Two Sisters

Has God ever given you an answer while you were still praying? Have you ever thought the answer was yes but you are yet to see the results?

As I have been studying Daniel, many things have jumped out at me that I plan to share at some point but today I bring you something that touched my heart to the core.

Daniel a man of integrity, was praying as he usually did three times a day. He was praying for the sins of himself and for his people Israel, and as he (Daniel) tells it, while he was still praying, the angel Gabriel came to him and said "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you begin to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you for you are highly esteemed."

There have been a few times in my prayer life that I was fully convinced that God had answered “Yes” to my prayers. But if I may, I would like to share this story of two sisters.

We had been praying for my daughter Christa for a long time but her health continued to decline, threatening to take her life on a few occasions. Larry and I took her to Minnesota to Mayo Clinic as a sort of last hope for her to find an answer to her many health issues. As we drove those hours to get there, this emaciated young woman felt every mile because of the constant pain that racked her body. As parents, our heart broke as our love overflowed for her and we feared the worse. Meanwhile, my other daughters were praying and even set up a prayer vigil around the clock made up of many people that purposed to pray for Christa for the week that we would be at Mayo. Those prayers would bathe us with God’s love for the entire time we were there. As we checked into the clinic, Christa could only go from one wheel chair to another and could hardly stand on her own. Being concerned about her condition doctors were planning to have her admitted so that traveling from one specialist to another would not be so taxing. She had no appetite even though we tried to entice her with the great food in that area. Because of the extensive wound care that she had to do each morning, on the second day we wondered if we could even get her to the clinic. With courage and determination, she willed herself to make the trip a few miles away to start the day of tests and doctors. As the day went on I began to see a new energy in her. Instead of having to almost carry her she had more strength. I wondered to myself “who is praying in this half hour slot”? Thank you, God! Our first hint that prayers were being answered when she turned down the wheel chair to walk on her own. When we were through with the first day of tests, we took her out to eat and guess what? Her appetite had returned and she was strengthen by the nourishment that she took in. Unbelievably, she was to gain fifteen pounds in that one week. Next morning and for the rest of the week, her mood was cheery and it seemed the last few years of pain was erased from her countenance. Thank you God!

Mayo Clinic is a great place and I would recommend it to anyone but my daughter received very little help from them. As the week went on, I could see that indeed her healing had begun, not from doctors and medicine but from the Lord. From that day on she began to get better. While we were still praying our answer came! Praise God!

I remember when as a family we gathered around my daughter Nealy and prayed! I felt God’s presence as many prayed for her healing! While we were praying God’s answer was given, it was also a “Yes”. We, as well as she expected things to go smooth and we were all waiting for evidence of a great answer to prayer. Recently, Nealy and I visited that time of assurance and wondered why she had not made great strides as we had all expected. “I was so sure, Mom” she said through tears. I wanted to be the wise mom and explain away her hurt but I too wondered. As we had put our hands on our sweet Nealy, there was more faith and love than could be measured but here we are, though encouraged by small victories, waiting for the answers to “why” it wasn‘t immediate!

I believe God in his goodness gave me answers while I prayed and sought insight and understanding in this matter. As I continued in the book of Daniel I found that this man of God was not to see the “answer” fulfilled in his life time but would only get glimpses of it. As believers we are to walk by faith not sight, we are to trust God and take him at his word. I believe with every fiber of my being that “while I was still praying” God sent an answer concerning my daughters, these two sisters. One saw action immediately another more slowly but none the less, to me the answer came and I claim His precious promise of great deliverance for the both of them. Everyday I see small signs that God is indeed interceding in Nealy’s life. Praise God for His word to me. We are esteemed and loved by God, isn’t that amazing?

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: (Daniel 9:20-23 NIV)


Sent from Jeanie!