As the search for missing Iowa student Mollie Tibbetts approaches the three-week mark, a 2016 video of the then-18-year-old sharing how prayer has impacted her life has been circulating online. The video, shared on social media earlier this month by Tibbetts’ aunt, Billie Jo Calderwood, offers a powerful glimpse into the private faith of this young woman.
Speaking at a faith event at her high school, Tibbetts describes the first time she cried out to God in prayer. During a particularly trying cross country season, the student athlete experienced difficulty with her breathing that left her feeling “really weak” and not able to compete in two meets. This physical struggle gave way to anxiety and fear that eventually prompted her to seek heavenly help.
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“I had no idea what to do,” she said. “I was so scared, so for the first time in my life — I’ve prayed before, but I’ve never gotten down on my knees and just prayed to God — so I did. I got down, and I prayed, and I asked God to give me the strength to make it through it, to tell me what to do, to help me out with whatever happened and to know what His plan was.”
At the next meet, she went on to run her best time thus far that season. Tibbetts said that she believes the Lord used that moment to demonstrate His faithfulness and care for her.
“In that moment, I kind of knew that that was God’s way of showing me that the power of prayer was really something,” she said.
Tibbetts acknowledged that the story may seem insignificant to others, but she knows that God used that experience to speak to her in a way that touched her personally.
“What your testimony is, is showing everyone the strength that God has given you,” she said.
In the wake of her sudden disappearance, Tibbetts’s moving words about the power of prayer offer some insight into her confident reliance on the Almighty, and her desire for others to do the same.
Last month, a friend of Mollie’s took to Twitter, urging people to lift the missing student up in prayer:
Pray. Please, pray. This is a job that cannot be done without prayer and help from our Heavenly Father. You can speak to God anytime, He will listen. I cannot stress enough how deeply your prayers are needed to bring Mollie home. Prayers can do no harm. pic.twitter.com/wdHbqv5DRW
— Maddie Jansen (MJ) (@MJansen_2) July 20, 2018
In an interview with CBS News following their daughter’s disappearance, Tibbetts’s family described her as “a light who loves to lift others.”
“Everyone has their own talent,” Tibbetts said in the 2016 video, “whether it’s a sport you’re good at or if you’re good at dance or if you’re a great writer, or even if you’re just a good person — that’s one of the best things you can be good at.”
Please continue to pray for Tibbetts’s safe return home. Faithwire will be posting updates as they become available.
(H/T: CBS News)