Devote Ourselves to Prayer

Prayer is powerful. Do you agree? If you do, you have probably experienced a prayer answered; perhaps even a miracle.

If asked if I’ve ever seen a miracle, I go to a memory where I saw the power of prayer. There isn’t one person who was a part of the experience who would say any differently. God performed a miracle. Our prayers were answered. Lives were forever changed.

Several years ago when my girls were attending school at St. Charles, we were a part of the school family as well as a part of our parish family, Holy Family. There was an arrangement for kids from our parish to attend the school. There was a little girl, named Lainie whose family was like ours and attended the school but was part of the Holy Family community.

She was diagnosed with a rare lymphoma and went to Ohio to a children’s hospital there to receive treatment. The school held fundraisers for the family and all really bonded together to whatever was needed to support the family. When word came through that Lainie was not responding well and was starting to decline, the school AND the parish scheduled an emergency prayer service.

Since the family was a part of both communities there was a service held at BOTH locations. It was a gallant effort on both communities to pull together something so quickly. As it would happen, BOTH churches were FULL of people gathered to come to pray for Lainie and her family.

Word had gotten to the family in Ohio that this was happening and they communicated back and forth about Lainie’s status while the prayer services were happening. In true miraculous fashion, while all were gathered in prayer, Lainie’s stats started to improve. Everyone cried tears of joy for prayers answered.

Today, Lainie is a happy and healthy high school student. Yes, she still has to be watchful her cancer doesn’t return and her childhood experience has had an impact on her life, but she still has a life to live! This is an example of the power of prayer.

Now there is not a magic number of people or prayers that need to be said, God’s plan is God’s plan. This moment in time was an example to all gathered that God is real and is listening. All who heard about the prayer services and about the story of how Lainie’s health began to improve each day following, they began to believe in the power of prayer. There is no telling how many people’s faith was strengthened or how many people began to believe because of that experience.

Of course for the family, there is no way they are able to understand or put words to what happened, they will never be able to say thank you enough for everyone’s prayers which lead to the life their daughter gets to live. The only thing to say is that prayer is powerful and when one devotes themselves to prayer, miracles can happen!