IGNITE July 2026
Dear Prayer Igniters, it’s been a long time since I hitchhiked. In fact, I never imagined that during a solo retreat with God in the mountains of New Mexico, the Lord would arrange what may have been the most remarkable hitchhiking ride of my life.
On June 23, 2026, the fourth and final full day of my retreat in beautiful Ruidoso, New Mexico, I was up early as usual, waiting on God on the porch before sunrise. That morning I was reading Day 23 of Andrew Murray’s Waiting on God: “For more than we know…”
As dawn began to break across the mountains, a thought came to me: ‘Wouldn’t it be wonderful to sit with the Lord at the top of that mountain?’ For several days I had looked at the steep mountainside directly behind Lawson’s cabin where I was staying. Every time I looked at it, I concluded it was simply too steep.
But that morning something changed.
I packed a little fruit, granola, coffee, water, and my copy of John Bevere’s The Awe of God, put them into my backpack, and started climbing. The ascent was no joke. The mountain was steep enough that several slipping steps made me realize that a tumble would have been a long one. Yet step by step, breathing hard, I continued upward.
About forty minutes later, I reached a large rock outcrop overlooking the valley below. It became my prayer seat for the morning. There, surrounded by God’s magnificent creation, I opened The Awe of God book and began reading about reverence and holy fear.
The Lord spoke deeply to my heart during prayer.
I realized that although I love talking with God continually, I had drifted from approaching Him with the reverence He deserves. As I sat overlooking the mountains, the Lord renewed that holy awe within me.
“Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear.” Hebrews 12:28 (KJV)
For nearly an hour I worshiped, prayed, and sat quietly in His presence. I called Nancy and shared what God was doing, and we enjoyed our daily morning prayer for one another and our families. Then I called Lawson to thank him for the gift of his beautiful mountain home. We prayed together and rejoiced in the goodness of God.
Then came the problem.
Going down looked even more difficult than climbing up. As I looked toward the ridge above me, I remembered joking with Nancy earlier: “Maybe I’ll just hitchhike a ride home!”
After all, the road that wrapped around the mountain was nearly ten miles long to get back to my cabin; that was too long to walk! Then I sensed a gentle nudge from the Holy Spirit: “Go to the top. I’ve got a ride waiting for you.”
So, I climbed the rest of the way up, and as I reached the road, a large white pickup truck slowly came around the corner. I waved. Then, almost instinctively, I stuck out my thumb. LOL! Thirty years may have passed since I last hitchhiked! The truck stopped. 🙌🤯🙌
The driver, a young rancher named Tate, listened to my story. Since he didn’t know me, he suggested I ride in the truck bed. But his mother, Deb, and her friends, Terry, Becky, and Mary, were riding inside and quickly made room for me. “Come on, squeeze in!”
And just like that, I was on my way back to the cabin. As we drove, they explained they were heading to the golf course hotel for an early-morning Bloody Mary.
I quietly smiled, and the Holy Spirit was already whispering: “Watch what I am about to do.”
Soon we were seated overlooking a beautiful golf course. As we talked, I shared a few stories about waiting on God, prayer, and some of my hitchhiking adventures. The conversation deepened as family struggles surfaced during our talk. In addition, they mentioned heartaches and family losses during our discussion. So, I asked what has become one of my favorite questions: “If there is one thing I could PRAY NOW for you, what would it be?”
Suddenly, everything changed and shifted! One by one, Deb, Tate, Terry, Becky, and Mary shared the burdens on their hearts. And what started as a casual friendship-building gathering soon turned into an hour-long prayer meeting. As people opened their hearts, I’d pray, then gently ask them to begin praying for one another.
In harmony, we paused in silence before each prayer request. In those moments, I saw tears flowing and walls coming down as God’s presence became wonderfully tangible. Deb and Mary shared about their husbands—brothers who have been married to them for 51 and 45 years. As such, family relationships, griefs, and hopes all naturally found their way into our conversation and prayers.
The Lord met us there in prayer!
Right in the middle of a golf course clubhouse, a table of Bloody Marys, and in the middle of a group of people with ordinary lives, God met us and heard our prayers. And isn’t that just like Jesus? At one point, I laughed and declared:
“This is the best hitchhiking ride I’ve ever had!”
Mary immediately replied, “We never imagined we’d stop for a Bloody Mary and end up in a prayer meeting!” Nor did they imagine that a hitchhiking, South African prayer igniter would climb into their truck that morning! Yet, with God and yielded hearts toward Him, all things are possible! 🔥😂🙏
Eventually they drove me back to the cabin.
Before leaving, I gave them my final copy of Waiting on God—filled with notes, prayers, and reflections from my retreat. I inscribed it to all five of them and thanked them for their kindness. We exchanged hugs that felt more like family than strangers. And they invited Nancy and me to their July 4th celebration on their ranch in West Texas.
Amazing! Just a few hours earlier, we’d never met. And now, we prayed together, wept together, and experienced the nearness of God together. As I reflected later that evening, one thought kept returning: ‘Prayer turns strangers into friends and ordinary moments into holy moments.’
The Lord reminded me, once again, that when we simply make ourselves available, He delights in arranging Holy expectations and divine appointments. Sometimes they happen in churches, while other times they happen on mountaintops, and even in a pickup truck on the way to a Bloody Mary!
PRAY NOW Reflection
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5 (ESV)
As you go through your week, ask the Lord: ‘Who can I pray for today?’ You may discover that your next divine appointment is already waiting around the next corner!
With gratitude and expectation,
Colin & Nancy Millar
Igniting Prayer Action 🔥🙏♥️
