God still controls the storm
A mother’s prayer changes the course of a typhoon
We have marvelled at the amazing story of Jesus calming storm on the Lake of Galilee. And we know that even today our Lord controls the storm.
In late August 1957, I had been ministering with a team of Japanese men in an OMS project called Every Creature Crusade (now Every Community for Christ). We had visited homes door-to-door across Hyōgo Prefecture, presenting a small gospel booklet called Anshin no Michi (The Way of Peace).
Then my field director asked me to prepare to open the ECC Ministry in Okinawa. The express train took us to Kagoshima. We arrived at the harbour in heavy, driving rain. High waves were rocking the ship as we walked up the gangplank. Knowing it would be a rough three-day voyage, we fortified our stomachs with Dramamine. The trip was rough, but we arrived safely in Naha Harbour. A week later, we heard “the rest of the story.”
In a small farmhouse in southern Ontario, Canada, my mother had turned on the radio the morning of our departure from Kagoshima (evening in Japan). The announcer reported items of world news. Then he turned to a weather update, saying, “A fierce typhoon is churning the waters south of Japan and will pass just south of Kagoshima this evening.” My mother heard this news with deep concern. “My son is on those very waters,” she thought. Turning the radio off, she quickly went upstairs to her prayer room. Kneeling, she cried out to God for a miracle. After a few minutes of earnest intercession, a wonderful calm settled over her.
Next morning, she turned on the same radio. She heard the same announcer giving his world news report. Then he turned to the weather and said, “Remember the major typhoon we reported yesterday that was heading to the waters south of Japan? Well, I cannot explain it, but for some incredible reason, the storm suddenly turned and went out to sea!” My mother, with tears of joy, bowed her head and said, “Thank you, Jesus.” The same Lord who calmed the Galilee tempest had changed the course of a 20th century typhoon in the Pacific. Our wonderful Lord still sustains his servants today in times of storm!