Joel Osteen Prayed with Nick Wallenda Before Historical Grand Canyon Tightrope Walk
Pastor Joel Osteen of Lakewood Church in Texas revealed that he prayed side by side with Christian high wire artist Nik Wallenda before his death-defying walk across the 1,500-foot tall gorge near the Grand Canyon on Sunday.
"I specifically told him or prayed that God just calls him to be at his very best, that he would be focused, that he would have peace," Osteen said in a video posted by NewsFixNow.com.
"Like most people, I felt very nervous and very concerned – you look out there, and he's a little speck – we could just barely even see that that is a person up there. And so it's time to really pray and focus and ask God to help him."
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The feat was broadcasted live on the Discovery Channel, although with a 10-second delay as to not take any chances – just one wrong step from Wallenda could have been fatal. The high wire artist was wearing no safety harness as he crossed over a height taller than the Empire State Building, at times facing gusts of wind of over 20 mph.
"Thank you Lord. Thank you for calming that cable, God," 34-year old Wallenda said at the halfway point, continuing to pray to Jesus throughout his walk, which he completed in 22 minutes and 54 seconds.
"It took every bit of me to stay focused that entire time," Wallenda said after he crossed over and kissed the ground. "My arms are aching like you wouldn't believe." He added that this is what his family had done for 200 years, and it is something he had been training for for many years.
"I didn't tell him not to do it because that was his dream. I went there to support what he was doing. He was very trained, very skilled, they used the best science, the best technology," Osteen added, who also congratulated Wallenda for his success on Twitter.
The Christian high wire artist previously spoke with The Christian Post about his work, noting that faith plays a very important role for him.
"It is my life. My life is based on my faith. I guess the biggest role that it plays is that if I do fall and die I know where I'm going," Wallenda said.
"I don't believe God holds me on that wire in any way. I believe that God gave me a very unique ability to walk the wire and it's up to me whether I want to train properly or whether I want to prepare for it," he added.
Here is the video about Nik Wallenda Completing Grand Canyon High-Wire Walk:
