On this program Gregory Vojae of Columbus, Georgia, told of his own experience, as follows:

Back in 1946, I was in Atlanta on business and was staying in the Winecoff Hotel. I awakened suddenly in the middle of the night. I ran to the window and saw that the hotel was on fire. None of the fire equipment reached up to my room on the tenth floor. I tried to crawl to the stairway, but the smoke on the floor was too thick, so I was forced back into the room.

At this point I became very frightened, but I just stood there and said out loud: "You claim to be a student of Christian Science and that God will meet every need. Now this is your opportunity to prove it." Then I began repeating the ninety-first Psalm, stopping frequently to realize what the words really meant.

When I came to the part, "There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," I stopped, I wasn't afraid any more. Then I remembered a statement in an article on Christian Science. The writer said, "If one were in a burning building or a railroad accident, or if he were in a den of lions, there is a law of God which could at once adjust the apparent material circumstances so as to bring about his complete deliverance."

I began to listen for God's direction. The thought came so strongly it was like a voice saying, "Why don't you get dressed?" So I started to dress as I stood at the window trying to get some air. By now smoke was filling the room. I would reach over and take one garment at a time, and soon I was completely dressed except for my shoes. I continued to listen for the next step. The thought came, "Why don't you make a rope?" So I reached over to the bed, taking a sheet or a blanket until I had them all tied into an improvised rope.

I still kept listening for divine direction. The fear tried to return because of what I saw happening to others, and several times I threw my makeshift rope out of the window. Then I would say, "Now you said you would rely on God's guidance to know what to do and when to put this rope out." With that I would pull the rope back into the room. I did this sort of thing several times, each time rebuking myself for not being more obedient.

Finally I turned and saw the room was filled with red smoke, indicating that the fire was close. Then the thought came clearly, "Now is the time." I tied this rope to the window frame and climbed out, even though I couldn't see anything through the smoke outside the building. As I went out the window, I could feel the fire on my face and hands.

While I was hanging on to my homemade rope outside the building, the smoke suddenly cleared and a fireman at the top of a ladder about two stories below saw me. He was able to reach the loose end of a regular rope that hung from the window of another room and began swinging it toward me. After many attempts I was able to grasp the fireman's rope with one hand. I managed to wrap this rope around my hand so I would not slip and fall to the ground. Then I braced myself and let go of my homemade rope. I was able to swing over above the ladder. I then slid to the ladder and climbed down to the street. I was not burned or harmed in any way with the exception of a slight bruise on the palm of my hand from sliding down the rope.

When I reached the ground, I found myself thanking God over and over. The whole experience showed me what prayer can really accomplish. I had to do three things. I had to pray as taught in Christian Science. I had to listen for divine direction, and then act. I can never be grateful enough for the way I was protected and guided through that experience.

The commentary was as follows:

Thank you, Mr. Vojae. You certainly do have good reason to be grateful! I know none of us will ever forget your story. It's such a striking proof of God's guidance.

This experience we've just heard, friends, was much more than a dramatic escape from fire. It was a step-by-step illustration of how we can have God's guidance and protection, no matter how urgent the situation may be. For no matter what the trap may seem to be— whether a burning building, an illness, a job without a future, or a problem of human relationships— no matter what the need may be. Christian Science reveals that divine direction is always within your reach to set you free.

You and I can find the guidance we need for deliverance when we turn wholeheartedly to God through spiritual understanding. Our guest found that three steps were necessary. Remember he said that first he had to pray. Then he had to listen for divine guidance. And then he had to act. Just three steps, but how vital they are! Let's talk about them for a moment.

First of all how do we pray when we need guidance? In Christian Science we learn to fill every thought with grateful conviction of God's ever-presence and His tender, intelligent care for all His children. We recognize His goodness, power, and unfailing love. God is divine Love, and His love for man—your true selfhood—is unlimited. Therefore God's plan for His children includes only good. So we can rejoice in the great fact that when we understand God's power and goodness, this protects us from injury, suffering, loss, or disaster. When we know these spiritual facts and consistently hold to them with humility and conviction, this prayer removes fear. It brings the needed peace so we can take the second step—listening for God's guidance.

To really hear divine Love's direction, we need to follow the wise advice of the Master, Christ Jesus, when he said: "When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." In other words, we can close out fear, impatience, and doubt by gaining the conviction that man can never be separated from God, divine Mind. There is no confusion, no wrong impulse, no danger, where God is. As God, divine Mind, is the very source of all true intelligence. He is always imparting right ideas to His children. Awakening to these truths enables us to know what we need to know when we need to know it.

It is taking these two steps, that is praying with spiritual understanding and listening for divine direction, that conquers fear. Then we are read) for the last step— acting on God's guidance. So thoroughly did our guest conquer fear in this way that he had the courage to resist impulse, even though the flames were approaching him on the tenth floor of the hotel. Then at just the right moment he was led to go out the window on his improvised rope, even though he couldn't see what was below. He trusted God completely and was saved. And we can do the same, for God's guidance never fails, and leads only to good. As Mary Baker Eddy expresses it in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 254), "When we wait patiently on God and seek Truth righteously, He directs our path."

The musical selection on the program was Hymn No. 33 from the Christian Science Hymnal.