The significance of this is not lost on me. The idea that there are people of faith, who take the idea seriously, requesting that the Almighty take action on my behalf to preserve my life and health is, to say the least, humbling. As one who shares that faith, it is not a thing I treat in a casual manner. If you are not a person of faith, it would be akin to asking the United Nations to pass a resolution to protect you, except France, Germany, and Russia would agree.

And so I find myself asking questions about this chorus of prayer that rises on my behalf. I can't deny that I am, indeed, both safe and healthy. It is true that this could have been the case regardless of the requests being made, but my current environment does not assist the odds of that being the case. Travel of any sort is a dicey proposal as of late, and my own travel, and the business I conduct while traveling, make it more so. My faith, besides being the canvas upon which my perception of the universe is painted, serves also as a comfort to myself, my loved ones, and those in my immediate company. It provides me with a serenity in times of adversity, and even danger, that, if nothing else, gives other people one less thing to worry about.

Will I share my faith with you? If you like. Will I demand you agree? Frankly, I won't even ask that you grant that I am sane. I am convinced that the Answer I have found is faithful and true, and equally convinced that you must do the same. I do not condone any answer but my own, any more than a teacher of mathematics would accept a different value for pi, but in the same fashion, I will ask that you prove it yourself.

So, what do I pray about? Some might call it presumptuous to ask, but I am willing to share. When I go to bed at night, I pray in this manner.

"God, thank You for today, and that I was neither killed, wounded, nor captured, and that I did not fail in my work. Thank You for protecting my family, and for keeping them together and at peace in my absence. I ask You, as far as it coincides with Your wisdom and Your plan, to keep them again tomorrow, and show them Your Personal interest in their well-being in some form that they will recognize, in order to build their faith and trust in you. Please, God, be merciful to both Angelina and Jennifer, who are each expecting a baby soon, and grant that their new families would be strong in these difficult times.

"As for myself, I ask nothing other than what you granted me today; that you keep me from harm, illness, and capture, and that you grant me strength and wisdom, so that I may be strong enough, and smart enough, to save the world again tomorrow."