Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
Summer 2001
Volume 108 - No. 2
BLE Focus
The power of prayer
Brother Pryor
Tired of reading about railroad accidents that led to injury and death, a locomotive engineer from Palestine, Texas, decided to fight back.
He didn't go on strike. He didn't write a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration. He didn't argue with the company trainmaster.
He prayed.
Brother Freddie Pryor of BLE Division 857 (Tyler, Texas) combined the power of prayer with the power of the Internet to create an online prayer chain. The prayers are mostly for the safety of railroad crews throughout North America, and some BLE members will tell you Pryor's online prayers are being answered.
BLE members with an Internet connection and access to the Members E-mail List know Brother Pryor for his "Today's Prayer" messages, which he began in April of 1999. For nearly two years, Brother Pryor sent an online prayer to the Members List each day.
"I just felt led of God to pray for my Brothers and Sisters on the job," said Pryor. "We may have different company names on our paychecks and live in different parts of the country, but we have the same circumstances in our lives, both on and off the job."
Brother Pryor tested the waters of the Members List to see if the daily prayers were welcome. He received approval from most, but not all, of the more than 400 BLE members who participate in the daily e-mail exchange.
"There were some objections to the prayers at first, just as there have been objections over politics, humor, commercial, or anything non-union, non-railroad related being posted (to the list)," Pryor said. "The intent of the 'Today's Prayer' was to seek guidance and protection from God for my Brothers and Sisters on railroads everywhere - not to convert anyone to Christianity. One day there was a Brother who was having a bad day and he posted a letter telling me to keep religion out of his life. We had quite a flurry for about three days of objections and support."
But do these prayers for safe passage really work? One BLE member thinks so, and he credits "Today's Prayer" with helping him avert a potentially deadly situation.
The Union Pacific Railroad had just increased train speeds through Merced, Calif., from 40 mph to 60 mph. Brother Ronnie E. Lee of Bakersfield, Calif., was making his first trip at the new speed.
"I was nervous going through at 20 mph over what I normally do," said Brother Lee, 50, who serves as Secretary-Treasurer of BLE Division 126 (Bakersfield, Calif.). "I started coming in to Merced and saw something at the other end of town that didn't look right, maybe a mile and a half away I immediately started stopping just in case. I stopped one car length away from an automobile on the main line.
"I jumped off the side of the engine We found a little old lady, 80-years-old with a walker in the back seat. She rolled down her window and said she was sorry, but she was just leaving the doctor's office and needed to get her prescription filled. She was headed to the pharmacy when she made a wrong turn. She drove about a quarter of a mile down the mainline tracks before she high-centered. All I could think of was Freddie's prayer that I had read the night before when I left on my trip: 'Dear Lord, look out for those who cross our paths.' "
In retrospect, he credits Brother Pryor's "Today's Prayer" for helping avert the potential tragedy.
"I couldn't wait to get home and send an e-mail letting him know his prayers are being answered," Lee said.
As the word about "Today's Prayer" began to spread, Brother Pryor received more and more prayer requests. After printing out the requests and the words of encouragement he had received, Pryor found himself with a stack of paper two inches thick.
"I kept coming across one-liners such as, 'My husband is working tonight, thank you for your prayers,' 'Thanks for your prayers, keep them coming,' 'I don't always read them but I look for them,' and often just one word, 'Thanks.'"
"I always read Freddie's prayers, for, like many of us, we do not have a social life where we can go to church," said Brother Lee. "So I get what I can out of Freddie's prayers."
Pryor left the Air Force in 1971 and hired on as an assistant signalman for the Missouri Pacific in March of 1972. He transferred to engine service 14 months later and began work as a fireman in Palestine, Texas. He was promoted to locomotive engineer in September of 1974 and he joined BLE Division 194 on October 1, 1974. He transferred to Division 857 in February of 2001.
After nearly two years of posting prayers each day, Pryor cut back. "I started out with a daily prayer, which after a year or so, seemed to be becoming mechanical," Pryor said. "There were some who indicated they prayed the prayer in agreement with me as they read it, and I didn't want it to become the same prayer every day to them and start deleting it before they opened it. That is when I started posting a prayer as the Holy Spirit impressed upon my heart to do so."
Today, Pryor still posts occasional prayers to the Members List, but participates more regularly with an online prayer team.
"There are 23 engineers, one conductor, two wives of engineers, and one International Division staff member on the team," Pryor said. "We share situations in our lives that need a touch from God."
The 27 people in Brother Pryor's prayer team are employed by Amtrak, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Conrail, CSX, Delaware & Hudson, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and the Union Pacific.
While some may doubt the impact these prayers may have, Brother Pryor is convinced the power of prayer mixed with the power of the Internet has made a positive impact.
"I know it has made a difference in some Brothers' and Sisters' lives on a specific day with a specific problem," he said.
Ronnie Lee would agree.
"Amen."
© 2001 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers