Are You Brave Enough to Pray for Someone Who is Dying and Expect a Miracle?

One Sunday morning when my children were young, we were getting ready for Sunday School. I had a strong sense we were to attend a different church that day.  I recognized the prompting by God and was eager to find out what He had planned.

“Mom, why aren’t we going to my Sunday school today?” my eight-year-old asked from the back seat.

 "You'll see, honey." I responded. 

How do I explain a prompting to a child? I decided to wait before answering him. I had learned to obey my inner voice, trusting that in time, God would reveal the reason why. It would be a great lesson to teach my children.

With God, it is never too late

That morning, the pastor announced that their youth leader, Peter, had suffered an unbearable stomach ache a few weeks earlier. It was determined he had a plugged bile duct and emergency surgery had been performed. But it was too late. Peter was full of cancer and beyond any medical help or the possibility of recovery. The prognosis was he would survive only a few days. Peter was 32 years old with a small child and another baby on the way.

The pastor prayed for God’s will to be performed in this situation. Immediately, I knew why God sent me to this church. 

“Why would You ask me to go to the hospital to pray for this man, Lord? I don’t know anyone in this congregation.”

Silence.

I asked again, “How do You expect me to get access to the ICU?”

Silence.

“There are capable people in this congregation. What if they laugh at me when I get to the hospital?  What if they won’t let me see him?”

 Out of the mouths of babes....

My thoughts were interrupted when my young son leaned over and said, “You gonna go pray for him, Mommy?”  

I nodded and smiled. “Yes, honey, I will go to the hospital to pray for him.”

After the congregation prayed, the pastor said Peter’s entire family was visiting from out of town in preparation for his funeral. If anyone wanted to pay their respects to the family, they needed to do it promptly. Immediately, a fervor burned within and hesitation lifted – a combination of excitement and fear. 

As I approached the hospital I wondered if I would be allowed access to the ICU, especially with Peter’s family present. I imagined only pastors and family would be permitted to visit Peter’s room. God had to make the way. 

Doubt did its best to discourage me

Thoughts raced in my head, repeating why I should turn around and go home. But I fought them by focusing on the reason God sent me there. A miracle would unfold. 

As the elevator door opened, I could easily see the lounge area where 25 people spoke in soft tones and one of them was a pregnant young woman. 

“Hi, are you Peter’s wife?” I asked her.

Her eyebrows lifted and her bloodshot eyes stared at me, “Yes, I am. Do I know you?”

I smiled at her and asked, “Could I speak with you in private in the hallway?”

She glanced at her family and they looked perplexed but she followed me into the hallway.

I took both of her hands in mine. Looking deeply into her eyes I said, “I believe in miracles and have seen many of them in my life. As a baby, I died, but my father’s prayers raised me up. God also healed me of cancer as a young woman. I am confident God wants to heal your husband. He cares about you and He sent me here to pray for Peter. Would you be willing to give me the opportunity?”

In a loud whisper, she said “Yes!”  

This surprised me as I assumed the hurdles her family might put up would stop her from agreeing to prayer. I wanted her to be certain so I suggested she speak with them first.  

My thoughts continued, “It is not too late to turn around. They don’t know your name. Just leave.” 

Underscoring those thoughts were the quiet comments I heard from the family a few feet away. “You don’t know her. She could be some kind of kook!  Who is she? Why is she here? Why would we want to give Peter or you any false hope?” 

After a couple of minutes, twelve people approached me to say I could pray for Peter. “But we are going to be there ‘just in case’.” 

I was not sure what 'just in case' meant but it felt like they were putting pressure on me to accomplish something. What they did not realize was they were about to witness a miracle.

 

Walking into Peter’s room there was an overwhelming stench of death. As I looked at the shell of a man lying on that bed, compassion filled my heart. Peter’s mother was sitting next to his bed and she glared at me. I imagined she wondered what a stranger was doing in this private family setting. The room felt cold and I sensed the unbelief as they prepared for Peter’s funeral. I interrupted those plans. 

I approached Peter’s bed. He seemed weak and unresponsive. I took his hand in mine. 

“Peter, God sent me here to pray for you today,” I said calmly. “I firmly believe He wants you whole and healed.” 

The tension in the room thickened. At this point, I thought someone might ask me to leave. But everyone was silent. 

I continued, “Peter, when Jesus died on the cross not only did he die for our salvation and eternal life, but He also took the brutal stripes on his body for our healing.” 

Peter’s hand was still limp in my grip. “Peter, it is God’s desire you live a full life and help your wife raise your children. He wants to set you free from cancer raging inside of you.” 

The tension in the room continued and there was no indication from Peter he even knew I was there. 

“Peter, if you would like me to pray for you and receive healing today, please open your eyes.” 

There was a dead hush in the room except for a slight gasp from someone behind me. I imagined they were concerned about giving Peter or his wife false hope. 

I waited many seconds and Peter’s eyes quivered, opening slightly and quickly closing again. 

Whenever God has asked me to pray for someone, I rarely have any idea what I will say until I open my mouth to speak. This is part of understanding what prayer is and how to pray in any given situation. It is learning how to listen to your spirit where we hear God’s voice, instead of devising a plan in your mind.  

Secret to Answered Prayer

God must honor His Word. He cannot lie. It was my responsibility to pray the answer found in the Bible, and not pray the problem. It is that simple. All the answers we need for any given situation are in the Word of God. When we find the answer to our problem, we pray it by voicing it. Basic, simple truth. 

As I closed my eyes to pray, Romans 8:11 came to me and I recited it out loud. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give you life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” 

That is all I said. I paused. Then I repeated it the second time, a bit louder. 

There was a flutter in Peter’s closed eyes. I knew he was trying to respond. 

I repeated it the third time. I prayed nothing else. I did not ask for Peter’s healing. I only spoke truth from God’s promises. Peter opened his eyes. By the sixth time, he squeezed my hand as he looked directly into my eyes. 

A few more times and he was smiling at me. Someone in the room started clapping their hands. I could hear sobs behind me. 

I raised my eyes toward heaven and prayed, “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the miracle we just witnessed. We praise You for healing Peter and for honoring your Word. We choose to believe the promise in the Bible that healing is ours.” 

I smiled. The family needed their privacy. 

“See you in church Sunday,” I said as I left the room quickly. 

Two men came running down the hall after me and asked my name, what church I attended and why I came there today.  

I told them the only thing that mattered was God asked me to be there and I was obedient. He did the rest.

What happened the next day is mind-blowing 

Peter’s story does not end here. Another major miracle happened! We will explore it further in the next post. I did not ask for nor expect to be rewarded but God confirmed He was pleased I was obedient. 

But first, let’s look at what prayer is and the authority God has given to each of us as Christians. 

Understanding what Prayer is 

We need to understand what prayer is – how to pray scripturally and to fully realize we have been given that right. Prayer is joining forces with God the Father. It is fellowshipping with Him. God made the world then He made man. God gave man dominion over all the work of His hands. But Adam committed high treason and sold out to Lucifer who then became the god of this world.

At that time, sin and death entered the world, and man lost his authority to the devil. But God had a plan of salvation for us and executed His plan by sending His Son Jesus to die for us. Jesus’ death and resurrection did much more than just restore us to the same position Adam had, it placed us in a much higher position.

Ephesians 2:6 says: “And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”   

And in Ephesians 1:20 – 23  “Which He worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come:  And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Adam never held this position. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have received more than Adam had.

When we pray and understand the God-given authority we have, He will move on our behalf. The most important thing to grasp is how to pray according to God’s design set in His Word. 

No set formulas are guaranteeing if you pray a certain way one time the same blueprint will work the second time. This requires listening to your inner person, your spirit, where the Holy Spirit dwells. He will guide you.

Each story that I will share in subsequent posts will be as thrilling as this one but will also show you that God can use any one of us - you do not have to be special. That is what is so exciting.