We’ve been getting along better ever since. Now, I want to give you another quick tip. If you are in any kind of teaching or ministry, beware of the Saturday syndrome. Every Saturday, sometime during the day, he would get ticked off or he would upset me or one of us would get sensitive and we would quarrel. All of a sudden, it dawned on us, it was not my fault, it was not his. The enemy uses the Saturday night syndrome to cause you to lose the victory for Sunday so you cannot minister effectively. We begin to guard against it and quit blaming each other and blaming our enemy. The Bible says one can chase a thousand, two, a couple partners for a purpose, bound together, can be ten times as effective, two can put ten thousand to flight. It’s very important that you stick together. Prayer is another essential and I covered that one morning in my sessions.

God will give you courage to answer your own prayer. He may send along another person to answer the supply. Or if necessary, He will send angels. Now I want to talk about simplicity. While I did the writer’s workshop for Billy Graham, I began to consider that man. I believe the reason he has survived over the years in a ministry is because he is simple. He has never tried to go near Orlando and build a magic kingdom. Never went up in North Carolina and built a magic kingdom. But he keeps his message simple. The blood of Jesus will cleanse your sin. Get ready. Jesus is coming again. 2 Corinthians 11:3. In the beginning, Satan beguiled Adam and Eve’s simplicity. And he has been complicating the lives of Christians ever since. If life has become complicated for you, it’s either because you are doing more than God told you to do, or you are not taking His strength to do it with. And if Satan cannot bore you, he will give you too much good work to do and frustrate you. If he cannot keep you from getting on board, he will cause you to be a fanatic and push you overboard. Keep it simple. And folks, when you go back home as much as possible, simplify your life by getting out of debt.

I think it’s very important that you get out of debt. I have a little rock with me that I carry with me in my purse or in my briefcase everywhere I go. I love the story of David. David was a musician. He had no strategy in warfare and no training in the military. But he stood around looking at all the pros that were backing down in fear because of Goliath. Do you know all David had when he faced the Philistine army and Goliath? All he had was God and a rock. One day, I was walking along the beach with my eyes closed, praying, and I stumbled onto this little rock. I picked it up and on one side I put Betty. On the other side, I put Giant Killer. All David had was God and a rock. And all I will ever need to survive is God and a rock. You read chapter 18 of the book of Psalms and it tells us over and over again, the Lord is my rock. We try to manipulate with our ingenuity our brilliant minds and all we really need is God and a rock. I keep this with me to remind me of my simple beginning. Something else I have at home is a little brass elephant bank.

My first Christmas, my parents were so poor. All I got for Christmas was that 50 cent bank for Christmas. I keep looking at it and I go back to the simplicity of my beginning. Remember where the Lord brought me from. Sometime on this grounds, if possible, or when you get home, find yourself a little rock. Put your name on one side and Giant Killer on the other. Put it in your pocket. Carry it with you in your car, in your purse, your briefcase, to remind you it’s “not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord.” And every time something large looms up in front of you, just know that all you will ever need is God and a rock. Simplicity is very, very important. And when you can get back to that wonderful, quiet simplicity, you will find out that your joy will return. And if you will exalt Jesus, He will always come to your rescue and you will survive. The next thing that will help you survive is the hope of His coming. This is not heaven. I recently did a television program and the man that interviewed me said, “Oh, Betty, let’s not talk about heaven.” He said, “Let’s talk about miracles and prosperity.” And I had a mental block suddenly.

I found it very hard to relate to him. This man has three white stretch limos that are driven by chauffeurs that wear white gloves and uniforms. He has four pieces of property in several wonderful places around the country and one out of our country. He thinks this is heaven. But I want to tell you what. You let tragedy strike in his home or turmoil or trouble. Let him go bankrupt or have a brain tumor in a loved one in his family and he will realize that this is not heaven and he will start crying out, “Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.” I am so glad for the hope. The scripture says, “If in this life only we have hope, we are of all men most miserable.” See, this is why the sinner is trampling on the knuckles of everybody as they climb the ladder of success. It’s because they know that this is all they’ve got. But to those of you, keep in mind what you do not have time to do here. You will have time to develop in eternity and you will become what you always wanted to be here but never quite made it. If you have time, borrow one of the books back off the table if you don’t want to buy it.

Read The Invisible Kingdom, The Unseen World. The things which are temporary will pass away. I have one little illustration I want to give you where God in a rock is all you need. Now study to show yourself approved. The Holy Spirit can only bring the things to your remembrance that you’ve learned. So it’s necessary that you know His Word and you know the hope of His coming. But I found myself on the campus of Moorhead State College in Minnesota. The television cameras were there interviewing me about my death experience, and up rode a kid with a black jacket and a motorcycle and he had a couple of friends with him and they interrupted the first part of the interview. He said, “Mrs. Malz,” he said, “all through this interview you keep talking about God. I don’t believe in God.” And he said, “If you will introduce me to God and let me shake hands with Him, I’ll believe there’s a God and then I’ll believe your story.” Well, he had me and there was the cameras and I thought to myself, “Stall. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll stall.” I said, “Sir, let’s not take the news media time here for questions, but if you’ll stay after the news media, I will answer any of your questions and I think I can help you.” And I dropped my head and I said, “Jesus, God and a rock.” I needed His help and he knew he had me against the wall and his friends were grinning standing there. Suddenly, I said, “I can help you, but if you’ll just give me some time. If you’ll stay, we’ll talk after the interview.” He said, “Help me. If you really want to help me, I have a terrible headache. Look in your purse, see if you got a couple aspirin. If you really want to help me, give me some aspirin.”

And I said, “Oh, I don’t believe in headaches. I have never seen a headache. But if you will introduce me to your headache and let me shake hands with it, I’ll buy you a whole box of aspirin.” He leaned over and he hit me on the shoulder and he says, “I like you.”

Do you know what? I am not that smart, folks. I’m not that quick. But with God before us, who can be against? And do you know what? He stayed and we talked. And I gave him a Bible, gave him a copy of my book, got a letter from him a while later. He says, “Forgive me for being a smart aleck. You’ve taught me something wonderful. The hope of His coming.” Do you know people will ridicule you when you start talking about His coming? Now, I’m not going to tell you the denomination, but right after my daughter Brenda got married, one day at the sink, my son-in-law was there. Now, he has a doctorate in limnology, underwater biology. And I said, “Oh, but it won’t seem so bad one of these days when Jesus comes and they see the soles of our feet going up through the clouds. You’ll forget all of the misery and all of your debt.” He says, “Mother, what kind of heresy is this?” I said, “No, not heresy.” He said, “I’ve never missed a Sunday in church all of my life. Our minister has never taught that. That’s not in the Bible.” I pulled out my Bible and read it to him in Thessalonians 1. I believe it’s 4, 16, and 17.

He did not know that Jesus was coming again. He did not know about the rapture. People will make fun of you when you start talking about something they are not acquainted with. But do you know they made fun of Noah? They said, “Flood, rain, God has watered the earth with the morning dew since creation. It has never rained. This is ridiculous.” But you know what? It happened. And when we start talking about the coming of Jesus and the earth will be destroyed by fire, they make fun of us. But I want to tell you what. When it starts happening, they will wish they had listened. I want to talk briefly about one final point. The survival. The final bottom line is the Word. Let the word dwell in you richly. Search the scriptures. Study them. For out of them are the issues of life. The seven things you need for survival. Take care of your health. Develop a sense of humor. Laugh a lot. It’s a tonic. It’s a medicine. Develop Christian relationships. And be good to your mate. Make each other happy. You’ve got to make it together.

Prayer is essential. Simplicity. The hope of His coming. And the Word. In closing, I want to talk about one answer to prayer. Very unusual. That has happened just a short while back. To encourage you that when you pray, your shaft of light goes to the throne room. And if you cannot answer your own prayer by getting a job and paying for it, someone may come along with an abundance and help you. I got a pair of Reeboks on. I was in Phoenix, Arizona. It was 104, 105, up to 107 degrees while I was there. I had a seminar with professional women. They were all wearing high heels and hose. I needed, and I forgot to bring any low shoes so I could walk and so I could relax a little bit. And I said, “Oh, Lord, I wish I had some money or some time to buy a pair of Reeboks. I have an old pair that are worn out at home that Brenda gave me, but at least they’re better than nothing.” And I went to the session in those high heels, and I knew I couldn’t go barefoot because the sidewalks were so hot. And it was just a wish. I didn’t really say, “Father in heaven, here, my petition. I need white Reeboks size 8.”

After the session that morning, a woman came up to me with a plastic bag, and she said, “Do you want these?” I looked inside the bag, and they were these white Reeboks, just like the old ones my daughter had given me that I’d worn out. And I looked in the heel, and they were size 8. I said, “Why are you doing this?” She said, “Well, I thought I was supposed to. Maybe my hunch was wrong.” But I looked like I’d seen a snake, I know. I couldn’t believe that God… You know, the scripture in Isaiah says, “Before they call, I will answer. While they are yet speaking, I will hear.” And I said, “Well, how did you come buy these?” She said, “Well, my brother-in-law works at the Reebok factory in Indonesia. And I told him, I said, ‘Now, Rick, when you come home the next time for a visit, please bring me a size 9. And the price you get them for at the factory is peanuts. And I would like… In fact, I could use a couple of pairs.’” She said, “Would you believe he arrived last night, got home, and came, spent the night with us? And when I opened them this morning, they’re not a size 9. They’re only a size 8.”

I thank the Lord. Now, that was the answer to prayer through another person. And I was in New Orleans a short while ago. And I started to go in to speak in a church on a Sunday night. I got there 10 minutes early. And I don’t like to talk to folks before I speak because I’ve got a one-track mind. I can get sidetracked. But up walked this couple with their 20-year-old daughter, and she pulled aside her white sweater and showed me bruises all over her throat. She said, “Mrs. Malz, I came because a friend of mine asked me to come here tonight and share a story with you. I read your book, Angels Watching Over Me, and I’ve got an angel story I want to tell you.” She says, “I work in a restaurant at the French Quarter here in New Orleans. And I was getting ready to help close up at midnight.” And she said, “As I left the restaurant, went out into the alley, two men jumped me. One of them down my back on the brick driveway in the alley and put his knee in my chest, began choking me, while the other one took my purse. I only had time to say one word before he cut off my air. And that was, ‘Jesus, help!’”

And she said, “Suddenly into that alleyway came a large man. He didn’t carry a flashlight, but around him was light when he walked. And he looked at me and he said, ‘Cindy, do you know these men?’ How did he know my name? And the authority with which he asked that question scared the two men and they ran.” She said, “He took my hand and helped me up and walked me to my car. I went to thank him and he was gone.” She said, “I got in my car and I began to shake. I went into shock.” She said, “I put my head against that leather headrest and I cried and I shook. Pretty soon I got control and I thought, ‘Oh, I’m afraid to go home. What if those men follow me now?’” And she said, “When I finally got control and drove home and pulled up in front of the house, I saw how far it was up to the porch and I got scared again to go into the house. It was after midnight. I looked up through the window and there he was again. This man. How did he get there so quick? When I opened the door, he took my hand. He walked me up to the front door. I unlocked the door with my right hand and when I went to thank him, he was gone.”

She said, “I know that angel frightened off those two attackers.” And she said, “I ran in the house and shared it with my parents.” And she said, “Do you know, my dad said he was awakened about 10 after 12. And the Lord told him that I was in danger. And he and mother knelt and asked the Lord to send protection.” When you pray, sometimes you can answer your own. Sometimes the Lord will cause a person to come. If necessary, in an emergency, He will send an angel. Let the Word dwell in you richly. Search the scriptures for out of them are the issues of life. God bless you.