A woman comes into the clinic with a pain in her pelvis. The doctor finds a mass on her ovary and the prognosis is cancer. The woman and her husband beg the doctor for a miracle. He tells the husband that he will pray for the Holy Spirit to heal his wife. After much prayer the family goes home. They return four weeks later and the cancerous mass is gone, not through any great working of the doctor, but by the power and grace of the Great Physician. This is one of the real life stories of an African doctor we recently met.
Miracles in the Unites States are brushed off as the inner workings of our bodies, coincidences, and even modern medicine. Where is our faith?
The doctor explained to us miracles happen when we know how to pray and quoted John 14:13; which tells us that God will do whatever we ask in His name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. Having the faith in your heart during your prayer is what is important.
How is it I have gone my whole Christian life and in a matter of minutes feel like I have no true faith compared to this man? He is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and he has more faith in the power of God than anything I have ever experienced.
In the dimly lit room of his apartment at college, he taught Tasha and me how to pray: how to humble ourselves by prostration when coming to the Lord, but yet pray with power and boldness; how to speak with your heart when speaking to God; how to ask the Lord to provide for your needs. He was excited, ecstatic even, about the privilege to approach the Creator of the Universe just like we would a parent or best friend. Oh “me” of little faith.
How have we become so dulled and lethargic about our prayer life, our personal relationship with the One True God, the same God who inspired the Old and New Testament; the same God who with His great wrath could destroy the world in a single breath, but more importantly loves us so much that He sent a piece of Himself to take that cup that we deserve? It Stands Finished once and for all! What a merciful, graceful and wonderful God we serve! How blessed are we who get to share in His work making His great love known to the ends of the earth! Praise His Name!! I felt honored to learn such a valuable lesson by a Congolese man who is my brother in Christ.
I've always thought that we who teach learn so much more than our students. This is a striking example. You three are always on my mind and heart each morning, lifting you up to the Lord to bless your work and lives. Blessings, my friends, and thank you for this uplifting message.
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