The view of the Golden Gate from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem has to be one of the most awe-inspiring sites anyone ever will see.

As our bus came to a stop, I came to the rail surrounding the view post and stared at the site. My prayers went up as an arrow, flying high to the target. I knew that the Lord would hear me that day. You see, when you are an evangelist, preaching 300 times a year and without a vacation in over six years, you became desperate for a breakthrough and a voice from heaven. God had to speak me that day, for my heart was yearning for His voice.

When I turned around, the group had disappeared and I found myself lost without anyone to follow. William, our guide, had taken the group to the bathroom. I had not noticed them leaving, and not knowing where to go, I asked a man selling maps,” If you were lost from your group, what would you do?” He looked to me with interest and said, “See that man? Follow him.” The man was as lost as I was and was going down an alley headed to Garden of Gethsemane. I walked as fast as I could from the top of the Mount of Olives through the Kidron Valley.

William, our guide, asked the priest in charge of the garden if we could go in and kneel around those trees. The priest consented and as if an angel opened the gates, we went in for prayer. I have been around prayer altars for 30 years but I never felt what I felt kneeling in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The years of service, praying and fasting, overcoming all odds, crying and pleading for power - all of it came to a halt in the garden. I wanted to thank Him. I wanted to ask for energy and strength amidst the pain of missing my family, my grandchildren and my wife. The road gets lonely and tiresome. From hotel to hotel year after year, you become almost numb. If was not for the power of the Holy Spirit, I would be dead by now. But by His grace and love, I am renewed day by day. Each morning as if magic, all my tiredness is transformed into joy and my mind is overpowered by the Word.

Gethsemane was the moment, the miracle. Kneeling close to those trees was as powerful as kneeling at a poor church in Brazil. It was supernatural and overwhelming to me. I asked the Lord for strength, grace, and blessings for the year of 2008. I asked the Lord for blessing in my family and my children. I asked the Lord for mercy. I asked the Lord for power to continue on this road of obedience. My heart was pounding inside my chest. I could not contain my tears of joy and conviction. The love of God was present and ministering to me. I want to go back to that place next year! It changed my life!

Rick Bonfim

Edited by Betty Mckinney