A Prayer of Commitment for Healing and Salvation
Another story from Youth Prays God Answers by Glenn Coon. This story was shared by Margaret Edge.
It was Friday afternoon. While my day-care children were napping, I was hurriedly trying to catch up with the many and sundry duties that are so necessary in a busy household. Then the telephone rang, and all plans and ambitions to have the house and hearts in readiness for the Sabbath were suddenly taken away. The long-distance call, relayed to us through a relative, was to prepare us for the inevitable. Our niece’s precious baby was seriously ill with a puzzling ailment. He had gradually been losing weight, was now down to fifteen pounds, and the doctors on the case had decided to operate. It as very discouraging especially to the young mother, for Kevin was an only child and not quite one year old.
It was very upsetting. My first impulse was to send a prayer heaven-ward; the second, to call a special friend, one whom I knew was in close touch with God. She and her minister husband promised to have special prayer for little Kevin, and my sad heart was somewhat comforted. We had also been praying for the baby’s mother who had left the church and had married out of the faith.
‘This must be one of the means that will bring her back,’ I thought as I continued my preparations for the Sabbath. The Lord has promised that, ‘All things work together for good’ Romans 8:28. I kept thinking; and He is ‘not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance’ 2 Peter 3:9
Neither of these Bible verses contained a definite promise for healing, so I saw I could only pray the prayer of commitment., ‘Thy will be done’ Matthew 26:42
Thus I reasoned and prayed during the remaining hours of the day, and thus I kept close to Jesus.
In due time, the parents came for the day-care children. The Holy Sabbath hours were drawing near as I sat down on the big screened porch to watch the glowing colours in the western sky. I picked up some copies of the ‘Youth’s Instructor’ and glanced through the pages. My eyes fell upon the story of a young mother whose child was also sick. She claimed the promise in Psalms 46:1 ‘God is my refuge and strength…’ as she hurried to the side of her child. This text greatly cheered my heart.
As the comforting darkness of Sabbath evening enveloped the house, I made my way to the bedroom and gave in to the flood of tears that just could not be held back any longer. This brought relief to tired nerves, and I could listen better to the still, small voice of God.
‘God is my refuge and strength,’ I repeated, ‘a very present help in trouble.’ Then I asked that my niece, Kevin’s mother, whom I have always called ‘my little girl,’ would accept God as her strength in this great trouble.
And so I prayed and wept for both of them. Then the Lord gave me a mental picture of two of my little day charges, leaping for Joy (Luke 6:23) and saying in their childish voices , ‘pwaise da Ward! Pwaise da Ward!’ This came as a direct message to my heart, ‘It’s time to praise the Lord.’
I sat up, snapped on the light, and reached out to pick up my Bible. I wondered what promise I might claim for myself. But ‘before they call, I will answer’ Isaiah 65:24 the Lord has promised, and His answer was right there beside me. The Bible was open to Jeremiah 31. In amazement I carefully picked it up. What a feeling of joy swept over me as my eyes were drawn to the words in the 16th verse, the only one on the two pages that was underlined and marked: ‘Thus says the Lord: Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for they work shall be rewarded.
It turns out that the surgery had had to be postponed and in the mean time the baby had taken a turn for the better.