After a refreshing night, we were on our way to the first appointment in one of Manila's famous yellow taxis. Reaching our destination, luggage was quickly unloaded and the taxi disappeared into seething traffic, leaving us to put our luggage into temporary storage.

Suddenly, Gordon became agitated and we realised his briefcase had been mislaid. Tickets, passports and credit cards were all in that briefcase, not to mention sermon notes for his appointments. Without these, he couldn't proceed. We rushed around checking all possible locations for that briefcase, just in case we'd missed it on the first look. We realised the briefcase hadn't been unloaded.

At this point, we were joined by the usual pessimistic onlookers. Something as tempting as a briefcase would sorely try the integrity of people in any country and the taxi driver was obviously not rich. Besides that, the briefcase had been placed on the floor behind the driver's seat and he may not be aware of its presence for hours to come. A dishonest passenger could easily take it with them as they alighted.

Strangely, even God's workers forget the most obvious solution to problems in times of need. Nothing is impossible for God--and it was obvious we needed divine intervention. We finally remembered, to our shame, to place the matter before God and gathered our group for prayer. We reminded God that Gordon was on a divine assignment and needed an instant miracle if he was to proceed with his appointments. I must confess the reality of the situation cast a blanket of doubt over my prayer but I joined in the fervent "Amens" as we poured out our distress.

The response was swift. Phoning back to the hotel just vacated, we were amazed to learn the taxi driver had already returned the briefcase to them. All we had to do was pick it up.

Why did he return to that hotel and what made him look behind his seat? The Lord knew there was no time to test our faith and He acted instantly. I didn't need to suggest a prayer response to this miraculous event--it was natural for us to do so. Gordon responded to each prayer of thanks with a hearty "Amen."

God never rests in watching over His servants and is prepared to answer when they call on Him. You would call and I would answer. Job 14:15. Ian Grice spent many years as a missionary to Asia and now lives in Little Mountain, Queensland.