|
|
|
The Miracle of Prayer
By Joanne Walker
Prayer is the most important tool a Christian has available to use. With it, one can ask for protection, guidance, instructions in life, one’s daily needs, help for others, and especially for healing.
I witnessed this heavenly miracle (healing) with my youngest daughter forty years ago. At that time, my husband had been a member of the Worldwide Church of God for seven years. Every Sabbath he took our three older children with him to church. I was not a member at that time, as I had been raised in a Catholic family, and this fact alone caused me to be a hostile wife.
We had four children, with the youngest daughter being two years old. I still remember this life-changing event as if it was yesterday. It was on a Thursday when she first became ill with an upper respiratory illness. I immediately gave her baby aspirin, applied a chest rub and used a vaporizer, and anything else I could think of. I never once thought about taking her to the family doctor, which I normally did with any of the children. When Saturday came around, she had basically stopped eating and was only taking liquids in minute amounts. Later that morning my husband took the other three children and went to church. When he came home he brought a prayer cloth, laid it on her and prayed. In Acts 19:11-12 we read, “Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.”
By Monday, she had worsened and was delirious with periods of fever and then chills that turned her lips blue. That night, the minister came over to the house and I joined the two of them in prayer as he laid hands on her to anoint her. This seemed perfectly natural to me. This is specifically mentioned in James 5:14, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.”
That Thursday, which was a week to the day of her becoming ill, my daughter was completely yellow, even the whites of her eyes. I knew this was a serious case of jaundice, which can be very dangerous. I still never once considered taking her to a doctor. During the days of her illness, I had tried my best to take care of the rest of my family, but had done no housework, except to cook and wash some clothes. The kitchen was piled high with every dish and utensil we owned. I had spent most of my waking hours sitting in a rocking chair watching and taking care of my daughter who I knew was very ill.
As we went into the second week of her being ill, the following Thursday morning, I remember the decision I had made to fast. Something I had never done before in my life, and I also decided to not tell my husband I was fasting. I also got down upon my knees in front of her crib and prayed. I asked God, “If you let my daughter live, I will spend the rest of my life telling her how great you are.” The next day, Friday, my husband prepared for the Sabbath, and then on Saturday morning took the other three children and went to church again.
A few hours after they had left for church, I was doing the only thing I had been able to do the last 10 days, which was sitting in the rocking chair watching my ailing daughter struggle for her every breath. Suddenly Rebekah took a deep, deep breath that caused her entire rib cage to rise up as far as it could go! Then she slowly exhaled, her body completely relaxed, and she fell into a deep sleep. I then noticed that her skin was returning to a normal color, and she was no longer yellow. I knew at that very instant that God had answered the prayers, and that she was healed. As I left her room, I noticed that the time was 1:00 according to the clock. I knew my family would be home soon from church, and I went to the kitchen to begin the much needed clean up.
Immediately upon my husband’s return home around 4:00, he asked how she was. I turned to him and told him that she had been healed. He asked how could I know that, and I told him that I had witnessed it, and that she was in a natural state of sleep now. He ran into the room to see for himself, and came back asking me if I knew what time I had witnessed her “healing.” I said, “Yes, exactly 1:00.” He looked at me amazed and said, “That’s the time when the minister had every one of us get down on our knees in front of our chairs.” The minister told us, “It’s time we all prayed for the complete healing of Rebekah!” We see such faith in James 15:15 as we read, “And the prayer of faith will save the sick and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”
Needless to say, God had my full attention, and made a firm believer out of me. The very next Sabbath I went to church with my husband and all four of my children, including my daughter, Rebekah, who had been given back to us by the grace of God. I was baptized six months later, and have devoted my life to sharing God’s Word with her, as well as the rest of my children. Today, forty years later, Rebekah, her husband Michael, son Josh, and their newest addition to the family, Grace, who was born this month, attend CGI, and together they have learned just how great God the Father is!
i
|
|
|
|
 |
|
