Pray.
It has become almost a joke between my husband and I that his answer to every problem is to pray. In my immaturity, I often find myself thinking that, yes, of course I will pray but I want something else to do too. Something that is more concrete. Truthfully, something that makes me feel more in control and able to change the problems that face me. But it's pretty hard to look your husband in the eye and get grumpy about his suggestion to pray. It becomes clear in those fleeting moments of disapproval over that sounds advice that not all is well in my heart.
I am not saying, just pray! I am not saying, "Stay home and pray and do not bother going to the doctor." But do actually pray. Do not stop praying. Pray even for the "impossible." Pray when you rise and before you go to bed. Pray as you face the challenges of that day. Pray when you see glimmers of hope and when you are tempted to despair. In all circumstances give thanks and pray.
One of Luke's impossible prayers is what finally turned my spiral of disease around.
It became obvious to us that what would really help me was a high pressure hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The nearest facility that we knew of was 6 hours away and this medical device needed to be used regularly for over two months to be effective. Having one in our home would be the perfect solution. The problem was, that was a $60,000 perfect solution.
That did not stop Luke. He went right ahead and prayed for it.
One Saturday, I found myself in misery again on the couch. Racking in pain, I asked Luke if we could please try to purchase a low pressure hyperbaric chamber. Those alone were $10,000 or more and I felt like a real loser asking for it after all that we had already spent on me. The low pressure chamber would help with the symptoms a bit but we already knew it would not cure anything for me.
Luke scanned craigslist that same hour for a used hyperbaric chamber. Only, instead of merely finding a low pressure chamber, he found a high pressure chamber. The starting bid? $1,000! We got that baby for $3300 and my hero of a man drove off to Idaho to pick it up for me.
The real hero in the story is God. Despite my doubts and my looking at Luke funny when he prayed for a $60,0000 machine - God blessed me with it. This was a very real experience of being humbled under God's great hand of mercy and realizing afresh His over arching power.
The story drags on a bit. I spent over 80 hours in that chamber before my progress took hold and became permanent. After about 40 hours of treatment I faced the greatest testing of my faith in my confusion over why even this was not working and did the Lord even hear me when I was crying out to Him? The stories that I read in the gospels of people desperatly wanting to just touch Jesus or somehow be healed rang so familiar in my thoughts. It felt like an internal thirst for wellness that was overwhelming.
But at last, the healing did come. Instead of waking up in frantic pain, I woke up sore. The pain was scaled back enough to allow for sweet rest. Those first mornings of feeling relief from pain were seareal. If you are someone who wakes in the morning not in intense pain - thank the Lord for your comfort. If you are stuck in a body of pain - thank the Lord. Thank Him for both the pain AND for everything about your body that does work. Can you see? Do you hear? Can you eat? Thank the Lord.
My husband and I are not perfect pray warriors. We are regular people who sometimes experience doubt and feelings of laziness and apathy. But we serve a God who is faithful and stirs up in our hearts the desire to pray and the privilege of seeing Him answer those prayers.
I am not saying, just pray! I am not saying, "Stay home and pray and do not bother going to the doctor." But do actually pray. Do not stop praying. Pray even for the "impossible." Pray when you rise and before you go to bed. Pray as you face the challenges of that day. Pray when you see glimmers of hope and when you are tempted to despair. In all circumstances give thanks and pray.
One of Luke's impossible prayers is what finally turned my spiral of disease around.
It became obvious to us that what would really help me was a high pressure hyperbaric oxygen chamber. The nearest facility that we knew of was 6 hours away and this medical device needed to be used regularly for over two months to be effective. Having one in our home would be the perfect solution. The problem was, that was a $60,000 perfect solution.
That did not stop Luke. He went right ahead and prayed for it.
One Saturday, I found myself in misery again on the couch. Racking in pain, I asked Luke if we could please try to purchase a low pressure hyperbaric chamber. Those alone were $10,000 or more and I felt like a real loser asking for it after all that we had already spent on me. The low pressure chamber would help with the symptoms a bit but we already knew it would not cure anything for me.
Luke scanned craigslist that same hour for a used hyperbaric chamber. Only, instead of merely finding a low pressure chamber, he found a high pressure chamber. The starting bid? $1,000! We got that baby for $3300 and my hero of a man drove off to Idaho to pick it up for me.
The real hero in the story is God. Despite my doubts and my looking at Luke funny when he prayed for a $60,0000 machine - God blessed me with it. This was a very real experience of being humbled under God's great hand of mercy and realizing afresh His over arching power.
The story drags on a bit. I spent over 80 hours in that chamber before my progress took hold and became permanent. After about 40 hours of treatment I faced the greatest testing of my faith in my confusion over why even this was not working and did the Lord even hear me when I was crying out to Him? The stories that I read in the gospels of people desperatly wanting to just touch Jesus or somehow be healed rang so familiar in my thoughts. It felt like an internal thirst for wellness that was overwhelming.
But at last, the healing did come. Instead of waking up in frantic pain, I woke up sore. The pain was scaled back enough to allow for sweet rest. Those first mornings of feeling relief from pain were seareal. If you are someone who wakes in the morning not in intense pain - thank the Lord for your comfort. If you are stuck in a body of pain - thank the Lord. Thank Him for both the pain AND for everything about your body that does work. Can you see? Do you hear? Can you eat? Thank the Lord.
My husband and I are not perfect pray warriors. We are regular people who sometimes experience doubt and feelings of laziness and apathy. But we serve a God who is faithful and stirs up in our hearts the desire to pray and the privilege of seeing Him answer those prayers.
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