By Linda Evans Shepherd
The gondola car slammed into my back before I even had time to react.
It was a beautiful summer day at Breckenridge, and my family and I had taken the gondola up the mountain for lunch. At the top, each passenger had to exit one at a time as the car made its tight U-turn before sailing back down the wire toward the valley.
When it was my turn, I stepped onto the pavement and tried to swing my other foot free. As I stepped out, the gondola rocked wildly and the heavy car struck me square in the back of my rib cage and knocked me to the ground.
Pain exploded through my back as muscle spasms seized me, leaving me unable to rise from the pavement. My family helped me up, but by the time I reached the ER, scans confirmed the worst: three broken ribs.
The Prayer Before the Miracle
By the next morning, I couldn’t get out of bed. I whispered: “Lord, I can’t believe this happened. But I have decided to trust You. You said, ‘By Your stripes I was healed.’ So I ask You to heal me—and I choose to trust You no matter what. Thank You, Lord!”
That was my prayer of faith—the prayer of trust. Nothing complicated. Just a decision to rest my pain in God’s hands, ask for healing, and trust Him in the no-matter-whats. A few hours later, the follow-up X-ray told a different story.
Instead of three badly broken ribs, I had only one slightly cracked rib. And the crushing pain? It was gone.
What If He Hadn’t
But here’s what mattered most: even before the miracle, I had made up my mind to trust Him.
Someone asked me, “Linda, what would you have done if God hadn’t healed you?” Without hesitation I answered, “I would still trust Him.”
Because trusting God is pure faith. It’s believing He is faithful no matter the outcome.
Job understood this when he cried, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him” (Job 13:15 KJV). Job didn’t know even if his suffering would end, but he anchored himself in God’s character.
And Paul reminds us, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28 NIV).
The Blessing From the Ashes
Trust doesn’t mean we don’t pray for miracles. It means we believe God is good whether the answer comes quickly, slowly, or in a form we didn’t expect.
The prayer of faith is the prayer of trust When you pray, “Lord, I trust You,” you can be confident that He will either deliver a miracle—or bring a blessing from the ashes. So whatever you’re facing today, whisper the prayer of trust. Hold on to Jesus. He is faithful.
Lord, I choose to trust You no matter what. Whether You bring healing today or strength for tomorrow, I believe You are good to me. Teach me to rest in Your love and walk in Your peace. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Linda Evans Shepherd is the publisher of Leading Hearts and the author of Praying through Hard Times from Baker Revel. www.GotToPray.com
