About 20 years ago I went to Israel with my spiritual parents, Kenneth and Phyllis Sturgill, and a group of 33 people. We were there not only to sightsee, but to intercede for Israel. We saw many sights in Israel – the Dead Sea, the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, the Garden of Gethsemane, and more. We took a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee, I was baptized in the Jordan River, and I even rode a camel! Two of my favorite places were Jesus’ tomb and Golgotha where Jesus was crucified for our sins. Walking in the areas of so many Bible stories made those stories become so much more real to me.

Each place we visited, we had corporate prayer for the land. The presence of God was strong in us as we prayed and believed for His breakthrough for Israel. There are so many supernatural stories I could tell – being drunk in the Spirit, people falling under the power of God, seeing a deliverance, and more. But those are for another time.

One of the places we visited was the Spring of Harod, where Gideon selected his men for battle against the Midianites. The Bible tells us that by following God’s instructions, Gideon wound up choosing only 300 men to fight the 135,000 Midianites. But because our God goes before us and fights our battles, against all odds, Gideon and his 300-man army defeated the Midianites (Judges 6-8).

After we visited the Spring of Harod, I had my own “against all odds” experience with God. We stopped at the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall, where people pray and leave written prayers rolled up and placed in the cracks of the wall. The Wall is covered with prayers, and unless you are seven feet tall, you’ll have a hard time finding a place to add another prayer. The rabbis are plentiful at the Wall, too.

When we were done praying at the Wall, I met up with Kenneth and started heading toward the bus. While in route, a rabbi walked up to Kenneth and asked if he could pray for him… for $10. Kenneth politely declined and reached into his wallet to give the rabbi money anyway. “How about $5?”, the rabbi bargained. Kenneth handed him the money and again declined the prayer. Now the rabbi looked at me with the same question. “Can I pray for you? Only $10.”

As he asked, I heard in my spirit, Acts 3:6: “Then Peter said (to the lame man), ‘Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.’” I knew this was God’s invitation for me to pray for the rabbi. So I asked him if I could pray for him. To my surprise, he welcomed the prayer. I believe God prepared his heart to be open before I had ever gotten to the Wall that day. Think about it – a gentile praying for a rabbi!

I put my hands on each side of his face and the rabbi began to shake all over. The presence of God was pouring into him as he kept repeating, “More! More!” I never said a word. I didn’t have to. After about a minute or so when he was finally done shaking, I said, “That’s all I have for you from God.”

He looked at me with a childlike face and said, “I want what you have.”

“Seek Jesus with all your heart,” I replied, to which the rabbi agreed.

With that Kenneth and I climbed onto the bus for our next stop. We couldn’t help but share with the others our story about the rabbi. I was totally blown away! As Kenneth told what happened, one of my fellow travelers spoke up and explained about the military guards at the Wall. These guards carry semi-automatic rifles and are there to protect the rabbis. “You could have been shot!” she exclaimed while everyone else was praising and thanking God for what happened. The fact is, she was right… but God had other plans. I, a gentile of no status, was able to put my hands on a rabbi at the Wailing Wall, with armed guards all around, and watch him shake uncontrollably as God poured out His Spirit into him. Against all odds.

How many of us let the fear of what we see in front of us control our thoughts and don’t have an awareness of what God might be doing? Fear can keep you from some awesome breakthroughs. The military was the furthest thing from my thoughts. I was focused on what God spoke to me. Nothing else mattered.

To this day I feel the same way. Nothing else matters. If God asks me to do something, I am on it. I know His voice and have witnessed amazing things happening by being obedient to His voice and not worrying what people might do or say.

So my encouragement to you is this: Step out. God’s people are hungry. I can honestly say that of all the people Cherie and I have prayed for, not one has denied us. On the contrary, we hear a lot of, “Please! I need it”, “How did you know what to pray for?”, and “That prayer was just in time.”

Try “Against All Odds” and see what happens.

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Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!”

~ Act 5:29

“Why do you call me. ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

~ Luke 6:46

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

~ Luke 11:28