“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)
The Bible says that we should bear one another’s burdens. In other words, we should share our worries and fears with our Christian family. But we don’t follow that advice as much as we should, do we? Think about it: How many times can you remember not sharing the need when your pastor or Sunday school teacher asked? It was right on the tip of your tongue and yet you couldn’t muster the courage, or swallow the pride, to ask for help.
I know how you feel. I’ve left those requests on the tip of my tongue, too. But I recently followed God’s advice and am here to tell you it works. All you have to do is believe, at least enough to give God a try.
Many of you already know that my daughter suffers from anorexia, a devil of an eating disorder that can get a grip on a teenager and choke her to death. And that’s exactly what was happening to Tori. On Christmas Eve, she begged us to let her go to bed at 7:30 PM. Why? Because when you try to live on 500 calories a day, your body gives out, even on special days like Christmas Eve, when parents expect children to be too excited to think about going to bed.
What’s more frightening is to watch a child on Christmas Day, fifty pounds lighter than the previous Christmas, sitting in front of a space heater with a blanket draped around her, shivering as if she were sitting inside a meat locker. Something had to be done. She was dying right in front of our eyes and nothing seemed to be working.
Two days after Christmas, Tori was admitted to a hospital, a hard decision, but the right one in view of the circumstances. I felt so guilty that I couldn’t be closer to her. But since Tori and I live five hours apart, I was unable to offer very little in the way of help. All I could do was pray, and pray I did.
I also asked my friends and church family to pray for her. Words can’t describe the tremendous comfort that came from knowing that hundreds of Christians were taking the time to ask the Lord to help my daughter. In fact, just seeing her name on the prayer list at my church gave me such a sense of peace.
It’s rare for me, but I never really worried about her. Somehow I knew God would take care of her. I might not like how He responded, but if I believed that He cared for me, then I also had to believe that He would get in the middle of my fear and take care of my little girl. He didn’t let me down.
Tori spent seventeen days in the hospital and another six weeks in an outpatient program. As far as I can tell, she is healed, just as if she never had a problem. There’s no doubt in my mind that it was God and not medicine that brought her back. Today, she weighs 102 pounds, 31 pounds heavier than she weighed two months ago on Christmas Eve.
The truth is you wouldn’t know anything was ever wrong with her. Her mom recently told me that I wouldn’t recognize her when I saw her again, even though it’s only been a month since our last visit. To God be the glory!
Don’t give up on God. If there’s a need in your life, let your friends and your church family know about it. I believe with all my heart that it was their prayers, not mine, that gave my daughter the miracle she so desperately needed. And I believe God will do the same for you. After all, He is no respecter of persons. He is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come!
Share on Facebook