Sunday. A time of worship and church. And we were late. We were both ready at our usual departure time, but my husband was called on a case for his company. I had resigned myself to watch the service from my living room chair even though I wanted to be there in person.
As luck would have it… well, it really wasn’t luck because God knew both of us needed to be there, so luck wasn’t a factor.
We missed part of the worship segment of the service, but not all of it. And I was truly thankful to have been able to participate. And the worship was wonderful.
We worship in a small community church and have been attending there since we moved to North Carolina. And we both wanted to be there this Sunday because our pastor was concluding part four of our church’s series: Storm Clouds of Deception on the Horizon. I took my usual copious notes, so I had them in case I needed them for the telephone Bible Study I’ve been doing for years.
But the reason we had to be there was because we were asked to be the prayer team after the service. The enemy would like nothing more than to keep ministry workers at home and miss God’s blessings. We would have missed a wonderful time of worship and the blessing of ministering to others.
What’s important about being the church’s prayer team today was that if we had stayed home, we would have missed out on the blessing to pray for those in need.
The first man to come forward was a man who has encouraged us and made us laugh since the day we met him. But he’s been having serious health issues for a long time. We have been praying for this brother every Wednesday at our church’s Engine Room Ministry, where a group of us pray for the needs of our church, our community, and the world.
He hadn’t come to pray, but just to tell us how much he loved us. I asked him if we could pray for him, so we did. I could tell the prayer touched him because his hand left my shoulder to wipe away the tears. But we were more blessed by what he had to say after the prayer ended.
That dear brother has bone cancer. He told us how he’d been hospitalized frequently in the past month. (We knew this because of the updates during Wednesday evening prayer time).
But you know, God is greater than any cancer. He told us how his PSA was 70+ when it should be less than 6. That’s not good news. However, he said, during his most recent stay, he had eleven doctors surrounding the foot of his bed. (I suspect the hospital he was in was a teaching hospital, but I didn’t ask.)
The lead doctor called on one of the other ten doctors to tell him what they found. The doctor said, “We can’t explain it. We don’t know why, but your PSA level has dropped to 2.” (My heart leaped for joy. God had answered our prayers.)
Our friend said he told those eleven doctors he knew why his levels had dropped.
“Why,” one doctor asked.
“Because I have hundreds and hundreds of people praying for me,” he said. He told us he had people praying from as far away as Oregon and California.
A few of the doctors murmured “hmmm.” But most of them said nothing. It doesn’t matter if they believe or not because we know why his levels decreased. And it might even awaken them to the possibility that while doctors have the knowledge and experience to treat various diseases, some things are left to the Almighty.
He asked his doctor if he was in remission. The doctor was hesitant to say that was the case and understandably so, but our friend will get a bone scan and blood tests later this week. Of course, we’ll be praying for a good outcome for those tests as well.
And we would have missed out on that blessing of knowing how God answered prayer if we hadn’t gone to church this morning.
We also needed our friend’s uplifting story because, on the heels of hearing his experience, a mother came forward crying. Her little girl has an incurable bone disease. The doctors said it would get progressively worse. We can’t say if the little girl will be healed because it’s not up to us. Our job is to pray for her. The healing will come from the Lord, if He so chooses. So we prayed, along with another woman in our congregation. The experience tore at both of us and wrenched our hearts. But we will continue to pray for that little girl and her family.
Another blessing of being able to minister to that mother and daughter we would not have had if we had stayed home. There’s more to the story about how God intervened so we wouldn’t miss out on these blessings, but that’s for another time.
We are big believers in prayer at our house. How about you? Do you have any answered prayer stories you’d like to share?
and the man, Amos, is one of the minor prophets of the Bible. His name means “burden” or “burden bearer” and he was a man of burden as he delivered prophecies of judgment on the nations surrounding Israel and Israel itself. He lived about ten miles from Jerusalem and Bible scholars have dated his ministry between 750 and 760 BC, at the time of King Uzziah, when the nation of Israel had been divided into two nations for 150 years
So how does this verse correlate to today’s society?
The context of this verse is that King Saul of Israel and his son Jonathan died in battle with the Philistines. David, who would be the next King of Israel, and his men are those who are mourning, fasting and weeping for the two men.
It seems fitting that we talk about men and women lost in battle. Any family who loses a loved one in war is a tragedy. But a family who loses all of their children at one time is unthinkable. That’s just what happened to the Sullivan family during World War II.
Parents who lose a baby or a child are overwrought with the pain of loss but to lose five sons in one fell swoop, I can’t even imagine the pain of suffering that family endured. Some may say, it was a long time ago or time has a way of healing. That may be true to some extent but a parent who loses a child whether that child is a baby, child or an adult, can’t ever be consoled and time doesn’t heal. It only covers the grief until the anniversary of their child’s birth or death.
May we all have an extra measure of compassion for those parents who have lost a child.
Never underestimate the power of the human spirit! There are those who, when burdened with an overwhelming life event come through it stronger and more able to stand against the next crazy life event that could have them crawling on their knees. Then there are others who, when dealt a crushing blow, are devastated to the point of immobility and can’t rise above the situation.
In a health crisis, we never see those who have lost their battle to cancer without a fight. Some retreat into themselves to waste away and die with their family and friends dismayed they wouldn’t fight to live…not only for their family and friends but for themselves. Some give up when their friends and family never wanted them to give up. Others fight until their last breath. Even though they lose the battle, they have fought. Even through death, they have risen above their circumstances. If you’re suffering from cancer, fight the good fight, be strong, and give yourself and your family hope!
But what about the kids who rise above the bullying? Why don’t we hear about those kids? Today I watched a video of an 11-year-old kid who took free violin lessons because the kids at school bullied him because he had cancer. Kids can be cruel and merciless. They have no filters or have not been taught any filters. But this boy made my heart sing. He appeared on America’s Got Talent and blew everyone away with his violin playing. He made it to the television show. What an example of how the human spirit can overcome. This boy chose music to overcome his heartache over being bullied. Other’s may choose sports or some other positive way to overcome.
What about when a person has lost every possession to a hurricane, tornado, or flooding? Does the person retreat to a homeless shelter never to be heard from again or does he take action and rebuild his home and his life?
Several years ago, my 61-year-old husband lost his job. I was afraid at first then I remembered God had it all in the palm of His hand. I told my husband we’d pray about it and let God lead us. And lead us, He did. My husband got a job offer not three weeks later. To say it was a miracle is an understatement. Who hires a 61-year-old man who is almost ready to retire in a few years? God can do anything, even heal the sick and restore a home.