The Power of Prayer

"For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." -Matthew 18:20

I sat criss-cross in a barely padded chair clinging to my husband’s arm and leaning against my new friend- and high risk ultra sound tech- Terri. I tried to listen to the words that this specialist in Atlanta was telling me via webcam in this tiny room filled with machines and screens. I hear some jumbled words about my son’s heart, and the possibility of a mental disability.

In a daze, I nodded my head up and down as she said her words, whatever they were. Tears were streaming down my face. No, I had no idea what she was saying; I just knew I was being ushered into another annoyingly small, machine and screen filled room for more testing.

I did a number of various genetics testing. When I tell you they took a lot of blood, I mean they took a. lot. of. blood. 

They explained that the spot on the heart was a soft sign for a specific mental disability, and these genetics tests would let me know in 2 weeks whether we would be dealing with that on top of his omphalocele.  No sweat, right! It’s just 2 weeks of waiting! (Please read the sarcasm there, people.)

We decided to force ourselves to cling to the Truth of Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own." 

Now really, if you read every word of this, you can see God’s humor with this verse and our current situation. Each day has enough trouble of its own… AMEN, Lord, I get it! Anyway, we decided not to worry about the weeks to come, but to focus on the positive, and try not to borrow trouble. Easier said than done.

Ben and I kept this information to ourselves- we had just dropped the omphalocele bomb on our family, and Lord knows our families worry… So we kept this one from them until we knew definite information.

Every day I did my best not to borrow trouble, I did my best not to worry about this. But let’s be real, that’s all I thought about. All day I thought about if I was strong enough to handle both a physical and mental issue. All night, between the few minutes of restless sleep, and tormenting nightmares, the possibility of this filled every thought. I was sinking…drowning in anxiety.

I spent hours in my son’s nursery in the darkness of night praying. Praying about the results, praying for my heart to be prepared, praying for peace as God’s will was going to be done. As I was kneeling down on the floor crying out to my Jehovah Rapha, I told Him I just can’t handle this by myself. Ben and I couldn’t walk down this long, rough journey alone. He reminded me… when 2 or 3 gather together… I decided to reach out to a few of my friends and my family members, without giving details- just explaining that we had some genetics tests done- and I asked for prayers. My mom committed, of course, to pray for us every minute of the day, and she is always faithful in that. She is an incredible encouragement! I talked with my dad, and if there’s 1 person you can count on to recruit prayer warriors, that’s Mike Hamlet, my friends! I’m pretty sure he took this job on full time… Praying over this and recruiting others to do the same for my tiny, helpless, precious B.

…1 week and 5 days later...

I was in the middle of teaching social studies when I got the most amazing message on my phone. (Yep, these days with all of the doctors calling, I keep my phone with me at work.)

A nurse at my OB’s office, and extremely dear friend, Whitney, sent me a message. Whitney knows me well, and I’m sure she knew that I hadn’t slept in 12 days, hadn’t gone a day without sobbing, and that my knees had carpet burn from spending countless hours on them in my B’s nursery. “We got the results, they’re negative!!” I dropped the phone, I dropped to my knees, and all I could say was “Thank You.” That message changed my world.  

We found out that the calcium deposit on my Benjamin Michael’s heart was not related to a mental illness, and it would correct itself as he grew bigger and stronger. Thank You, Lord. Thank You, Jehovah Rapha! Your grace is so beautiful!

In those 12 days, my little B was covered in prayers. Ben and I were covered in prayers. I received countless messages, texts, emails, and even some beautiful hand written cards (which are being made into a book for my son) from supportive people, from prayer warriors.  People have been praying. Not just here in town. Not just here in South Carolina… But literally all over the country people have been praying for my Benjamin Michael. As I sit here now and think about all of the people who have been reaching out to us during this time, tears are streaming down my face. Every single message, card, phone call, and text message is a gift from God. Each one gives me enough push to get to the next hour. Knowing that you are praying encourages me to hold up my tired arms in the correct boxing position (thanks, husband for teaching me) with my trusty dusty boxing gloves on and face the day.  

He promised, y’all. He promised "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst." Well, more than 2 or 3 gathered together... More like 2 or 3 hundred gathered together and prayed for my tiny B. And you know what? He absolutely is holding up His promise. He is here in our midst. He is daily working His phenomenal miracles in my little family of miracles. 

Our journey is far from over. But this little, tiny bit of good news was just what we needed. This was the first good news we had gotten in all the months of my pregnancy. We needed this miracle. Please keep praying, friends. We have a long way to go, but as I have said before, and as He has shown to be true, there's power in prayer. It is so evident in my life, it's undeniable. There is great, tremendous power in prayer.

Thank you for your support, thank you for your prayers.

Thank you for your grace, Lord.

-Allison

His profile with his hands together at his chin. Maybe he already knows about the power of prayer! :)