Because Somebody Prayed
Today I was listening to the radio while driving. It was David Crowder singing:
“I’m only right where I am today because somebody prayed.”
On the surface, as a Christian, this is true. I would not be a Christian unless somebody (many in fact) prayed for God to have mercy on me, and for me to hear & respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But for some of us, it goes so much further than that.
I would not even exist unless somebody prayed.
My story begins before I was born.
Somebody Prayed
After my sister was born, my parents were told that my mom would never be able to have any more children. By the time my sister was twelve years old, she had put her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and continually prayed for a baby brother. She also prayed for God to change my dad, who was a very bad person.
My dad had been active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 15 years, and by 1969 had requested multiple tours of duty in Vietnam & Thailand. In late 1969, while in Vietnam, an airman in his squadron approached him and told him flatly: “You need to give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, or you are going to die and go to hell.”
That airman took my dad to a Navigators meeting that night, where he heard the gospel & gave his life to Jesus Christ.
The next day, while my dad was working in a building on base, a Vietnamese child entered the building begging for candy, and was blown up by the Viet Cong. The blast killed my dad’s best friend and injured my dad and others. (I am convinced to this day, that my dad would have died in that blast also if he hadn’t given his life to Christ Jesus the night before).
The Air Force sent my dad home from his tour of duty. When my sister saw my dad when he got home, she knew God had answered one of her prayers.
A miraculous change had happened. In her words: “The Lord had taken the old dad and thrown him in the trash and replaced him with a brand new man.” He was not the same person! The transformation began the night he gave his life to Jesus Christ.
My sister’s other prayer would seem to be answered soon after my dad came home. Another miracle happened when in early 1970, my mom got pregnant. It was a baby boy!
But then something terrible happened…
That baby boy was stillborn in the bathroom at home, at five months old.
My twelve year old sister had to collect her stillborn brother, put him in a Tupperware container with lid, and give him to the doctors when my mom was rushed to the hospital.
That’s when a nurse who was caring for my mom discovered that the still born child had a twin brother… me.
Another miracle. I was alive and still in the womb. It turns out that my mom had a very rare condition called uterus didelphys. Two wombs.
I went full term and was born healthy four months later. God answered my sister’s prayer and she got her baby brother. Twice. (Our youngest brother was born 14 months later)!
So I can confidently say that I’m only here today because somebody prayed. My older sister!
Born then Born Again
I am also confident that I came to faith in Christ Jesus because she never stopped praying for me, even after I was born.
I thank God the Father and my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ for my older sister and her faithful perseverance in prayer.
Are you right where you’re at today because somebody prayed? I encourage you to share your story.
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