Rucksack on my back, rushing downstairs on my way into uni, just as my feet hit the landing midway down, I felt suddenly hit by an overwhelming sense of God’s divine presence, so much that I instantly burst into tears!

Amid this strange 3-5-second moment, wondering what was going on, a clear, empathetic, inner voice simply stated, “no one should have to die for drawing a cartoon.” Intuitively decoding the reference to being of the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attack, I understood that a similar danger was looming in Paris again. Wiping the tears off my face, I posted a call to members of the group to pray about a potential terrorist attack in Paris.

Later the same day, having completely forgotten about the event of the morning, a message popped back on the group from Claire: “Reuben have you seen the news? The top item is a terrorist attack in Paris!”

God had seen the attack coming, and moved compassionately to mobilise prayer, even through half-hearted intercessors. I cannot say that any of us had realised how genuinely and urgently we needed to pray, nor responded adequately to the alert. It was one of our earliest calls to recognise the significance and opportunity of “partnering with God” through prayer.

In spite of the tragedy, we were inspired and encouraged by the glimpse of God’s foreknowledge and compassion we’d been given, for which our faith and responsiveness to God’s Spirit down the road were strengthened.