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This is way to good to pass up. We have a large breakfast at an area church, where Christian men show up from virtually every denomination. A recent speaker at this event, had a very important message for each of us.
The man is a Pastor about 30 miles outside of our town. His story begins a few weeks before, as he was talking to a small group, a half hour prior to services starting. He was telling them about the impending operation that his 18 year old (unsaved) grandson was going to have on the following day. In order to stop the spread of bone cancer, and to save his life, doctors were removing one of his legs.
The young mans situation seemed even more devastating because he was known to be a super athlete, and he had dreams of becoming a "super star" in college, and perhaps even in professional sports. As he talked, one of the parishioners stopped him and suggested that they all pray for a miraculous healing that would make the removal of the leg unnecessary.
The Pastor was actually caught off guard by this request, for some reason he had not been making this kind of prayer, on behalf of his grandson. As each individual person prayed out loud, the pastor was more, and more troubled by his inaction. When it was his turn to pray, he started to make the kind of request that he had made on behalf of hundreds of people before. You know, the kind of prayer that requests that the cancer be removed from his body, and that this miracle would bring glory to God.
As he prayed, the internal voice, said "be careful what you pray for". The Pastor was startled, he could not figure out why God was giving him this advice. As the day progressed into the night, the Pastor kept hearing "the voice" saying the same message again and again.
On the morning of the operation the Pastor finally received the full message. God clearly revealed that he could save the leg, but it would cost the grandson his salvation. Gods warning to be careful what you pray for, was related to what the young man had been heading for. If he was as successful as it seemed he could be, then he was headed towards a life of adulation, that would have taken him away from God and not towards him.
We have all seen the kinds of lives that Rock and Movie stars have, we see the egos that seem to thrive in professional athletes. It is obvious if we think about it, but the pressures that come with this kind of success often lead down a destructive path.
After the operation, the Pastor walked into the grandson's room, startled to see him sitting up smiling. The doctor was finishing up his visit by explaining, what a person can expect to go through, after losing a leg. He also informed his patient about the 10 days that he would remain in the hospital. The young man responded with the comment that he would be out in 3 days. As the physician left the room he pulled the family aside, to tell them that he had never seen anyone leave in less than 5 days, but he did not have the heart to take away his patients goal.
Three days later, the grandson was home, complete with a different attitude than he had ever demonstrated before. This is a powerful lesson to me, about how God can turn what we often see as something bad, into something good. I need to remember that I often do not have the full knowledge about what God is doing, and I need to stop thinking I know what is good for someone (including me).
I really want to see where God takes this young man, I have a suspicion that he is going to be a very powerful tool for the Lord.
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Hi Jeff, Yes, this is one of those beautiful stories that brings glory to God. As a pastor I understand how difficult it is sometimes to pray for what "we" want in lieu of what God wants. The solution for me has been to pray that God's will be done and that He be glorified.
What a great article. I know that you had told the story a couple of weeks before you posted it. That message has not been very far from my thoughts, in fact it has consumed my thoughts during my prayer time. This is a very powerful message and I am glad you have posted it.
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Wednesday, September 03, 2008 View other articles written by Jeff Downing(1,320)
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