I recently re-discovered the power of prayer when my daughter, Krystal, was hospitalized for a week with pneumonia, a complication of the H1N1 flu. I don’t get worked up easily, so while the initial diagnosis was shocking, I wasn’t overly worried. I thought, okay, a night in the hospital and then we go home.
But the next day, Krystal was worse, and we weren’t going home. Father Tom visited daily and prayed with us each time. His prayers always comforted us and made us feel the possibilities of God’s healing. Then we started getting messages from friends and family about the vast numbers of people who were praying for Krystal. As the days went by, Krystal did not improve, but the prayer circle got wider and wider.
Soon, the thoughts of how many people were praying for her overcame the thoughts of how we would get through this. It was mind boggling. Our church family lifted us up in prayer. Family and friends poured out their concern and offerings of prayer, which we gratefully accepted. The most touching contacts were from people who didn’t believe, but prayed anyway for Krystal. Or people who hadn’t prayed in so very long, but were praying because of Krystal.
I was, and am, overwhelmed with the feeling of God’s power at work. How many people were touched by her illness? How many people may have come back to God due to this situation? Praise God, Krystal was healed, but the overall memory that I will retain from that experience is the comfort and love that was given us by the prayers of so many.
Don’t ever feel that “all I can do is pray.” Prayer is an incredibly powerful and loving action that you can take for someone going through a difficult time.
Traci Stevens
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