The Beauty and Blessedness of prayer.
(Part 3)
I could write for days and days and never run out of
stories to tell about things that God has done for me and others through
prayer, but I will end with this one that stands out for me because God so
graciously and mercifully answered my prayer and revealed Himself to me in a
very special way that I will never forget. My prayer life has changed radically
since then and become a very blessed and intricate part of my life.
Back in
2010, my wife Debbie woke up one morning with what she thought to be a
toothache. It steadily got worse over the next few days and weeks until finally
she had to do something. I took her to the dentist and she told the doctor that
she wanted him to pull that bad tooth and that she couldn’t take it any longer.
So he went through the complete exam and x-rays and returned to the room with
the following diagnosis; He said; Mrs. Borrel, you do not have a bad tooth; and
my little wife being the humble person that she is told him “You are full of
bull”. It took a while for him to convince her but she finally accepted it and
asked; what do I need to do? He replied; “You need to see a neurologist” Well,
that didn’t go over too well either. So once again I had to calm her down so we
could get the information we needed to move forward. Once we arrived to the
truck, she said; “that doctor is full of bull! I know a toothache when I feel
one.” She had very good reason to say that because that is exactly what it felt
like. Little did she know that just a few days later she would be diagnosed
with the most painful disease on the face of the earth. This disease in the old
days was so painful, they named it The Suicide Disease because the pain was so
bad people would kill themselves. The name of that disease today is “Trigeminal
Neuralgia.” It is a disease that effects the trigeminal nerves in the brain
that control feeling in the face. At that time there were five different types
of procedures, four were noninvasive and one that was invasive. Naturally, the
invasive surgery was the only one that could possibly render a permanent fix.
This particular surgery came with several serious risks. The choice was up to
her, so she gave it to God and chose the high risk surgery. To make a very long
story short; two months later after undergoing complications with her first
surgery which involved very bad headaches, we received a call from Houston on
November 10th, my birthday. The doctor said that we needed to get
her back to the hospital and there would be a team waiting to perform another
surgery. We arrived at 3:00 AM and they began the surgery. She ended up with
two of the more serious risks that accompanied that surgery; Hydrocephalous and
Meningitis. As a result of these two very serious side effects, she also
suffered from ICU Psychosis caused from the sounds and surroundings of the
hospital room, no windows, unable to tell the difference between day and night,
the high anxiety level, taking different medications such as prednisone that
has serious side effects and the feeling of being powerless. These were all
found true in this Intensive Care Unit. Involved in those fifteen days was a
spinal tap to filter the fluid and a “ventriculocisternostomy”
which is a surgery to relieve Hydrocephalous that also accompanies high risks. Hydrocephalous
is the
buildup of too much cerebrospinal fluid in the brain and meningitis is
inflammation of the meninges caused by viral or bacterial infection and marked
by intense headache and fever, sensitivity to light, and muscular rigidity,
leading (in severe cases) to convulsions, delirium, and sometimes death. Needless to say, it was a very
intense time filled with all of the undesirable and uncomfortable feelings and
frustrations. Myself and my daughter stayed with her 24/7 and took turns
sleeping on chairs and suitcases. The
spinal tap was successful, but the ventriculocisternostomy that was performed to relieve the
Hydrocephalous caused serious nausea and short term memory loss. The reason I
am telling this story is because this article is about prayer. Debbie came to
the place where she had to turn her life and all of her fears and concerns over
to God. He heard her and was there with her through it all, giving comfort and
strength to get her through. Also, I, and my daughter Christy, met with God in
a very serious way to overcome the many fears and emotions involved in her
stay. These emotions were fear, concern, sadness, pain, danger,
helplessness, aggravation, exhaustion and many other things that only our God
can relieve. We prayed for help that we couldn’t provide. We prayed for
strength that we couldn’t muster up. We prayed for protection against the many
dangerous issues that were present. And most of all, we prayed for comfort
because we were scared to death of the unknown. Our prayer lives changed in
that fifteen days in ICU. Our hearts were connected and we learned to trust God
at another level just as many Christians have learned to do in grievous times
and day to day trials and tribulations. God
is out there and He hears the cries of His people. Just like the BIBLE
says; He is a very present help in the
time of trouble. It doesn’t matter to God how big or how small the issue;
He wants to hear about it and He wants to help.
In addition to God wanting to hear our prayers and
help with our issues, there are some other things that God wants us to do as
Christians. There is trouble on every
hand that requires us to pray. We MUST
NOT overlook the needs of others; those that are poor, those that are
hungry, those that are sick, those that are sad, those that are discouraged,
those that are lonely, those that are wounded, those that are tired, those that
are confused, those that are disappointed and most of all; those that are lost.
People are depending on us to be
there for them. We need to reach out and help those that
are in need. You don’t have to look far to find someone that is hurting or in
need. Call out to God, He is waiting to hear from you and unleash His Mighty Power and Love. That is The Beauty and Blessedness of Prayer.
Written by Tim
Borrel
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