Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘This Is a Miracle’: Family Says Prayer, Holy Spirit Saved Them as Tornado Tore Home Apart

Photo: CBN News
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

May 31, 2024

“This is a miracle.”

Dr. Joshua Fowler and his family escaped with mere seconds before a tornado ripped through their Valley View Texas, home Saturday, crediting divine intervention for their remarkable survival. 

Fowler, a revivalist and preacher through his Awake The World ministry, emotionally recounted to CBN News the shocking events that could have killed the family — but miraculously didn’t.

“I was in the living room and I had one of my spiritual sons visiting from Orlando,” Fowler said. “My wife was in bed, my kids were in bed sleeping.”

Despite previously enduring frequent storms without any hesitation, Fowler suddenly felt “prompted [by] the Holy Spirit” to go and get his wife, Lisa.

“I felt prompted to go tell my wife, ‘Get out of bed,'” he said, noting he also went to get his 18-month-old and 3-year-old out of their bedrooms. “I went and grabbed them, and we ran up under the smallest place in our house, which is … under the stairs, there’s a restroom, a little, teeny restroom. We got in there.”

That’s when he called his 17-year-old son, Benjamin, and tried to get him to join them. But within seconds, it became clear that a serious calamity was upon them.

“As I was closing the door, it went, ‘Wham,'” and this … tornado’s [trying] to suck up our whole house,” Fowler said. “We could feel the heat under our feet, and air, and moisture, and like being sucked up, and the whole house was just shaking.”

Unbeknownst to Fowler and Lisa at the time, a wall had come down, forcing Benjamin and the man visiting the home that night to take refuge in the pantry. Meanwhile, Fowler, Lisa, and their two younger children huddled in the bathroom as the intense winds and chaos raged just outside the door.

With horror closing in, the family turned to intense prayer.

Listen to the latest episode of the “Quick Start” Podcast 👇

“We just began to pray … like blood-curdling, screaming, crying out from the top of our lungs — ‘God, please, please help us, God!'” Fowler said, noting the family suddenly felt the Holy Spirit and became emboldened to keep invoking the Lord. “We just begin to command the storm. We said, ‘We command you to leave this land right now, in Jesus’ name!”

He continued, “It felt like eternity. I know it was only minutes, but, somehow, in the middle of commanding it to stop, it stopped.”

Lisa told CBN she believes God protected their family in those moments, crediting prayer for saving their lives.

“We kind of went from a moment of just, like, bleeding out, praying, ‘God help us,’ and then it shifted where we felt like, ‘We need to take control of the atmosphere, and, you know, use the authority that God has given us to speak to the storm.”

Lisa said the invocations went from fearful in nature to fervent, with the family declaring to the storm, “You’ve got to leave.”

Fowler, who survived a plane crash as a child and knows a thing or two about diabolical and scary scenarios, said this tornado situation was truly the most harrowing he’s faced.

“It was scary,” he said. “I’ve never in my life felt such terror.

The family was stunned to see extensive damage to the home once the storm stopped and they were able to leave the bathroom.

They’ve been told the home, which lost its roof and is in ruins, is potentially a total loss.

“We’re just trusting God that we’re going to be able to build again and that God’s going to get the glory,” Fowler said. “And he’s a God of restoration.”

And that’s when the revivalist turned his own pain into what he hopes will be a purpose for others going through difficult times. Despite Fowler’s loss, he wants to inspire others to seek God’s face in the storm.

“If you’ve been through something tragic like this, or even if you feel spiritually like you’re broken … I’m just declaring and decreeing over you today that God’s going to heal and he’s going to restore,” he said. “And I believe one day I’ll be able to come back … and I’ll be able to tell you how God has restored what’s been broken here.”

Lisa said, for her part, she’s focused on staying strong for her family. Her 3-year-old, traumatized by what unfolded, continues to discuss it.

“I’ve really been focusing on just trying to keep the peace, and keep my faith strong, and keep my family as strong as possible,” she said. “We’re just so thankful that we’re all alive, and we came out of this without a stretch.”

The Fowlers said those interested in helping the family during their time of need can give through their website. You can also read more about the family’s past tent revivals, which brought powerful nights of faith to Dallas, Texas.

***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, invented by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***

Latest

  • News

    Ministry Offers Radical Hope for Addicted, Imprisoned, Afflicted Men Who Have Hit Rock Bottom

  • News

    Christian Baker Terrorized by Disturbing Threats, Legal Chaos Over Cake Refusal Won’t Back Down

  • Faith

    Tim Allen Begins Reading New Testament, Reveals Which Book Has Left Him ‘Amazed’

  • News

    Evangelist Nick Vujicic Urges Christians to Embrace Biblical Counseling

  • Faith

    ‘This Is the Core Belief of New Thought’: Apologist Uncovers Deceptive Theologies


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Recent Posts

  • Ministry Offers Radical Hope for Addicted, Imprisoned, Afflicted Men Who Have Hit Rock Bottom
  • Christian Baker Terrorized by Disturbing Threats, Legal Chaos Over Cake Refusal Won’t Back Down
  • Tim Allen Begins Reading New Testament, Reveals Which Book Has Left Him ‘Amazed’
  • Evangelist Nick Vujicic Urges Christians to Embrace Biblical Counseling
  • ‘This Is the Core Belief of New Thought’: Apologist Uncovers Deceptive Theologies

Archives

  • June 2025
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.