Prayer Was an Important Part of Our Home Life Together
It was late Monday afternoon. I was sitting at my desk at work when I received a phone call from one of my daughters. She told me that her younger sister (my other daughter) just called to tell her that my younger daughter’s thirty-nine-year-old husband and father of their three preschoolers was apparently having a heart attack while at work. My younger daughter was on her way to be with him. At this point not too many details were known, but the main reason my older daughter called was for me to get with some people and pray immediately; she would pray also as well as call others to pray. With my mind racing through all the possible outcomes in this situation and wanting to know more and yearning to leave the office and get on a plane and fly to them, I focused on what I was asked to do—pray. I got with one of my sisters and another person in our work area and we claimed my son-in-law’s health and for God to protect that young family!
Barely had we finished praying when we got the news that my son-in-law had already completed emergency surgery and was recovering nicely! Earlier, he had initially asked his coworker to drive him to the only hospital he knew, the one a few blocks from where he and my daughter lived. But that hospital was still several miles away, so when he saw a blue hospital sign in their immediate vicinity, he made the crucial decision to turn in there. It turns out this hospital was one of the top cardiac centers in the northern part of the state. The highly trained staff knew exactly what to do to help him and they did it without delay. They told him those few minutes made the difference in this life-and-death situation.
In The Way Ministry, I have learned that we have the right to claim good health for ourselves and those we love, that we can make intercession for others through perfect prayer, that we can be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and that we can hold the Word in our minds even in stressful situations. My children learned these truths also—from me, from other believers, from the home fellowships they attended, from Children’s Fellowship—and we practiced these concepts in our home. Prayer was an important part of our home life together. And now, in an extreme situation, all that teaching and practice came into play as my older daughter went into action, organizing a strong prayer team, and my younger daughter claimed God’s protection and supported her husband in person.
My son-in-law was delivered that day and continues to be in good health, and we are thankful to our God Who loves us so much!
A Peril in Travel: from Victim to Victor
For over seventy years, my loving heavenly Father has had His hand upon my life and those I love. From being adopted as a baby to growing up in a loving, Christian middle-class environment, I’ve noticed that I have been protected, cared for, loved, and have been given many opportunities that only God ultimately could provide. As I have sojourned across the USA, I have experienced so many situations where God has stepped in. In them all, He has interceded and delivered me from potential harm, health situations, financial investments, marriage and family misunderstandings, and perils while traveling.
The following is one example of a peril while traveling—a vacation I call “from victim to victor.” (Here is a side note: when it comes to moving our family or traveling from point A to point B, my wife and I are very careful in planning a safe journey. We save, we plan, we map out our routes, reserve housing along the way, and we prepare our vehicle or rental equipment so that we reach our destination without incident.)
We set sail on our first of three days of traveling to the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Before leaving our home, my wife and I prayed, thanking our loving heavenly Father for a safe trip. We left with peace in our hearts and with the anticipation of a leisurely vacation. As we viewed the Gateway Arch while driving through the city of St. Louis, Missouri, our vehicle’s check engine light warning came on the dashboard. Our van began choking and coughing for the proper mixture of oil, fuel, and oxygen. My wife was driving at the time and began losing confidence and showing signs of panic. I responded with soft, simple instructions to stay calm and look for the next safe exit where we could pull over and figure this out. She did a great job, and we ended up in a nice neighborhood where we could stop to find a local dealership with qualified technicians and parts if needed. We kept the engine running, found a full-service dealer that was on the same route we were currently on, and limped into the service department a few miles away. Thank God for GPS.
Upon getting a complete evaluation of the problem, we learned that one of the engine parts had worn out and was hemorrhaging oil, causing improper firing to the cylinders. The job would take days to repair and the cost would be close to $3,000. Can you see the temptation of feeling like a victim, helpless, fearful, and unprepared for such an event? Without God comforting our hearts and our knowing that we are more than conquerors in every situation, without examples that we could recall from the Old and New Testament of godly deliverances, plus the realization of the Christ in us, this unforeseen bump in the road could have prevented us from enjoying our planned vacation with fellow believers and the experience of being in a peaceful setting.
The victory was that the full repair was covered by an eight-year warranty that would become null and void in about a week. The victory was that we didn’t have to pay one penny for any of the problems that the manufacturer covered with the warranty. The victory was that the dealer made available a late model, comfortable and fuel-efficient loaner vehicle at no charge so that we could continue on our way without losing any time.
Jeremiah 32:27:
Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?