The Miracle of the Spiders

I was pastor of a two point charge in rural Arkansas. The circuit was about 60 miles from home and so much of my time was spent driving to and from home that I felt that I was not well rested for Sunday worship. As a part-time local pastor there was an added 2 hours of drive time involved in any church activity or visitation. I decided that it would be better if I could stay the weekends in the parish. I started looking for a camping trailer. One of the parishioners was selling one at a price that I could afford and another parishioner had spot where I would have well water, septic tank connections and electricity.

The camper was located next to a pasture and did not have air conditioning. Most evenings if I opened all the windows it would be comfortable even in hot weather. One night I was studying the Bible and some lectionary resources and there were lots of little gnats that were small enough to come in through the window screens. They were so annoying that I was unable to continue to study or leave the lights on. I got so frustrated that I slammed the Bible shut and said “Lord, send me some spiders”.

The following Friday my little 5 word prayer was answered in the most unique and unusual way. There were hundreds of tiny spiders in and out of my camper. They were such small spiders that they would not be able to eat anything bigger than a gnat and all of there small webs were attached only around the windows so that I would no longer be troubled by gnats.