John Vihtelic was enjoying a weekend tour of Mt. Ranier National Park on September 11, 1976. After hiking over snow-covered slopes for most of the day, when evening came he was exhausted. Driving south toward Mt. Hood after dark, he took a shortcut along a dangerous gravel mountain road. After two hours of hard driving John dozed off to sleep. His car went out of control and plunged over a precipice down 150 feet to the bottom of a deep ravine.
Recovering from his initial shock, John found that he was not injured except for a few cuts and bruises. The only problem was that his foot was caught by a root that had punched through the windshield. It clamped his foot against the dashboard like a bear trap. In panic he jerked and pulled his leg for most of the first night, but it was useless; he was caught mercilessly. Finally he dozed off to sleep.
“Tomorrow,” he thought, “someone will find me.”
But nobody did find him. It was a little-traveled road, and his car was almost completely hidden. He shouted as cars passed by, but no one heard him. He flashed a mirror at passing cars, but no one saw him. He tried every way he could think of to escape, but nothing worked.
John obtained water by dropping his T-shirt on a wire into the stream below. Squeezing the moisture into his mouth he satisfied his thirst. Day after day he lay in the wrecked car. His family and friends spent days searching the area for him, but no one could find him. He needed help from One greater than man.
John’s worst times were at night when it was too dark to work and he couldn’t sleep. He would lay in the cold car and pray: “Please, dear Lord, get me out of here. I want to see my family.”
And God did answer John’s prayer, not at once but after 16 days. He was finally able to cut the root with his lug wrench and free his foot. Soon he was able to climb up to the road and was rescued. God had answered his prayer.
Dear reader, God is a prayer-answering God, and there is one prayer which He desires to hear more than any other. A poor publican prayed that prayer in Luke 18:1313And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. (Luke 18:13): “God be merciful to me a sinner.” God answered that man’s prayer, and anyone who prays that same prayer today will find that He is the same now as then—a God who delights in mercy and will save and bless poor sinners who call upon Him.
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ... For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.”
ML-03/05/1978