"'Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,' he said. 'Peace! Be strong now; be
strong.' When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, 'Speak, my lord,
since you have given me strength.'" - Daniel 10:19
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, began like any other day Stanley Praimnath was
in his office at World Trade Center Tower Two. The deacon and Sunday School
Superintendent for Bethel Assembly of God of South Ozone Park, New York, looked
out his window and saw United Air Lines Flight 175 heading straight for him.
"All I can see is this big gray plane, with red letters on the wing and on the
tail, bearing down on me," said Stanley. "
But this thing is happening in slow motion. The plane appeared to be 100 yards
away. I said, 'Lord, you take control. I can't help myself here.'" Stanley then
dove under his desk.
"My Testament [Bible] was on top of my desk," explained Stanley. "I knew, beyond
a shadow of a doubt, that the Lord was going to take care of me once I got
there."
As he curled into a fetal position under his desk, the plane tore into the side
of the building and exploded. Miraculously, Stanley was unhurt. However, he
could see a flaming wing of the plane in the doorway of his department. He knew
he needed to get out of his office and the building fast. But, he was trapped
under debris up to his shoulders.
"Lord, you take control, this is your problem now," he recalled praying. "I
don't know where I got this power from, but the good Lord gave me so much power
and strength in my body that I was able to shake everything off. I felt like I
was the strongest man alive."
Stanley was exuberant but also in great danger. Trapped inside the office, fire
was starting to spread. While praying on his knees, he saw a flashlight being
carried by a man behind the wall, "There's one thing I got to know-do you know
Jesus?"
The man replied he went to church every Sunday. Then they prayed together,
asking God to enable them to break through the wall. "I got up, and I felt as if
a power came over me," said Stanley. "I felt goose bumps all over my body and
I'm trembling, and I said to the wall, 'You're going to be no match for me and
my Lord.'"
Moments later, he punched his way through the wall and, with the help of the man
on the other side, was able to squirm his way through the hole in the wall. "The
guy held me and embraced me and he gave me a kiss and he said, 'From today,
you're my brother for life.'" Both men were able to miraculously escape the
burning tower that day.
The Lord is the giver of all strength. Do you need a strengthening today? Today
in prayer, praise the Lord for all that He is and ask Him to give you strength
for today.
"You become stronger only when you become weaker. When you surrender your will
to God, you discover the resources to do what God requires." - Erwin Lutzer
God's Word: "The Lord gives strength to his people; the Lord blesses his people
with peace." - Psalm 29:11
By Peter Kennedy, Copyright 2004, Devotional E-Mail DEVOTIONS IN EZEKIEL AND
DANIEL pkennedy@devotional.com
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