Chapter 4: 4th Encounter: Stop That Plane!

A PLANE TRIP TO BE REMEMBERED!
Background information:  I was one of eleven children, six sisters and five brothers, of which I happened to be second in the family lineup.  I moved away when I turned twenty-one, to Marietta, Georgia where I currently reside.  My parents were married for twenty-five years and sometime around age twenty-five, my mother filed for a divorce.  I seemed to be the only one in the family at that time that was a believer, so my mother sent for me to come down to be with her during that difficult time. The following account is my fourth and final angelic encounter (I think!).

Years ago, during a major family crisis, my mother phoned and asked me to fly down to Tampa-she needed my consoling. She had arranged a flight for me to Tampa on a short notice, and I was to pick up the ticket at the old Atlanta airport that night before my flight. My flight was scheduled to leave at 10:35 PM and since my church was having revival, I decided to attend the service that night to request prayer from my pastor and church, for wisdom to handle the needs of my family. At the end of the service, I went down and made my request to our pastor.  He then asked the church to remember Sharron in prayer this week regarding her family, and to please come forward to let her know by shaking her hand that you will be covering her in prayer. After practically everyone in the church came up in support, I left to catch my plane. It was now after 9 PM and I still had to go home first, to pick up my suitcase, then make it to the airport by the 10:35 PM departure, which included getting my ticket. 

 My roommates were going to drive me there –it was about 10 PM when we actually got underway.  All the way to the airport I prayed-pleaded, in the backseat telling the Lord, "You’re the Lord God Almighty, and you made the heavens and the earth – it's all under your control. Lord, you can put me on that plane!  Please Lord, hinder it from leaving.”  I reminded the Lord that I believed His Word, "And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13 KJV)" and “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24 KJV).  Also, I reminded the Lord that I was not late for a selfish reason – but because I had asked for prayer support for my family's needs, so somehow please hold up that plane for me.

It was 10:25 PM when we arrived at the Atlanta airport and my friends dropped me off in front of the airport terminal. I hurriedly made my way up to the Delta ticket agent (remember, I still had to pick up my ticket) and asked about the flight to Tampa. Up on the board I saw my Tampa flight flashing, "Departing". The ticket agent said, "I'll call them and see if I can get them to hold the flight till you get there - here is your ticket.” She couldn't get through to them on the phone for some reason, but she told me where to go and to run as fast as I could, and she would keep trying to call the agent and ask them to hold the flight – if she got through to them.

As it would happen, my plane was departing at the far end of the airport, so with suitcase in hand, I ran all the way there! Out of breath I almost collapsed at the ticket agent's desk, just as they were pulling down the name, “Tampa”. I asked one of the two agents "Is that plane still boarding?" He said, "No miss, that plane left ten minutes ago. I'm sorry; you'll have to catch another one". I dropped my suitcase in utter disappointment, and in total dismay, told the Lord, "I believed you and you let me down"! You said that whatever we asked for, if we believed and didn't doubt that we would have what we asked for. Well I believed you would put me on that plane – I didn't doubt, and you let me down! Just about this moment, I spotted a man in a brown suit just standing there with hands clasped, smiling at me – watching, and he approached me saying, "Miss, do you want on that plane?" I answered "yes!" He then said, "Well I'm going to put you on it!" I quickly looked behind him – he was standing in between me and the two ticket agents. I wanted to know what they thought about this man, saying he would put me on that plane, when they had just told me it was too late, the plane had already departed. But it seemed as if they could not even see me – they ignored us both! He reached down and took my suitcase and walked us out a side door in the terminal, which led out to the runway where my plane was departing. I recall thinking that this man must be a VIP for Delta airlines; I quickly followed him out the door, as he carried my suitcase for me. He asked me to stand there and wait, while he walked up to and spoke with one of the Delta employees with the headphones – one of the technicians. I was not aware of what was being said but I remember seeing the plane a good ways off, leaving of its own accord and suddenly stopping. Then I saw the plane entrance ramp descend, and the door opened.

The man in the brown suit guided me out to where the plane had stopped, took my suitcase and threw it up somewhere under the pilot’s cockpit, and guided me up the ramp to the plane. At the top of the stairs – in the doorway of the plane, where two stewardesses standing, watching and waiting for me to ascend the stairs to check my ticket, and I overheard one of them ask, "Who is she?" The other stewardess answered, "I don't know, I’ve never seen her before!" At this time a third stewardess appeared and stated, "Well don't look at me, neither have I".

As I began to climb the steps to the plane, I wanted to answer them, "I am a child of the King! My father put me on this plane!" As I walked down the aisle of the plane to my seat, I was aware of every eye upon me – wondering how I came to be on that plane! Well, it was an hour flight to Tampa and I was so elated with this experience – I had to tell someone, so I told the couple seated next to me about how I came to be on that flight – how God had intervened and answered my prayer. It wasn't until several weeks later that the Lord revealed to me who it was that had put me on that plane. All along I had believed it to be a Delta VIP, which had authority to put me on the plane – and that he just happened to be in the right place, at the right time, when I needed him most.

A few weeks later I was asked to share this experience with a large metro bible study group – approximately 400 people. I had never spoken before a group, especially one as large as this, so I began to pray that the Lord would take that experience and give me the words to say and the ability to say it exactly the way it happened – that He would speak through me. When I got to the part in my story regarding the man who I thought was a Delta VIP – the man in the brown suit, I heard myself saying, "I believe it was an angel", and then the Lord opened my eyes! As I said these words, I realized that that was the reason why the two ticket agents acted as though they didn't see us or care that we were walking out the door to board the plane. This was why the man had such authority and also why the plane technician submitted to his authority without question. That was also why a plane was stopped that by Delta Airline regulations was not supposed to be stopped and boarded, according to the ticket I had been holding.

I had stood upon God's promises "believe only and ye shall receive"! He came through for me – just like He promised in His Word and made the impossible possible.

Prayer of Faith, according to God's Word:

“Heavenly Father, you stated in your word: “Whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son (John 14:13 KJV)" and “Therefore I say unto you, what things so ever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”(Mark 11:24 KJV). And again, it is written in Matthew 21:22 “And all things what so ever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." So Heavenly Father, today I remind you of your Word, which I know that you watch over to perform, that based upon your written Word, and my confession of faith in Jesus Christ, my savior and Lord, Alpha and Omega, the “I Am”, the first and the last, the Beginning and the End, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, I confess that you are the Lord, the God of all Flesh, and therefore nothing is impossible for you!  Make a way where there seems to be no way and intervene on my behalf in this, my petition, in Jesus name, Amen