Rejoice, Pray Continually, Give Thanks

The year 2007 will be forever etched in my memory.

I remember it vividly. I was at work when my husband called to say that while he was filling a mug with water, the mug had just slipped out of his grip.

“What?” I said, knowing something serious had happened. I rushed home to take him to the emergency room, where the doctor said he had experienced a stroke and that his right limbs had been affected. Oh no, Lord! This is not how I imagined my life! My husband is paralyzed? I was devastated. I was a young wife with small children.

How would I manage taking care of him, raising the children, and dealing with our finances and home? I felt overwhelmed as I sat outside his room and wept bitterly. “Oh, Lord, please help me,” I prayed. The next day my husband’s situation deteriorated as his blood levels took a turn for the worse. We were going to lose him. The doctors and nurses in the intensive care unit were trying their best to do whatever they could to save him.

Those few hours were the most trying of times for our family.

We fell to our knees, pleading with God to perform a miracle.

As we prayed, our associate pastor visited the home where we were praying. He saw us on our knees, and when we told him what had happened, he knelt in prayer beside us. I asked him to anoint my husband. He agreed and took the elders and deacons with him for the anointing. The news spread to our friends and family all over the world, and everyone prayed, asking God for a miracle. God heard our prayers! Yes, my friends, God heard our prayers, and my husband opened his eyes on the third day and asked for me.

What a joy to see him alive! God is amazing! Our prayers turned to praise and thanksgiving. We were so grateful for the marvelous miracle He performed right before our eyes. We would do well to consider how the Lord uses the difficult times in our lives.

With hindsight, we see the way He works things together for our good. This helps us gain strength for whatever the future brings. “Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:1, NIV).

Premila Pedapudi