A Thief Finds God

Score one for the power of prayer.

On Monday, a devout and quick-thinking clerk at Advance America check cashing store in Indianapolis took charge when a young man came in with a gun intent on robbing the store.

Gregory Smith pointed the gun at clerk Angela Montez and told her times were hard, he had a son to support and "he had no choice," but to execute the robbery, according to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, as reported by Good Morning America.

But rather than completely panic and hand over the cash, Montez decided to talk with him about God. She got Smith to open up about his problems and he eventually asked her to pray with him. Then, Smith did something really unexpected. As Montez herself described in her 911 call, "he took the bullet out of the gun and said, 'Here, I'm not going to hurt you."

The pair then hugged, and Smith... unfortunately... went ahead with the robbery. He asked Montez to hide in the bathroom and walked out with only $20 and her cell phone.

But the good news is Smith's conscience got the better of him. He turned himself in that same night at the urging of his mother, who recognized his face from a surveillance video on the evening news. He was arrested on robbery and firearm charges. But we gotta believe a judge will show some leniency based on how the event transpired.

And we certainly commend Montez for her chutzpah. Not everyone would have had the courage to pray with a person holding a gun to them, but Montez clearly felt she had a higher power on her side.

Photo courtesy of alaneno via stock.xchang.