Pastor Randy’s
devotional:
Are
any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You
should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the
church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the
Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make
you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. James
5:13-15
January 21st Prayer:
January 21st Prayer:
To the God who answers prayer—I
repent of my lack of prayer. I ask forgiveness of You for losing confidence
that You even hear my prayer. You have called me to pray and I am committing to
pray. I will pray for healing— pray for provision—pray for the lost—pray for
family—pray for direction and guidance. Father, I am excited today to renew my
faith in You. You would not call me to pray if it had no value. You are going
to hear a lot from me in 2018 . . . in Jesus’ name!
My thoughts:
Her spine was deformed
at birth, but unknown to her mother and me.
When she was 2 she fell and through an MRI at the emergency room the deformity
was discovered. There was one neurosurgeon
specialist in the US who could perform the surgery, and he was booked solid for
months into the future. We hit our
knees, we went to the church and prayed with our pastors, we reached out to our
friends and family for prayers. Within a
few days we received a call from the assistant to this skilled
neurosurgeon, and they wanted to see her the next week. Was it a
co-incidence? No, I believe it was an
answered prayer.
She went through 18 months of many visits back and forth to this doctor 900 miles away. After several visits, she was 3 years old, when the Doctor came into the room after seeing results of that visit and gave us the news that she would need surgery within the next few weeks. We had drained our savings, we arrived home that week in panic of how to make it back in 2 weeks. Again, we kit our knees, we went to our church. Prayers were lifted up, Pastor Randy laid hands upon our little girl and prayed for her healing and successful surgery. Within a single day we received a call from a close Pastor friend at another local church with a word that our travel was completely paid for.
That week, we received an invitation for coffee with the parents of a 17 year old friend of our oldest daughter, who had been to this exact same neurosurgeon with the same problem when she was a young child. Again – could it just be a co-incidence that this girl lived in the same city as us, and was friends with our daughter, and had the same problem and the same surgery that our daughter was going to endure. No; it was not a co-incidence, it was an answer to prayer. We left that coffee table fully informed and much more prepared for what lie ahead and comfort that our little girl was going to be okay.
We arrived the day before the surgery, and our family came in from Michigan and met us there. We were wrapped in love and strength in this trying time. The morning of surgery the doctor prepared us for what to expect. A metal brace and halo would be mounted to her head to extend the spine for surgery. This would then remain attached for 4 to 6 months while she recovered. As the doors closed and her gurney was wheeled down the hallway, we turned away as broken parents. If you’ve been in a similar situation you know the emptiness that is felt inside, knowing you are helpless to solve your child’s problem. The next 8 hours were spent in prayer, in fear and in quiet with our family around us. The doctor came out and called the two of us into a room. They were 80% through the surgery and the surgeon’s exact quote was, “..I’ve done thousands of these surgeries and never had one this successful. She is doing absolutely wonderful, and we will be able remove the metal brace and halo.” Four hours later he emerged with a huge smile on his face and the wonderful news that the surgery went perfect. 2 weeks later we took our sweet little girl home.
So tell me, does God answer prayer? Do prayers for healing work? In total there were seventeen miracles/answered prayers in this 2 ½ year journey. God answered our prayers then and today our beautiful miracle baby is 14 years old, incredibly smart, playing sports and following the Lord, Jesus Christ. Her medical records have been logged in Science and Medical Journals as an exceptional case of spinal stenosis surgery. God is our provider, our healer and our salvation.
She went through 18 months of many visits back and forth to this doctor 900 miles away. After several visits, she was 3 years old, when the Doctor came into the room after seeing results of that visit and gave us the news that she would need surgery within the next few weeks. We had drained our savings, we arrived home that week in panic of how to make it back in 2 weeks. Again, we kit our knees, we went to our church. Prayers were lifted up, Pastor Randy laid hands upon our little girl and prayed for her healing and successful surgery. Within a single day we received a call from a close Pastor friend at another local church with a word that our travel was completely paid for.
That week, we received an invitation for coffee with the parents of a 17 year old friend of our oldest daughter, who had been to this exact same neurosurgeon with the same problem when she was a young child. Again – could it just be a co-incidence that this girl lived in the same city as us, and was friends with our daughter, and had the same problem and the same surgery that our daughter was going to endure. No; it was not a co-incidence, it was an answer to prayer. We left that coffee table fully informed and much more prepared for what lie ahead and comfort that our little girl was going to be okay.
We arrived the day before the surgery, and our family came in from Michigan and met us there. We were wrapped in love and strength in this trying time. The morning of surgery the doctor prepared us for what to expect. A metal brace and halo would be mounted to her head to extend the spine for surgery. This would then remain attached for 4 to 6 months while she recovered. As the doors closed and her gurney was wheeled down the hallway, we turned away as broken parents. If you’ve been in a similar situation you know the emptiness that is felt inside, knowing you are helpless to solve your child’s problem. The next 8 hours were spent in prayer, in fear and in quiet with our family around us. The doctor came out and called the two of us into a room. They were 80% through the surgery and the surgeon’s exact quote was, “..I’ve done thousands of these surgeries and never had one this successful. She is doing absolutely wonderful, and we will be able remove the metal brace and halo.” Four hours later he emerged with a huge smile on his face and the wonderful news that the surgery went perfect. 2 weeks later we took our sweet little girl home.
So tell me, does God answer prayer? Do prayers for healing work? In total there were seventeen miracles/answered prayers in this 2 ½ year journey. God answered our prayers then and today our beautiful miracle baby is 14 years old, incredibly smart, playing sports and following the Lord, Jesus Christ. Her medical records have been logged in Science and Medical Journals as an exceptional case of spinal stenosis surgery. God is our provider, our healer and our salvation.
Be Blessed,
Rich
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