It was a time after the world had changed, a time after the Towers fell. We were a family on a journey over the river and through the woods to see loved ones in West Virginia. We crossed state lines with abandon, reveling again in the freedom of America, understanding anew that it truly is the Home of the Brave. We drove north from our South Carolina lowcountry home towards the Appalachian Mountains. We observe precious little fall foliage in our land of palm trees so Terri and I were thrilled to see the autumn yellow mountainsides of Virginia. As we reached a great crossroads of our passage, we did not realize that God was about to grant us a clear validating call from the unlikeliest of sources.

We stopped for a late supper in Wytheville, VA at a Cracker Barrel restaurant located near the intersection of Interstates 81 and 77. We were seated just inside the door in an alcove next to a large table filled with lively young ladies. I looked around to see that our little corner was decorated in a musical theme. Various stringed and brass instruments were hung on the walls along with other musical memorabilia from days gone by. We were then quietly pleased to see the young ladies join hands and pray together as their food was served. They talked with us as they were drawn to our ten-month-old daughter Melody. (She was fascinated with them!) They told us that they were with a college group that was headed to New York to minister hope and aid in the streets of that wounded city. The main part of the group was “Voices of Inspiration”, a choir who would minister in song.

Terri told them that we are Christian musicians, and they got real excited. A couple of guys in the group came over to their table and they told them about us. A gentle spirited young African-American fellow came to our table and asked if we wanted to pray together before they left. We gladly agreed.

About ten minutes later, an inter-racial crowd of some twenty-five Christian kids crowded into our corner and reached out to lay hands on us. I truly felt the power and anointing of God as they touched us. They began to pray, led by the young man who had spoken to us. He prayed prophetically, calling us ministers of music. They prayed the power of God into our music and our walk before the Lord. They were total strangers, praying an intimate blessing on total strangers. They were the Body of Christ operating in a powerful prophetic prayer anointing in a very public place. They were totally unashamed of the Good News of Jesus and wanted a watching world to know that fact.

As the young man finished praying, there was a lull as we all softly prayed in the Spirit. I began to raise my voice in intercession for these young servants of the Lord. I prayed that they would take hope into the streets of New York; that the Lord would guide them to individuals in the same way that they came to us. I prayed that they would spread abroad the Joy of the Lord in the streets of the City That Never Sleeps. As I finished, I looked around at this incredible moment. With a prophetic backdrop of musical instruments, we clustered together in a very public place. Without speaking to anyone around us, we proclaimed loudly that Jesus IS Lord! I again thanked the Lord for our freedom in America, home of these brave kids.

They were from a college in Dallas, Texas. They traveled in a church bus to go and be servants to a fractured city. Their only interest was spreading the joy of the Lord. Their only reward was eternal. In a chance encounter orchestrated by an infinite God, our lives crossed. And so, in the eternal scheme of things, we are forever linked with a young group of believers from Dallas.

The profound significance of this impromptu gathering was not lost on me. The Lord was again reminding me in a very public way of the uniquely critical place that music will be holding in the coming days. Music is now being released with the life-changing power to prophesy hope into the lives of strangers. The Lord is strategically sending His musicians into the very zone of war to sing grace and healing into splintered lives. This vanguard of hope has the power to vanquish the foe.

The book of Romans teaches us that all things work together for good to those who love the Lord. (Romans 8:28) Amidst the smoldering debris of September 11th, it has been hard to see that truth. I now know that if it were not for that terrible day, I would never have had the blessing of meeting some kids from Texas with the power to prophesy into our lives. The spiritual mobilization that is now happening is bringing a massive repositioning that will spawn many more such divine encounters. These will serve to empower believers into higher levels of their callings. This, in turn, will lead to the salvation of many souls as these ministers of truth boldly proclaim the reality of a risen Savior.

The Lord has used these kids to remind me again of the central nature of our musical calling. They knew nothing about us, yet saw us as spiritual proclaimers of musical truth. In a moment more profound than any ordination of man, God used these servants to tell us how He saw us. In a time of confusion when I had almost come to question the validity of mere music in the shadow of events so large, God again assured me of its central importance.

After several private prayer moments and many heartfelt hugs, they drifted out to their coach and were gone. We were left alone in the now almost empty restaurant. Waitresses smiled at us in the shared afterglow of an eternal moment. As we finished and asked for our check, we were given one more surprise. “Oh,” said the waitress, “they paid for it before they left. You don’t owe a thing.” I was again overwhelmed with the goodness of God expressed through these kids.

At a crossroad of our journey, we were shown the power of the Cross by a dedicated group from Dallas. They were traveling on Interstate 81 towards New York City. Eight is the number of new beginnings and one represents a single purpose. They were going to New York with the single purpose of helping that battered city toward a new beginning through the power of the one true God. They were sent by God to be His Voices of Inspiration. We traveled north on I-77 to visit relatives. Seven is a wonderful number that suggests many things. In this case, I believe it meant God’s perfect purpose. Two sevens are that purpose confirmed. Seventy represents release from captivity. Seventy plus seven also suggests a perfect release from bondage. The musical instruments behind and the prayer of a choir before put us literally in the center of God’s purpose for music. The antique brass instruments that were on the walls spoke of the mission of the old Salvation Army who invaded the streets with small brass bands proclaiming the glory of God. The stringed instruments on the walls that included violins, a mandolin and a balalaika (a three-stringed Russian folk instrument) spoke of the world spanning power of this music. The Song of the Lord will go into ALL the earth and accomplish His purpose! The desire of the Lord, which is plainly stated in Scripture, is that ALL would be saved. We know that His love extends to every human on planet earth. We also know that each human can choose to accept or reject this message of Life. The Song of the Lord may be the most powerful secret weapon that He will use to bring more into the Kingdom than we have imagined.

Interstate 81 is a major southwest to northeast corridor that connects to the largest eastern centers of population. I-77 is a north-south route that connects the Carolinas and the Virginias to Ohio. For a brief ten-mile stretch in the mountains of southern Virginia the two mighty highways run together as one road. It was in that stretch that we met the Dallas kids. This speaks that God’s purpose of a new beginning for America is confirmed by Him! Perhaps the biggest part of His purpose for us on this trip was to meet these kids. He used them to clearly underscore His intention. We were on a trip to see our family. We learned just how large that family is in a restaurant in Wytheville.


Pete Jorgensen
Honor Information Systems Inc.
his@honorinformatino.com