Grand Canyon at Sunrise. Backyard Studios.

A couple minutes after 5:00 (ET) this evening I was driving on State Road 39 into town after a rather long day of driving and class in Cincinnati. Traffic in front of me was nearly stopped so I slowed down. Screeching tires caught my attention and looking into the rear-view mirror, I saw that the sound had come from the car directly behind me - now perched sideways headed for the ditch in an effort to miss me. Since I was headed to pick my dad up from ER (he cut his hand pretty badly this afternoon and required six stitches), I was even more grateful that God had his hand upon my car and I wasn't involved in an intense accident.

After getting home, I realized that when I pulled onto State Road 39, just a few minutes before this encounter, I was repeating a song on my stereo and making it my prayer. The song contains these lines:

"Lord, we are weak and frail,
Helpless in the storm.
Surround us with your angels,
Hold us in your arms.
Our cold and ruthless enemy,
His pleasure is our harm.
Rise up, O Lord, and he will flee
Before our Sovereign God.
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!
Hallelujah! Glory be to our great God!"

Sometimes it is easy to be focused on the prayers he doesn't answer. I'm glad that tonight, Jesus heard me specifically pray the lines to this song as I listened to Fernando Ortega sing them. God proved once again that he is mighty to save, his arm is long, and his pleasure is to care for us. Most of all, I am humbled to remember that he is listening to the requests we make when overwhelmed and the laments we whisper when alone. He is Our Great God.

Thanks for reading.

Source: You can listen to Fernando Ortega sing "Our Great God" via a variety of downloadable or streaming services. The song is also on his physical album Come Down, O Love Divine, available on his website store.

Photo courtesy of Backyard Studios: Grand Canyon at sunrise. www.backyardstudios.zenfolio.com.