Frontier Ranch

FRONTIER RANCH — 1951

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6).

BBuena Vista, uilt in the 1920s by a prominent St. Louis Colorado dentist, Round-Up Lodge for Boys was a private summer camp reserved for the elite. It was just up the hill from Young Life’s Silver Cliff Ranch and, after a visit to the camp in August 1950, Jim Rayburn revealed to his wife his confidence in God’s plan for the property. After serving as guest speaker at Round-Up Lodge’s banquet, Jim told Maxine, “Max, these folks don’t know it yet, but this place doesn’t belong to them anymore. I asked our Father for it this evening.” That same summer, without Jim’s knowledge, two work crew kids, Cy Burress and Jerry Kirk, had also been praying that God would give the camp to Young Life. Cy and Jerry would often hike up the mountain behind Silver Cliff to read the Bible and pray. On one such trip they discovered Round-Up Lodge for Boys. In the words of former Young Life President Bob Mitchell, who was Cy and Jerry’s work crew boss that summer, “They actually prayed Young Life would someday have that camp. When we heard what those kids were doing, we counseled them to pray more appropriately and not ask God for stupid things like that – especially right after He’d given us Silver Cliff. It’s a wonder we didn’t ruin their prayer life. Instead they strengthened ours.” A short time later, on a humorous impulse, a friend (Ted Benson) sent Jim a clipping from the “New Yorker” magazine advertising an unnamed boy’s camp for sale in Colorado for half a million dollars. The asking price was lowered to $350,000; however, the price was lowered again to $250,000 by owner, Dr. E. Alfred Marquard, after meeting with Jim. The Young Life Board approved the project, and on March 20, 1951, Young Life closed the deal.

Isn’t it amazing how the prayers of two young men led to the acquisition of a camp that would impact countless lives for decades to come? What are you praying for today? Have your prayers become safe and “appropriate,” or, like Cy and Jerry, are you praying for “stupid things.” Take some time today to present your unrestricted requests to an unrestricted God.