Holy Prayer and Petition to God

# Holy Prayer to God

Pastor Nicky Gumbel from England shared an account of a miracle God performed for a baby named Craig. This pastor was asked to visit a woman named Vivienne at Brompton Hospital, a village in London. Vivienne had three children and was expecting her fourth. Her third child, eighteen months old, was a baby boy with a hole in his heart who had undergone surgery. However, the surgery was unsuccessful, and medical staff advised that life support should be discontinued. Craig was connected to tubes all over his body. The baby's body was bruised and swollen. The doctors affirmed that even if the baby recovered, he would suffer brain damage because his heart had stopped beating for an extended period.

Many times they asked Vivienne if they could turn off the machine and let the baby die. She said no, because she wanted to try one last thing. She wanted someone to pray for the baby, and Pastor Gumbel was invited to pray for him. Craig's mother told the Pastor that she did not believe in God, but she wanted him to pray for the baby. Pastor Gumbel prayed in Jesus's name, asking for the baby to be healed. Afterward, the Pastor explained to her how she could give her life to Jesus Christ, and she opened her heart to believe in God. Two days later, when the Pastor returned to visit, Craig's mother ran out when she saw him and joyfully shared, "I tried to contact you; something wonderful has happened. The night after you prayed, my son had a complete transformation. The baby has recovered." Within a few days, Craig was allowed to go home. Craig's mother went to all her relatives and friends and said, "I used to not believe in God, but now I do." Pastor Gumbel shared that, "Indeed it is a miraculous healing, this is God's answer to a holy prayer to Him." (1) Praise God!

In the Old Testament, we know the story of the prophet Elisha healing the son of the Shunamite woman (2 Kings 4:32-35). The baby had died, but his mother, the Shunamite woman, sought out the prophet Elisha and asked him to come and raise him back to life. The prophet Elisha lay upon the child and prayed, and the child came back to life after seven sneezes. The prophet Elisha did not need to ask what disease the child had; he relied on God's power, and through his faith and the mother's faith, God healed the baby and brought him back to life! Truly it is a miracle, far beyond human imagination! In the New Testament, Jesus healed a woman in the synagogue who was demon-possessed, "...she had been crippled by an evil spirit for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your illness'; and He laid His hands on her. And immediately she straightened up and glorified God" (Luke 13:10-13). Furthermore, in Scripture, there are many miracles of healing that God performed when His people called out to Him.

Indeed, God promised His people that whoever calls upon the Name of God, He will answer, performing great and difficult things beyond our imagination, as the prophet Jeremiah revealed: "Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know" (Jeremiah 33:3); "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you" (Jeremiah 29:12). Be steadfast and call upon God, pray to Him with all your heart. God will answer all our petitions according to His will and in His time. Our responsibility is: to trust God with all our hearts; patiently wait for His gracious answers; obey God's will—even if His answers do not match our expectations; and persist in prayer with faith—these are holy prayers.

In all things, we ask the Almighty God to guide us, grant us grace, deliver us, heal us, and help us; because He is the One who knows all things, can do all things, and always cares for His people. "He will call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him" (Psalm 91:15). May God strengthen us to always trust firmly, seek God wholeheartedly, wait for His answers, and be content in His providence! May our faith-filled lives be a living testimony to those around us so they may come to know the Almighty God, and may they open their hearts to believe in Him! Amen!

God's power, so wondrous, No one can fully understand Him, Miracles and healing, according to His holy will, Praise His glorious Name! Trust with all heart and mind, Earnestly pray and call upon Him, With God, there is peace, no fear, Faithful all our days, blessed indeed!

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