COVID Prayer Assistance

There are many accounts of summoning prayer to improve health or save lives.  Christians take it on faith that our Omniscient God knows what is going on at all times.  But, I think He really loves listening to us in prayer; David and Isaiah described the image God has of us when we pray to and with Him.

It’s wonderful to follow how God works by recounting the progress He makes on your prayer.  Many times, the motivation for prayer is initiated by the Holy Spirit, as it was in this instance.

August 25, 2021, beginning about 10:00 AM CDT:

·     Multiple urges to reach my brother’s widow;

·   I hadn’t communicated with her since my brother’s funeral about 22 years ago;

·    I realized the motivation was God initiated.

·    Only known information was the name of the law firm, 22 year old;

·    Calling firm’s number was unsuccessful;

·    No forwarding information was available;

·    Searched Google, Facebook and Twitter for two hours no avail;

·   At end of a day of frustration, I prayed for Lord’s help to reach her now or as soon as possible.

August 27, 2021, about 8:30 AM CDT:

·       I was awakened this morning with my brother’s widow on my mind;

·       Exhausted contact resources;

·       The Holy Spirit led me to try a LinkedIn posting;

·       Found my brother's widow at a different law firm;

·       A Google search turned up number for the current law firm.

11:00 AM CDT

·       By the grace of God, I connected with my brother’s widow after 22 years.

·       I thanked the Lord for answering my prayer.

The Lord’s omniscience is the key to the Lord’s timing.  Do not try to rationalize that, as there are some things you and I will never be able to fathom until he reveals it to us in His Heavenly Kingdom.

I also realized that the Lord had planned this call long before, as the urges to call my brother’s widow actually started a long time before (perhaps as long as the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic over a year earlier).

While my brother’s widow was filling in the 22 year gap since we had communicated, she wondered how I happened to call at that moment in time.  The motivation had to be the Holy Spirit.  My brother’s widow told of the COVID-19 virus recently hitting her household hard.  She asked for prayer, for:

·    Her daughter, was seriously ill;

·   Her daughter’s husband was most critically ill; he was in the hospital; wasn’t responding to treatment; medical staff might have to place her daughter’s husband on a ventilator.  COVID ventilation equates with potentially poor outcomes for patients; too many ventilated patients never came off the ventilator.

·   Her daughter’s husband’s mother was seriously ill.

Without having to say another word, my brother’s widow and I both prayed for the Lord’s healing grace for a cure for all three relatives in the name of Jesus Christ.

Lord, we come to you today,

Your humble servants in Christ, to

praise You for answering our prayers.

We love knowing of Your constant presence.

We come before You in fervent prayer

for healing our  loved ones and

your gravely ill children, whose names you know specifically.

Lord, we love and honor You

in every way and anxiously pray to You;

As the deer pants for the streams of water,

so [our] soul[s] pant for You, [our] God

Psalm 42:1

O God, You are [our] God;

[we] shall seek You earnestly;

[our] soul thirsts for You,

[our] flesh yearns for You,

in a dry and weary land

where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

 

Lord, by Your Word and Name,

the eyes of the blind will be opened

and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped.

Then the lame will leap like a deer,

and the tongue of the mute will shout for joy.

For waters will break forth in the wilderness

and streams in the Arabah.

        Isaiah 35:5-6

 

You are a God of miracles Who delights in answering

Your children’s prayers as You see fit and in Your timing.

Your way, O God, is Holy;

What god is great like our God?

You are the God Who works wonders;

You have made known

Your strength among [us]

        (Psalm 77:13-14)

Create in [us] clean heart[s], O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within [us].

        Psalms 51:10

[for] … the prayer of the upright is Your delight.

                                                Proverbs 15:8b

We pray for Your quick and complete healing in

Your stricken children, as your medical servants

continue to be frustrated by their lack of progress.

Isaiah 58:8, says Your Grace, Mercy, and

healing will quickly appear; as You, Jehovah Rapha,

are a light unto the world, and Your healing is

a glorifying testament of Your love.

We have faith in Your good and perfect timing.

We pray that our answered prayer

will glorify You, Lord.  In Jesus’ Name we pray.

A day and a half later, the morning of, August 29, 2021, my brother’s widow texted:

·       Daughter’s husband not improving to medical staff’s expectations and hopes;

·       Daughter’s husband being moved to Intensive Care Unit (ICU); because

·       O₂ levels had not improved from August 27, Friday;

·       Daughter’s husband was one step before requiring ventilator therapy.

I sent a text to my brother’s widow at August 29, at 1:10 pm, which can be construed as a prayer lifting her up from her anguish at not seeing progress in her family.  I texted her to:

·     Be assured that The Lord Jehovah Rapha (The Healing Lord) is right beside your daughter’s husband, and I told her to tell him that.

·    I asked my brother’s widow to join me in praying for her daughter’s husband’s restoration continually.

·     My brother’s widow texted her daughter that I had requested all prayer warriors to join us in praying for her husband’s complete restoration continually.

·    My brother’s widow’s daughter responded that she "loved my prayer," which she Facebooked;

·   Facebooked:  Calling all prayer warriors to pray for her husband continually for his quick and complete restoration.

Boy, the Lord acted fast.

Only 3 hours later, 4:08 PM that Sunday afternoon, August 29, my brother’s widow texted:

·    My brother’s widow’s daughter's husband on a mask with different meds, not on a ventilator.

·     Praise Jesus in all things!

My brother’s widow and I were exchanging praises to the Lord with every cell phone text.  A whirlwind of healing started taking place. The Lord opened a can of hurt on COVID.  My thoughts went to Isaiah 29:6 as right before our eyes and ears, the Lord rebuked the calamitous COVID-19 virus as an instrument of evil:

From the LORD of hosts you will be punished

with thunder and earthquake and loud noise,

with whirlwind and tempest and

the flame of a consuming fire.

And this is the support Jesus brought:

For behold, the LORD will come in fire

and His chariots like the whirlwind,

to render His anger with fury, and

His rebuke with flames of fire.   Isaiah 66:15

By 3:47 pm, August 30, 2021, my brother's widow texted:

·      My brother’s widow’s daughter was improved greatly; Praise the Lord;

·   My brother’s widow’s daughter’s husband’s uncle came into town yesterday to help with house and family chores so the kids can go to school tomorrow;

·     My brother’s widow’s daughter’s husband is in ICU;

·    My brother’s widow’s daughter is able to see him 15 mins once per day yesterday & today;

·   Nurse explained that his lungs need to expand on their own & aren't doing well so forced oxygen mask is required;

·    If they don't start working soon, my brother’s widow’s daughter will have to go on a ventilator.

·     My prayers are that God make these lungs work!

My silent prayer was as follows:

Lord I praise You and thank You

from the bottom of my heart.

I pray that you continue to

make Your presence known to

those whose name You know are on my mind.

Lord, I lift my brother’s widow up to You;

To cover and console her in Your

lovingly gentle and comforting wings

for the stress she must be under.

Thank you so much, Lord for allowing

having me reach out to contact her

after 22 years to help support her

in a small way as you work Your miracles.

Lord, You got this; You’re on top of it;

You know exactly what needs to be done;

and I thank You for Grace, Mercy and Glory. 

At 10:54 AM, Tuesday, August 31, my brother’s widow texted:

·      A gas/blood test is being done today (don't know when)

·   Prayer is requested that the test give accurate results so doctor can move forward with proper plan for healing.

·   To God be the glory, in Christ’s Name! Thank you!

Wednesday, September 1, 2021, 8:14 pm, my brother’s widow sent a text update which I knew it would be good because it started with Praise God!

·   The gas/blood test shows my brother’s widow’s daughter’s husband has great numbers & his own O₂ consumption is incrementally better!

·     Medical staff encouraged enough to schedule Occupational Therapy for his lungs;

·     Though support his lungs he will remain on an oxygen mask.

·     He's still not out of the woods, but praise our Lord for these miracles!

·  Praise: my brother’s widow’s daughter is doing much better, though still recovering, & looks the best I've seen in 3 weeks!

·      Loretta is incrementally improving too!

·    The children, went back to school yesterday & even though they are still dealing w/ lung issues.

·  Thank you [prayer warriors] for all your continued prayers for progress to full recovery for everyone.

·    Praising our Savior & His ever-present Agape Love!

Four days later, September 5, 2021, my brother’s widow's daughter’s mother-in-law was checked out of the hospital to fully recover from home.

By the next day, September 6, 2021, my brother’s widow’s daughter’s husband was released from the hospital to continue his recuperation and therapy to fully recover.

Nobody knows it, but the Lord and now you, but I have been bawling my eyes out in thanksgiving to the Lord for giving me and all of us the opportunity to add to the full assurances He has already given us with His Holy Word: For God so loved the world that He by His Grace gave His Son, Jesus, as a sin propitiation to those who might believe in Christ’s sacrifice and be saved to live in a eternal relationship with Him and each other.

He has given us so much to share to others the truth that He still performs miracles.

To hear that those stricken with the COVID virus for whom we pray have been suffering perhaps for at least three weeks and to know that they made this much progress in only one week just makes me want to say Thank You Lord!

That kind of turnaround from my brother’s widow’s desperate prayer request to now is in her words, nothing short of a miracle.

When compared to news that seems to accentuate the negative, that many COVID patients struggle for months or go into comas, not recovering well enough to leave the hospital even for three to six months and some patients dying within a week or two, we all have received a wonderfully incredible blessing and reminder that our God lives in power and love for believers in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

Continuing Need

The Lord fully expects that we engage in continuous prayer because life here on Earth and in Heaven is dynamic.  In other words, when we get to Heaven, we’re not just going to rest on our laurels and get all out of shape and happy and all that.  He certainly doesn’t want us to do that here and now.  Do I know what we’ll be doing in Heaven?  Well I don’t know more than what is in the Bible.  Maybe we’ll be prayer warriors in Heaven as well.  I figure that I’ll be told what I need to know when I get there.

There is still plenty to do here right now.  I think we are all going to need continual healing until we go to live with The Lord.  After all, all of mankind is in a depraved state when compared with The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. Continuing prayer requested:

·  My brother’s widow for strength and support and for healing of her serious ongoing ailments.

·     My brother’s widow’s requests prayer for his complete healing, since recovering from COVID, she has had to battle COVID-like symptoms.  Pray that the Lord strengthen her and puts a hedge of protection around her, as she continues to excel in her job and as she goes about her motherly tasks.

·   My brother’s widow’s daughter's husband and his mother continue to recover; please pray for their complete healing and for their being stronger than ever.

While we wait here for the healing we will need, the Bible tells us to continue praying for each other’s healing needs, as we encourage and serve in the name of The Lord, just as Jesus would.  We should edify and disciple each other, because this world sorely needs help in so many ways.  Right now, the world is being torn apart by following and making our own rules.  Nobody knows what is right or wrong.  That is part of the problem; too many are calling right, wrong and wrong right.  It tells us in the Bible.  What else should we be doing?

Woe to those who call evil good,

and good evil; Who substitute darkness

for light and light for darkness;

Who substitute bitter for

Sweet and sweet for bitter!                              Isaiah 5:20

Now we pray to God that you do no wrong;

not that we ourselves may appear approved,

but that you may do what is right,

even though we may appear unapproved.2 Corinthians 13:7

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

for to this you were called

as members of one body.

And be thankful.                                                           Colossians 3:15

For it is better, if God should will it so,

that you suffer for doing what is right

rather than for doing what is wrong.              1 Peter 3:17

Is any one of you suffering?

He should pray.

Is anyone cheerful?

He should sing praises.                                     James 5:13

If you need wisdom,

ask our generous God, and

He will give it to you.

He will not rebuke you for asking.                   James 1:5

Please send your prayer requests and news of answered prayer in so that we can post it.  Send it to:  epwarrior@aol.com or aulygeo@gmail.com

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