the Surgery that brought Perception and Understanding
Her parents were nervous, …close to being utterly devastated, because their precious daughter needed kidney surgery; even her grandparents were at their church on that Sabbath – even though that was not their customary church. I could sense the fear of the unknown in the essence of the adults, as they all gathered around the altar for special prayer. As I observed the setting and faces, I heard the still voice of GOD say; “you must place your hands on Rachel, and pray, and tell her parents that all will be well.” “Huh…?” I recognized that this commandment was from GOD, and I had to obey. I didn’t want to be perceived as presumptuous, by the clergy and laity,… afterall, Rachel had been prayed for by the pastor and ordained elders of the church. But, I had to obey GOD, so after church ended, I found her parents and told her mother; “GOD said all will be well”, But I hesitated to pray for Rachel. Her mother was very cordial to my statement, she said “thank you.” We didn’t really knew each other, our children weren’t even close friends, they were just in the same Sabbath youth class. We often saw each other at church, greeted and smiled with each other, but we were just acquaintances. As a result of this encounter we exchanged phone numbers, and then parted ways. We spoke once during the new week, and were very pleased to learn that both of our daughters had many things in common. The following Sabbath, we introduced our daughters to each other, one of my daughter’s birthday was approaching, and so we invited Rachel and her sisters to my daughters birthday sleepover.
Healing Prayer at Birthday Sleepover
The Birthday Sleepover day finally arrived, and our home was filled with five(5) little girls (and my precious son) all under twelve years old, as they ate, play and finally began to settle in for the night, as customary, I called my children and their newfound friends for bedtime prayer and devotion. “Now is the opportunity Grace”, to lay hands on her and pray for her”; said the still voice of GOD. This time I was obedient and promptly did as commanded, as we concluded bedtime worship. Deep within my soul, I knew that GOD would heal her once and for all, and her kidney transplant would forever be whole and there would be no more issues nor complications.
Obedience: Perfect Acceptance and Total Healing
A few days after Rachel’s surgery, I called her mother to check on her, and was told the surgery was a success, that her body had accepted her father’s kidney, and she was healing well. A few Sabbaths passed and Rachel and her family were not in church, so my children and I decided to pay her a visit. They were all happy to see us, and by that time Rachel was up and about. We spent a few hours with them, we prayed and thanked GOD for his healing. A few Sabbaths later, we were all excited to see Rachel and all her family in church; everyone was happy. They shared their testimony of how the post-operative recovery follow-up was perfect, and that Rachel’s new kidney from her father was perfectly fitted and functioning. I was so happy for Rachel, deep down I knew that GOD had worked a miracle, and that my obedience was an integral part of the miracle. At that stage in my Christian journey, I didn’t quite understand the essence of spiritual gifts, … I was just simply grateful that GOD had bequeathed to my children’s friend, Rachel, – Total Healing.
