The Power of Prayer, Part 2

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Part 2                                              Vietnam Menu

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Part 2

Please click here and read Part 1 if you have not done so,

Part 1 is the basis of understanding Part 2 and Part 3.

Training is Profoundly Important

I was truly worried and on leaving the squadron that evening, doom and gloom was beginning to heavily weigh on me.  What I was being asked to do was of profound importance to 300 American and S. Vietnamese soldiers surrounded by 40,000 bad guys.  Quite literally, their lives, their health, and the comfort of their lives was, in part, dependent on what we were trying to do, along with the B52 bombers and Cobra gunships were helping keeping the enemy at bay.  According to emails I have received in 2012 from an American commander in An Loc, they were getting some supplies from the air, but much of what was dropped with conventional methods in those days was either not hitting the soccer field or crashing on impact due to poor conditions.

I was quite profoundly worried.  I talked to a number of pilots and navigators in my neighborhood that evening.  But, no one had any good ideas to help my navigation problems.  As I laid down that night for bed, my worry was completely overwhelming me making logical thinking impossible.  I had no answers.  As I tried to go to sleep there was greater doom and gloom concerning the next day filling my mind. The general was depending on me as he had no clues as to how to do it!  As I tried to sleep, I tossed and turned for what seemed an eternity as panic began seeping in.  But, my training suddenly paid off.

The answer to my doom and gloom was truly a moment to behold.  It had been perhaps 14 years since my last nightly prayer.  But, somehow, my training kicked in, and I began to pray.

To this day, I am amazed that the thought of praying came to my mind but, parental training was effective.  I do not remember how much I prayed and little of my words, but regardless of the time I spent praying, my final words I remember well, "Lord, if this can be done, you will have to show me how to do it."  And, suddenly, the panic was still as sleep came to me.

Waking up the next morning feeling rested and good, there was little doom and gloom on my mind.  I seemed in a hurry to get to the Army Lab with a most positive outlook.  On the way to the base, I drove through Fort Bragg as I always did, but thinking about the airdrop solution.  I took notice of a group of soldiers, maybe 15-20, marching with their rifles, no doubt to the rifle range.  This really was an unusual sight.  Many times, I remember seeing soldiers on Fort Bragg marching but with their rifles, never.  It was then, a truly inspired thought came to mind, "How can they hit the bullseye of a target at perhaps 1000 feet, and I cannot hit a dropzone a mile wide?"

Learning Failure is a 
Stepping Stone to Success

God taught me in that moment that solutions often come in asking the right questions as the answer was immediate, "They have a gun sight and I don't!"  Immediately, the "how" to create a gun sight that I could mount on the plane and use it to help me position the plane was in my mind!  Long story short:  men in the Army Lab on the flight line had the tools to make what I needed, we mounted in on the armored panel next to the co-pilot, and after the third drop that 2nd day, I was consistently within 5 yards of the intended point of impact on the  ground, from 6000 feet!  Over the next three days we made a total of 65 practice drops and then I was rotated to Vietnam to implement the system with wonderful success.    (My arrival to Vietnam is another story in the Power of Prayer.)

The bad guys laid siege to An Loc until late July but they stopped getting our supplies as the system I helped develop was widely used for resupply, especially of much needed water and medical supplies.

This whole event was a turning point in my life, more so now, than at the time.  My prayer life improved a little bit over the next years, but this event means more to me now, then it did then.  There were more difficult events to come where I resurrected my prayer life.  In the link below, you can read about them too.  There is a Vietnam menu link below about finding peace to guide our plane to a safe landing on the menu as well.

Today, I pray often everyday.  I know, I absolutely know, I totally and without doubts know that daily humble, submissive prayer will change your life.  I encourage you to pray often every day, pray before your feet hit the floor in the morning, driving to work, at work, driving home, at meals, before you go to bed, and pray as you go to sleep.  It will change your life.  The more you humbly pray, the more you will experience Gods results in your life.  My experience is that the doom and gloom of life is much more abated by having a regular prayer life.  It is all about experiencing the Holy Spirit in your heart.

"To have the Holy Spirit in your heart, you must pray, and pray, and pray. . . everyday."

Thanks be to God.
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In Part 3, contains some thoughts about prayer in considerations surrounding this incident. 

 I hope you have seen what the power of prayer can do for the life or an ordinary person.  The same can happen for you.

Click here for:

The Power of Prayer, Part 3  

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© lonnie coggins

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