The Power of Prayer

Several hours ago I received a phone call telling me that Nelson's mom was in the hospital awaiting emergency surgery for a possible appendectomy. There were other possibilities of things it could be, all of which were much more serious. When Nelson called me from the hospital, he asked me to pray.

First, I gathered all of the kids together to pray. They prayed diligently, with great faith and a plethora of questions about what an appendix is. Next, I called my family and related the story to each of them soliciting their prayers.

Two hours later, Nelson called to say that she was out of surgery, it was an appendectomy and that everything went fine. I got back on the phone to relay the message to my family.

While cleaning up the kitchen in my now quiet house I thanked God for His protective hand and His mercy. As I reflected on the chain of events that had just ensued, I was lifted up by the power of prayer.

I am a believer in prayer. I have seen God work miracles and experienced some of them myself. However, every once in awhile I get caught up in human reasoning. Why do we pray? If God already knows the outcome, what's the purpose of the prayer?

Tonight I felt that maybe, sometimes, prayer is not really for the one who is being prayed for as much as it is for the one who is praying. My faith was built tonight not so much because God protected Nelson's mom or even that He heard our prayers, but because I asked my family to pray and they did.

My parents who are fretting over a wedding next week. My brother and his fiancée, who are getting married in a week. My brother, the seminarian, who is in NYC on vacation. My brother who is at UGA out on a Friday night. Each responded with genuine concern. Each had been praying for her. Each had stopped what they were doing and really prayed.

How blessed I am to be in a family who supports each other in prayer. How comforted I am to know that when I ask them to pray for me, they do. When I ask them to pray for others, they do. How strong my faith has grown because I have seen God answer our prayers.

In fact, we've been praying for so long that even when God doesn't answer our requests the way we want Him to, we know that He at least heard us. We believe that He wants what is best for us. We understand that His will is better than ours.

Thank you Lord for protecting Nelson’s mom. Thank you for the gift of prayer. And thank you for a faith that allows me to know that the two are connected.