"Mama!!!", Kayla screamed. Debra ran to the bathroom where our daughter was. "Look", Kayla pointed to the commode. The water was red! Kayla explained that it had looked like a dark red tea for a while, but it had never been this bright red before. The doctor confirmed it, there was blood in her urine. She needed to see a specialist in Birmingham. We knew what this could mean.
I wanted someone to pray with me. We would tell everyone at church on Sunday. They would all pray, but that was days away. I needed someone NOW. Someone that I knew was a prayerful person. Someone who approached God on a daily basis. Someone whose prayers were fervent and effective. I went straight to Sally Rutland's home. After explaining what had happened, Sally prayed with me. The Birmingham doctors took a biopsy of Kayla's kidneys. Everything was normal. They determined that one of the urinary tracts had twisted and stretched due to her recent growth spurt. She would be fine.
This begs the question. Did our prayers matter? Did Sally's prayer mean anything to God? Did God really answer the prayers of the church or was it just fortunate that Kayla's symptoms were really not a problem in the first place? Here is what we know for a fact - James 5:16 "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Since effective and fervent prayers from righteous people accomplish much, why would anyone NOT pray? What if we chose NOT to pray for Kayla? What might the doctors have found then? Since only God knows, shouldn't we pray to Him in the first place?
I wanted someone to pray with me. We would tell everyone at church on Sunday. They would all pray, but that was days away. I needed someone NOW. Someone that I knew was a prayerful person. Someone who approached God on a daily basis. Someone whose prayers were fervent and effective. I went straight to Sally Rutland's home. After explaining what had happened, Sally prayed with me. The Birmingham doctors took a biopsy of Kayla's kidneys. Everything was normal. They determined that one of the urinary tracts had twisted and stretched due to her recent growth spurt. She would be fine.
This begs the question. Did our prayers matter? Did Sally's prayer mean anything to God? Did God really answer the prayers of the church or was it just fortunate that Kayla's symptoms were really not a problem in the first place? Here is what we know for a fact - James 5:16 "... The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Since effective and fervent prayers from righteous people accomplish much, why would anyone NOT pray? What if we chose NOT to pray for Kayla? What might the doctors have found then? Since only God knows, shouldn't we pray to Him in the first place?