Don't Stop Praying

 

As some of you in Men's Group know, my cousin recently had a near-death medical emergency that necessitated a miracle or two. He apparently had a massive blood clot in one his legs that began breaking apart and moving around in his blood stream (never a good thing). He thought he had the flu and a bad cough and was trying, as men often do, to wait it out. He was in critical condition from the moment he finally hit the emergency room. Turns out his kidneys were shutting down, his lungs were cluttered with blood clots, he had a blood clot that ran the length of one thigh AND a bacterial infection in the same leg that was on the move. By the time I got to the hospital they had induced a coma, put him on a ventilator, were performing dialysis through a port in his neck and had 15 drip bags running a myriad of drugs into every available vein. The doctors were saying that they would have to remove the leg for him to have any chance and the surgery would be difficult for him to survive with all of the other issues in play. Needless to say, his prognosis was not good.

 

For some background, we're cousins through our mothers who were identical twins. He was raised as a Christian, but got too busy for it after high school, building and running a successful business that his dad started. He led a pretty hard life too, partying as intently as he worked. At the hospital, four of us went into the ICU to pray over him: myself, my sister and his Christian daughter and girlfriend. To be honest, my prayer was primarily for his soul rather than healing because it really seemed like there was almost no chance at that point. Our prayer was that he would rally long enough to recognize and profess his belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior (I gotta be honest, I said goodbye to him that day after saying that prayer...)

 

Well, he survived the emergency surgery which eliminated the source of clotting and infection. Several days later they removed his ventilator and he began to come out of the coma. For additional background, my Aunt (his mother) was a prayer warrior for her only son. Although he essentially rejected the message of her faith, she prayed for his soul EVERY SINGLE DAY, ceaselessly until the day she died. As he began to come out of the coma and before he even opened his eyes, his daughter asked him "Dad, did you see your mother?!" and he shook his head YES (halleluiah!)  Several days after that he was visited by Pastor Dave who he knew from his moms church. Although he couldn't talk yet, he was anxious to pray about his situation (imagine waking up in a hospital and finding out they had removed one of you legs). Pastor Dave explained to him that there was no need to speak the sinners prayer, but what does matter is to say it in your head and to truly believe it in your heart - AND HE DID!

 

It's been a long journey for my cousin and the road to recovery is going to be a longer one yet. He still faces a multitude of physical challenges and Satan will try to have a say about this newfound faith. He'll be hit with setbacks and disappointments, with temptations and old habits. But here's what we can do - we can celebrate with his mother in heaven who it REJOICING with a multitude of angels! We can pray for his continued  strength, healing and recovery. And we can pray for and model this burgeoning new faith, that it takes root and flourishes inside of him. To me it's a miracle. Too God, it's JUST WHAT HE DOES! 

 

So here's the upshot - don't stop praying for that loved one to discover or rediscover God! Oh, and one other thing, don't doubt (like I did) that God can do whatever it takes to make it happen...

 

God Bless!