Tightrope walker performed his death-defying walk over a 1,500-foot gorge near the Grand Canyon Sunday night “to the glory of God,” he says. The walk was completed on a two-inch rope without safety harnesses. According to The Washington Post blog, before the performance Wallenda and his family prayed with megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, and those who watched the performance noticed his constant prayer during the walk asking Christ to “steady the rope” and to help him relax.
The Los Angeles Times quoted this prayer:
“These feel slippery, there’s dust on the cable… Thank you Jesus, for this beautiful view. … Praise you, Jesus. Oh, I love you. Thank you, Jesus. … Lord, help this cable calm down. … Yes, Jesus. Oh, you’re my savior. Yes, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. … God, you’re so good. Thank you for this opportunity, Lord. … Lord, help me to relax, Father. … Help me to calm down, and relax. You are my king. Help me to relax, Lord. … Yes, Lord. Relaxed. Oh, Lord, peace. … The winds are way worse than I expected. … I need to relax more. Hard to relax when you’re 1,500 feet above the canyon. … Thank you, Jesus. … “Lord, you are my everything. Lord, you are my all in all. You are my peace, my strength, my wisdom, my guidance. … Yeshua. Jesus. You’re my rock. My salvation. Sorcerer. King. Everything. Lord, you are my everything. … Glory to your name. Glory, glory, glory. … Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Discovery Channel, for believing in me. Thank you, Jesus.”
Wallenda himself comes from a long line of daredevils — seven generations of them — but he says he performs “to the glory of God”: “I didn’t know why God had given [our family] this gift, but I knew in my heart that the only way to honor it was to use it. Even if it was difficult, even if it was dangerous. Danger was real, but fear was a choice. I would choose faith instead — after all, that was a part of my family legacy too. Everything we did was for the glory of God.”
