A mother's worst nightmare is seeing one of her children or another child hurt and not being able to help them. I experienced that nightmare in May, 2007, when my son's friend dived into our pool and suffered a paralyzing injury. After calling 911 for over twenty minutes and not getting a response, we took the chance of driving the victim to a local Patient First, an extremely risky life threatening move and not one I recommend, who immediately transported him to Norfolk General Hospital. Over the next 24 hours the doctor's gave us the grim news; the spinal injury would be more than likely permanent and leave the young man paralyzed for life. Nothing is more gut wrenching then the sound of news that seems irreversible, life threatening and permanent. The helplessness you feel when this type of news hits you simply leaves you numb.
As a Christian, my first instinct wasn't to ask God "why" but "what" can I do to help the young man and his family through this life changing event? Holding their hand, reassuring them of a possible "miracle" and possessing a positive attitude seemed like a good response. As would seem natural, I didn't want to give the family "false hope" but something told me to have "faith". Of course, I knew to pray but at that moment even prayer left me feeling overwhelmed and helpless. However, I knew better than to question the hand of God or His purpose and plan for our lives. So I, along with so many others, prayed and prayed and prayed – for a miracle knowing we'd accept whatever God allowed.
The first surgery was scheduled twenty four hours after the victim's arrival to the hospital, enough time to let his body "settle down", giving the doctors a chance to see more clearly what was going on and what to do next. However, spinal injuries like this one typically resulted in permanent paralysis and the doctors made sure to make us all aware of the outcome so we would not have false hope. The morning after the surgery was a critical turning point in the victim's future. During the post surgery exam a group of supporters along with the victim's family gathered in the waiting room to pray. Our prayer was pretty simple; God heal him so that he may walk again. We prayed, cried out to God, standing together in faith that God would respond – one way or another – as we believed for healing. Shortly after we stopped praying a nurse came to the waiting room to summons the parents to the bedside of their son. The doctor, who had been performing a simple "prick" test, needed to see them immediately. Upon entering his room they realized why they had been called; their son could feel the needle pricking him at various points throughout his body. The doctor, at first, thought the response was "phantom pain" but soon realized it wasn't. Never, ever, had the doctor seen such an immediate post surgery response from a victim as he did on that day. Hopefully, the response wouldn't produce false hope. It didn't. Following the first exam, each examination thereafter perplexed the medical staff. Not only were the injuries healing without explanation they were healing rapidly. Within one month the victim left the hospital and is now the only known paralytic recovering from his type of injuries. The victim, who is now a young man, is 97% healed, walking, working and living a normal full life.
While I give full credit to the doctors, medical staff and hospital's quality care, I give even more credit to prayer. I personally believe God has made the body to heal itself and that prayer is a catalyst in our own faith for our body to respond to what God has already naturally provided in us. The degree to which we heal can come from a combination of things; faith, medicine and treatment. So how about the times when people pray and nothing happens? Or when people don't pray and something happens? Does one have precedence over the other? And why would God allow us to suffer if we've prayed and asked for healing? No one knows or is meant to know the answer to these questions; but God. If you have faith then you accept that faith isn't something used to manipulate God's will but to trust in it. If you don't believe in God then all you have is yourself and the resources around you. I choose faith.
Can Prayer heal?
The website WebMD has an interesting article on the subject of prayer and healing (http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/can-prayer-heal), one worthy of reading. While many non-believers can dismiss the existence of God and the power of prayer, too many lives have seen the incredible results of prayer for their healing. Mine included. A victim of a drunk driver hit and run accident in 2002 left me with injuries up and down my right side, leaving me in excruciating pain for eight years. Did I pray for God to heal me? Absolutely! Did it happen immediately? No, but after a season of prayer and fasting in 2010 God healed me completely of my pain. So what happened during all the years I prayed and asked God to heal me? Didn't those prayers matter and why didn't God heal me more quickly? I don't know the answer to that question but I do know that in "His time" he did heal me and now my life is a walking, talking and witnessing example of the power of God to heal us through "complete wellness". I've also learned that God does things in His time and at His will; that's what makes Him God.
For me, prayer is a necessity in my daily life and I have personally experienced the overwhelming results of its power to heal, restore and renew my life. The evidence of how I see God moving in my life and the lives of others when I/we pray has led me to accept God's answers – not mine. It has also allowed me to "re-think" my perception of what "healing" will look like. Increased faith, a relationship with God through Christ and a devotion to love God no matter what is the "healing" I desire. All the rest is just icing on the cake.
Quick tip for wellness: The power of prayer reaches beyond my own understanding and deepens my faith in God.
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