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A Meeting with God
By Daniel Tolaga
Three years ago I was diagnosed with lung cancer. I felt devastated, weak, and hopeless. I kept deteriorating week after week and I ended up in a hospital. Doctors told me there was nothing they could do. I asked the doctor how long he expected me to live. He looked at me sadly, paused, and said, “Three months…four months max. I am sorry.” His words felt as a knife being slowly stabbed in my chest.
I requested close friends to visit me so we could see each other before my “departure.”
A friend of mine, Susan, came to see me in the hospital. She brought a Bible, held my hand, and said to me, “Only God can change your situation.”
“God? No, God can’t help me. It’s over. There is no cure for the type of cancer I have,” I said, and closed my eyes, as I was too weak to even continue doubting her. She started praying for me. She prayed, and prayed. A nurse interrupted her, stating that visitation hours are over. Susan said, “Fine, but I can’t stop now. We are having a meeting with God.” The nurse looked at her, then looked at my pale face and said: “Okay, take your time.”
Susan continued to pray for another hour holding my right hand and the Bible. She continued visiting me day after day. Hospital nurses figured I would die anyway, so they let her come every day and stay past the visitation hours. Susan prayed genuinely. Even though I was weak and heavily deteriorated, I could feel her energy during prayers. It was like electricity passing through her hands into my weak body.
On the seventh day of the prayer, I felt stronger than I had felt in the six previous days combined. I felt like a rechargeable battery being charged with new energy. Day after day, my health continued to steadily improve. Local doctors and nurses kept coming with better news with each passing test. After a month, the cancer shrank by 50 percent, and doctors were so surprised they asked me to take double tests (blood, x-rays, etc). After two months my cancer completely disappeared. Doctors concluded the untreatable cancer simply “killed itself.” For them it was a miracle, for me it was more than a miracle. It was God’s love bestowed upon me, and it was Susan’s prayer that God answered.
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ prayed “our” and “thine” prayers focusing on the Kingdom of God and the needs of others. He also taught the importance of ministry and declared to His disciples, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35). When asked what the great commandment of the Law was, He answered that it was twofold: love for God and love for neighbor (Matthew 22:37-40). This is exactly why God answered Susan’s prayers—because she had love for God and love for me as her neighbor (friend). Love for neighbor, Jesus indicated, is lived out in acts of mercy meeting need. He declared that a basis for eternal judgment of life is how well each person has met the needs of others (Matthew 25:31-46).
The importance of genuine prayer can never be underestimated. In 2 Kings 20:1-7, King Hezekiah was told by the prophet Amos that he should set his house in order because he was surely going to die (v. 1). Hezekiah prayed genuinely (v. 2,3). The Lord heard his prayers and said, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, and I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD. And I will add fifteen years to your life” (v. 5).
Many prayers go unanswered because our society is overwhelmingly focused on “me, me, me” and “I, I, I.” Many worshippers don’t understand the universe does not revolve around “me” or “I.” God wants us to help others and God is pleased with those who are not focused only on themselves (“me” and “I”).
Focus on the “needs of others” is exactly what pleases God and the hearts of His obedient children. God gave the gift of life to King Hezekiah, and He gave the gift of life to me. God answered Susan’s prayers, and I answered God’s call to serve Him. I wish I had developed a better relationship with God earlier in my life. Without Him, I missed out on a lot in my life. His love is the most beautiful feeling any human being can experience. I feel God’s love all over my body, as God is everywhere. I call upon all readers of this article, who have not accepted God yet, to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior right now. I also call upon all devoted Christians to start or continue including “needs of others” in their daily prayers to God.
God bless you and your loved ones! Amen!
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