Miracles in Enemy Territory • followHIM Favorites • March 23-29 • Come Follow Me

Summary

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Podcast Summary: followHIM Favorites

Episode: Miracles in Enemy Territory
Hosts: Hank Smith & John Bytheway
Date: March 19, 2026
Scripture Focus: Exodus 1–6 (“Come, Follow Me” lesson)

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Overview

This episode of followHIM Favorites explores the theme of divine assistance in difficult circumstances, drawing from the scriptural story of Moses and his hesitation to become a leader because of his self-perceived inadequacy in speaking. John Bytheway shares a powerful real-life miracle story illustrating the Lord’s promise to "be with thy mouth" (Exodus 4:12), showing how faith and the gift of tongues can manifest in modern times.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Moses’ Struggle and the Lord’s Promise (00:03–00:31)

• John and Hank begin by referencing how both Moses (Exodus 4) and Enoch (Pearl of Great Price) felt unqualified to speak for God due to speech difficulties.

  • Notable Scripture:
    • "Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say." (Exodus 4:12)

• John draws parallels to the "gift of tongues" and questions whether this is what happened to Moses.

2. A World War II Miracle: The Gift of Tongues in Action (00:31–05:10)

• Story from A Distant Prayer by Joseph Banks:

  • John recounts a harrowing true story:
    • An American POW in Germany, marked by obvious prisoner identifiers, finds himself exposed at night as a German soldier and a woman emerge from a nearby house.
    • The German soldier yells something in his native language.
    • The POW, not knowing German, miraculously responds—in perfect German—with whatever phrase was needed. The soldier is satisfied and returns inside, leaving him unharmed.

• Miraculous Details:

  • The POW and his companions are stunned:
    • “I told him I had no idea either what he said or I said—I couldn’t speak German.” (John, 04:32)
    • He had never used any of the German words learned in the POW camp, nor would his accent have passed as native.
  • The POW feels a burning in his heart, recognizing divine intervention—the Holy Ghost supplied the right words and even seemed to adjust the German’s perception of him:
    • “I think in some way, my appearance had been transformed so they didn’t recognize me.” (John, quoting Banks, 04:50)
    • “I’ve heard it said that for something to be a miracle, there can be no logical or earthly way to explain it. If that’s true, then I was clearly the beneficiary of a miracle.” (John, quoting Banks, 05:00)

3. Drawing the Scriptural Connection (05:10–05:33)

• Hank responds in awe:

  • “Wow.” (Hank, 05:10)
  • “I will be with thy mouth. And that’s exactly what he did.” (John, 05:11)

• Hank and John reflect on the Lord’s rhetorical question to Moses:

  • “Who made man’s mouth?” (Hank, 05:17)
  • “Yeah, that’s right.” (John, 05:31)

• The story serves to reinforce the week’s theme—God empowers those He calls, especially in moments of need and apparent impossibility.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I was startled to hear myself respond with a calm, confident German phrase that was obviously appropriate to what he’d asked me.”
  — John, quoting Joseph Banks (03:27)

• “I told him I had no idea either what he said or I said—I couldn’t speak German.”
  — John (04:32)

• “The Holy Ghost had interpreted what the German had said to me and put the appropriate words in my mouth to respond—I’d been blessed with the gift of tongues.”
  — John, quoting Banks (04:45)

• “If that’s true, then I was clearly the beneficiary of a miracle. And it thrilled me to know that God was still watching out for me and that he cared for me.”
  — John, quoting Banks (05:00)

• “I will be with thy mouth. And that’s exactly what he did.”
  — John (05:11)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:15 – Moses and Enoch’s doubts; introduction to the theme of “slow of speech.”
• 01:05 – Introduction to Joseph Banks’ World War II experience.
• 03:27 – The miracle occurs: responding fluently in German.
• 04:32 – Realization: “I couldn’t speak German.”
• 05:00 – Declaration of miracle status.
• 05:11 – Host reflection on “I will be with thy mouth.”

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Tone and Language

• Warm, faith-promoting, conversational
• Emphasis on wonder, gratitude, and humility in the face of divine intervention
• Storytelling manner draws listeners in, making spiritual parallels accessible

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Closing Notes

The episode powerfully reinforces the message that when God calls someone—even in their weakness—He supplies what they lack, be it words or courage. Real stories, both ancient and modern, prove God’s capacity to perform miracles in “enemy territory,” wherever and whenever His children need support.

For a deeper dive into Exodus 1–6, the hosts recommend the full episode with Dr. Crystal Pierce.

Transcript

[John]

Foreign. Hey.

[Hank]

Welcome to Follow him favorites. This is where John and I share a single story to go with each week's Come Follow me Lesson John Exodus 1 through 6. You have a story, and I'm ready to hear it.

[John]

Yeah, we remember that both Moses and Enoch said something similar in the pearl of great price, that I'm slow of speech. I'm of a slow tongue. I can't talk. Well, in Exodus 4:12, the Lord says, now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. Interesting phrase. I'll be with thy mouth. I thought, what is that gift of tongues? He helped him. I do have kind of a gift of tongues story. You know, Hank, that I am intrigued by World War II history. I have a book called A Distant Prayer, and it's by Joseph Banks and Jerry Barrowman. Elder Ben Banks was Joseph Banks, I believe, youngest brother. When I read this book, I thought, okay, this is not like Hogan's Hero. He was on a B17 crew, shot down, spent time in a German prisoner of war camp. Towards the end of the war, the Germans say, the Russians are coming. We're going to evacuate the camp and march you out of here. They march for like six weeks. And then the Germans were ordered to the Russian front. So now these prisoners are on their own. They're alone. If I remember right, they have a big white PW on the front and the back and on their pants. That means prisoner of war. Well, this story's so cool. They're marching through these towns. They don't have a map of Germany. He said he tried to remember one the best he could. We crept along slowly and deliberately, these group of prisoners of war, hardly making a sound, maintaining 10ft between each member of our team. Roland was a great leader at times like this because he never got excited or panicked. Suddenly, I was startled by a voice in the darkness. As I instinctively turned to look, a door opened from a house on my. The light from inside shone on me, and it was such an unexpected contrast from the darkness, it temporarily blinded me. I stood there like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car, unable to move. Suddenly, a German soldier came striding out of the house straight for me, followed by a woman. Fortunately, the field of light was restricted enough so they could only see me, giving my three partners a chance to take cover. As the soldier got closer, his shadow shielded my eyes enough for me to see a huge German tank parked next to the house. I could see the excited look in his eyes. I stood there transfixed Unable to move or make a sound, I didn't know whether to run, put my hands up, fall to my knees, beg for mercy, so I just stood there. When he reached me, he shouted something unintelligible in German. Before I could think of what to do, I was startled to hear myself respond with a calm, confident German phrase that was obviously appropriate to what he'd asked me. He then replied to whatever I'd said with an almost cheerful ja, ja, ja. Then he put his arm around the woman, turned his back on me, and went back into the house and closed the door. I was so astonished and frightened. I simply stood there with my mouth open. My buddies had seen and heard the whole thing, and when I didn't move, they came out and grabbed me and pulled me behind a nearby outbuilding where we could hide. The whole encounter took only a few seconds. The first thing my buddy said was, what on earth did he say to you? And what did you say back when you talked to him? I told him I had no idea either what he said or I said I couldn't speak German. I knew that I didn't use any of the few German words I learned in the POW camp, like hello, yes or no, sir. Even if I had, my accent would have been terrible. A German would have recognized me as a foreigner immediately. Whatever I said had satisfied him, and all of us stood there marveling in disbelief what had just happened. Considering I was standing fully in plain sight of this soldier with my straggly beard, tattered clothes, no coat, bright white letters painted on my trousers and shirt, it was impossible he didn't recognize me as an escaped prisoner. Instead of shooting me or calling for help, though, he looked straight at me, spoke in his native tongue, listened to my response in a foreign tongue I had never spoken before, and he accepted my answer as legitimate. Even if the guards hadn't figured it out, there was the woman who also stared at me and heard the words that passed between us. Why didn't either of them figure out what was going on? As all of this settled in my mind, I felt a burning in my heart that told me I had been blessed once again and that the Holy Ghost had interpreted what the German had said to me and put the appropriate words in my mouth to respond, I'd been blessed with the gift of tongues. I don't know what those two Germans saw, but obviously they didn't see any letters on my clothing, though they should have stood out like a neon sign in the bright light that shone through the door. The spirit may also have changed what they saw. I think in some way, my appearance had been transformed so they didn't recognize me. I've heard it said that for something to be a miracle, there can be no logical or earthly way to explain it. If that's true, then I was clearly the beneficiary of a miracle. And it thrilled me to know that God was still watching out for me and that he cared for me.

[Hank]

Wow.

[John]

I will be with thy mouth. And that's exactly what he did.

[Hank]

Oh, my word. That's amazing. What does the Lord say to Moses when Moses says, I won't be able to say anything? Who made man's mouth?

[John]

Who made man's mouth?

[Hank]

Have not I the Lord?

[John]

Yeah, that's right.

[Hank]

That is awesome. We hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him. You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. We're with Dr. Crystal Pierce this week. She's awesome. She walks through these first chapters of Exodus. She has such an expertise that it's really fun. You'll see things you've never seen. Then come back here next week we'll do another Follow him favorites.