Our church chose several people to lead a share group Bible Study once a week (Friday night). Al was chosen to lead a group.

Al and I smoked. We didn’t have a problem doing without a cigarette for a couple of hours but we knew a lot of folks who did. Smokers feel left out of a lot of stuff because they smoke.

We decided to have a share group where it was OK to smoke (cigarette, pipe or cigar). We gave an open invitation in one of the services. If you wanted to join, you would have to:

1. Be a smoker or not be offended by smoke.
2. Believe the Bible is God’s absolute word.
3. Believe God was still in the miracle, healing business.
4. Bring your Bible with you.

All the other Share Groups opted to study a particular book and have prayer. We opted to have an open study and prayer. If a person had a problem, we would look the answer up in the Bible. We had a Strong’s Concordance, Bible Dictionary, my 700 Club Counseling Book, Topical Bible and several translations of the Bible.

If no one had a problem, we would look up the answers to a question about something in the Bible. We had about 10 people in our group. Not all of us smoked and I do not recall anyone smoking during the session even though the ashtrays were there and they could.

At the beginning we would pray for God’s guidance and the he would send his Holy Spirit to teach us. At the end of the hour (sometimes longer) we would tell about each prayer that God had answered during the week and write then in the prayer journal beside the prayer request. Then we would write down new prayer requests in a journal and pray over each request.

God answered one prayer request so dramatically that it made headlines all over the USA.

One of our Share Group members was a Houston police officer. The KKK scheduled a march through down town Houston. We knew that every place they had marched ended up in race riots and destruction.

The city of Houston had originally decided to have close to 600 policemen on duty for the parade. At the last minute they decided that 300 was all they needed. Kathy was really upset (she was chosen as one of the 300) and requested prayer and a study on promises that related to the problem.

It hit me that Gideon only had 300 men when they went into battle. We studied Gideon in the old testament. Then we prayed for the Houston police officers. We asked God to make them like unto Gideon’s army and bring peace to the City.

The next day Kathy called so excited she could hardly contain herself. God had acted.

1. Before the parade someone gave a policeman a tip that there were bricks and rocks stashed along the parade route and where they were located. They were removed.
2. Just before the parade one of the policemen saw a glint in a hotel window that looked like a riffle. He called it in and they got a search warrant for the hotel. When they entered the room, they noticed there were several police scanners; yet the men never heard the call to search the room. The men had 3 assault riffles with scopes and tripods. Disaster was averted.
3. As the parade started, police personnel noticed people with bricks in their hands. They would just walk up behind them and remove the brick. Instead of the usual fight over losing the weapon, the person would just give it up without a fight. They didn’t say a word – they just let go of the brick.
4. Nothing happened. The parade went down the street and people yelled go home. That was it. The whole country wanted to know how Houston had done it.

Kathy was so excited, she could not wait until Friday night. She called everyone in our Share Group praising the Lord for what He had done. There was more praising on Friday night when we all got together.

Our pastor told me that the other share groups broke up over the summer and never got back together. Our group did not stop for the summer and when we moved in 1983 it was still going.

God answered more prayers than we can remember. The logbook just made our faith stronger and still helps us remember that God is still working even though it may be, at times, under cover.

Mark 11:24-26 "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. "And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."

Mat 26:41 "Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."

Mat 6:7-8 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him."

Mat 5:44 "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

1 John 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

James 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

James 5:13-14 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing psalms. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Judg 7:4-7, 18-23 But the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. Then it will be, that of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' the same shall go with you; and of whomever I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' the same shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "Everyone who laps from the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, you shall set apart by himself; likewise everyone who gets down on his knees to drink." And the number of those who lapped, putting their hand to their mouth, was three hundred men; but all the rest of the people got down on their knees to drink water. Then the LORD said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place."
"When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!'" So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just as they had posted the watch; and they blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers; they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing; and they cried, "The sword of the LORD and of Gideon!" And every man stood in his place all around the camp; and the whole army ran and cried out and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the LORD set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

Luke 6:28 "bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.

Ezek 3:26 "I will make your tongue cling to the roof of your mouth, so that you shall be mute.......