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Omaha, Nebraska-This week, Joe Smith, a resident and pastor, living in Omaha, Nebraska, learned firsthand, the value of listening to the promptings of God's Holy Spirit.Because of his prayers for the protection of his wife and son—which he felt specifically led to pray over them on two separate occasions, just a little while before the mall shooting this week—Joe's loved ones narrowly avoided being part of the tragedy, when 19-year-old Robert Hawkins opened fire, in the crowded Omaha mall.Below is Joe's account, in his own words, of what happened on Wednesday, just minutes before unsuspecting holiday shoppers were gunned-down…."[Wednesday], my wife called me at 12:00 [noon], and said, ‘Let's meet for lunch at the Westroads Mall.' [I thought], ‘Great, I love that teriyaki chicken from Sarku restaurant.' The 3 of us met, my wife Gayle, my son Benjamin, and I.
"We finished lunch at around 12:45 or so, and I had to get back to work. Before I left the mall, I pulled my wife and son to me and said, ‘I am led to pray for you both before I leave.' We prayed, (I pleaded the blood of Jesus over them) and I left.
"At 1:30 the Lord had me call my wife again, and say, ‘Honey, I am troubled for you and Ben, and am praying for you both, but I am deeply troubled in my spirit for you both….' She was going [to go] into Von Maur, to the girls department (on the 3rd floor of Von Maur, where just minutes later there would be a massacre), to shop for our 10 year old daughter, [but] she decided to leave the mall.
"At 1:35 or so, she and Benjamin walked out the door (from the Von Maur side of the mall), and got in the car and left. At 1:42 the shooting started!
"My God is SO FAITHFUL!
"All last night, the Lord kept speaking to me and reminding me of Matthew 4:4 (Man does NOT live by bread alone, but by EVERY word out of the mouth of God)..
"He showed me how when we hear His voice, we LIVE!.. We are deeply saddened by this event and for the victims' families and all, but I praise the Lord that I still have a wife and son!"
After having a day to think about the trauma she narrowly missed, Gayle, Joe's wife, put down her thoughts on the couple's ministry website. Here are a couple excerpts….
"At about 1:30, Joe called my cell and asked what we were doing, I said, 'Still shopping,' and he said 'Gayle, I am really praying for you guys, I'm not sure what is up, or if it maybe has to do with the President being in town, but God has me really praying for you guys.' I said, 'Great, keep it up,' not sensing any danger, any urgency, just totally enjoying my time with Ben and the joy of the season. At 1:35, I left the Younkers store heading into the mall, and glanced at my watch thinking I had time to still hit Von Maur's girl section.
"It was at that moment that the thought came to me that 'you do not have time to do that, you need to go to the bank and get Jaymie from school.' I turned to Ben and said, 'We have got to go, we will have to do Von Maur another day, we are just out of time.' We walked straight to the exit through the food court and stopped by the doors. I knelt down and struggled with Ben's gloves and hat and all, he could not seem to get his fingers into his gloves properly and I felt stressed that we weren't out the doors yet. So I told him to leave them on and I would straighten them in the car. We loaded up and pulled out, driving directly by the Von Maur store, at what must have been about 1:42, which is exactly when the shooting started…"
The more you get to know the Lord, and get into His Word (the Bible), the greater becomes your perception of His voice (usually not an audible voice, though sometimes it is), in your heart and mind.
As we hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to pray for those around us, or specific situations, let's not dismiss it, but let's begin to heed what God might be saying to us. You never know when it could directly affect those you hold dear, or even some you may never meet—this side of Heaven!
Source: Pastor Joe and Gayle Smith-Prophetic Ministries.com
"We finished lunch at around 12:45 or so, and I had to get back to work. Before I left the mall, I pulled my wife and son to me and said, ‘I am led to pray for you both before I leave.' We prayed, (I pleaded the blood of Jesus over them) and I left.
"At 1:30 the Lord had me call my wife again, and say, ‘Honey, I am troubled for you and Ben, and am praying for you both, but I am deeply troubled in my spirit for you both….' She was going [to go] into Von Maur, to the girls department (on the 3rd floor of Von Maur, where just minutes later there would be a massacre), to shop for our 10 year old daughter, [but] she decided to leave the mall.
"At 1:35 or so, she and Benjamin walked out the door (from the Von Maur side of the mall), and got in the car and left. At 1:42 the shooting started!
"My God is SO FAITHFUL!
"All last night, the Lord kept speaking to me and reminding me of Matthew 4:4 (Man does NOT live by bread alone, but by EVERY word out of the mouth of God)..
"He showed me how when we hear His voice, we LIVE!.. We are deeply saddened by this event and for the victims' families and all, but I praise the Lord that I still have a wife and son!"
After having a day to think about the trauma she narrowly missed, Gayle, Joe's wife, put down her thoughts on the couple's ministry website. Here are a couple excerpts….
"At about 1:30, Joe called my cell and asked what we were doing, I said, 'Still shopping,' and he said 'Gayle, I am really praying for you guys, I'm not sure what is up, or if it maybe has to do with the President being in town, but God has me really praying for you guys.' I said, 'Great, keep it up,' not sensing any danger, any urgency, just totally enjoying my time with Ben and the joy of the season. At 1:35, I left the Younkers store heading into the mall, and glanced at my watch thinking I had time to still hit Von Maur's girl section.
"It was at that moment that the thought came to me that 'you do not have time to do that, you need to go to the bank and get Jaymie from school.' I turned to Ben and said, 'We have got to go, we will have to do Von Maur another day, we are just out of time.' We walked straight to the exit through the food court and stopped by the doors. I knelt down and struggled with Ben's gloves and hat and all, he could not seem to get his fingers into his gloves properly and I felt stressed that we weren't out the doors yet. So I told him to leave them on and I would straighten them in the car. We loaded up and pulled out, driving directly by the Von Maur store, at what must have been about 1:42, which is exactly when the shooting started…"
The more you get to know the Lord, and get into His Word (the Bible), the greater becomes your perception of His voice (usually not an audible voice, though sometimes it is), in your heart and mind.
As we hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, to pray for those around us, or specific situations, let's not dismiss it, but let's begin to heed what God might be saying to us. You never know when it could directly affect those you hold dear, or even some you may never meet—this side of Heaven!
Source: Pastor Joe and Gayle Smith-Prophetic Ministries.com
As in the days of Noah...
