An Intercessors for America (IFA) member recounted one believer's miraculous escape from Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, demonstrating that prayers can move mountains.
According to Elizabeth Herder, who shared the story with IFA, a friend and her husband happened to reside in Kabul. As soon as word spread of the Taliban's seizure of power, Herder feared the worst, knowing her friend was in grave danger as a result of her status as a "woman, Christian, and interpreter."
Herder attempted to contact her friend in Kabul as soon as she could. Throughout the following 72 hours, her friend's messages provided a running commentary on the Taliban's progress toward the airport. She and her husband were booked tickets out of Kabul.
Herder, on the other hand, was brought to her knees by her next message.
"They are fleeing," said her friend. "All the airport staff. They are leaving! There is no one to fly planes or take tickets! We are hiding on the second floor. What should we do? What does the news say is happening?"
Her next messages were equally terrifying.
"Elizabeth we tried to go to the NATO side of airport like you said, but they have snipers!" said her friend.
They were stuck in the midst of a lot of turmoil, which included crowds plundering every shop, a kid being murdered by the Taliban near them, and gunfire.
Herder stayed with her friend through messaging, pleading with people to intercede while frantically trying to find out who might be of help.
"I sent frantic emails and made calls to the offices of both Senator Josh Hawley and Senator Tom Cotton. I called friends who called friends on the Hill," recalled Herder. "I called my military brother. I messaged the Director of the large organization they worked with."
She explained that the situation would be considerably more difficult than an evacuation of an American citizen since her friends are foreign citizens who are neither American nor Afghan. They were just there to do their job.
As hundreds of thousands of people across the world started to pray, fortunately, the staffs of Senators Cotton and Hawley responded to Herder's plea. They got to work on channeling the names Herder had given them.
Herder confessed that she had anticipated encountering resistance, but that she was surprised to find that the senators' staffs were "ready and willing" to assist her.
As time passed, Herder's friends decided that it was better to face a Taliban checkpoint than to remain at the airport. They were able to make it past the Taliban checkpoint and were taken in by some American missionary girls who they were familiar with.
One of Senator Cotton's aides made contact with ground troops in Kabul in order to get Herder's friends on the evacuation list. They also provided them with instruction throughout the night on how to behave and how to remain persistent when confronted by the Taliban.
The first obstacle to overcome was ensuring safe transportation through the city to the airport. It was around 3am when the transfer had been completed, and they were safely on the NATO/US Military side of the airport.
The next obstacle was waiting in line to board an aircraft. One of the soldiers informed them that they would need a green card in order to remain on the line. However, they continued to relay the information that had been coached with. The soldier finally relented and permitted them to join the evacuation aircraft to Qatar.
Twelve hours later, they arrived in Qatar, safe and sound, surrounded by kind troops who looked after them. Finally, they were able to reach home.
"Theirs is a literal miracle rescue," said Herder, "made possible by a chain of champions-people who run INTO the fire to rescue the innocent, not from it; by champions of the brave and true American sort; and by champions in prayer who pounded heaven for days on behalf of a brother and sister they have never known."
