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Earlier this evening, I came from the hospital where my grandfather was admitted. He was in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit) and was pretty much in bad shape when I came to see him. Most of his immediate family were there to get word on his condition… some offered prayers and made sure the doctors were tending to him competently.
You see, my grandfather has been suffering from Cancer for quite some time now… Cancer… the Big “C” (as some would call it). What’s interesting to note, however, was that my grandfather was still talkative and in high spirits just last week when he was also admitted to the hospital but for a different reason… (hernia surgery).
Now he’s back in the same hospital… but this time, doctors say he might not be able to leave that place anymore. His entire body just isn’t responding to any of the medications that are being given to him anymore. He was given a plasma treatment which he so desperately needs to recover but was ordered by doctors to immediately suspend treatment since his body couldn’t take it any longer and was just damaging his heart all the more. His kidneys have already shut down just yesterday and has completely deteriorated. His dialysis costs roughly P50,000.00 (equivalent to about $1,250.00) per session.
As I entered his ICU room, I could see my grandmother and my mother crying… I touched my grandfather and spoke to him. He heard my voice… nodded… murmured something I couldn’t understand (because of the tubes inserted into his mouth)… and tried to open his eyes to see me.
It crushed me.
I didn’t know what to do. All of a sudden, I heard a voice whisper to me… “Pray now. Pray for your grandfather.” I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to me… compelling me to engage in prayer and to lift up to the Lord my grandfather’s well-being.
And so I did. I prayed over him… I asked the Lord to send forth the Spirit… to give my grandfather the inspiration to pray and seek forgiveness from God for everything that he believes should still be confessed. I prayed for healing… not just for physical healing… but for the healing of hearts and of relationships between him and family members… healing of emotions.
Though I trust that the Lord can heal my grandfather if He so wills it, I trust God all the more with the plan that He has for his life. I have so much faith in my Lord… regardless of the outcome. I praise and glorify His name for His will is divine.
The Big “C” has no power over my Big “G” (God). Though it seems that Cancer has taken its toll on my grandpa’s body… it has no effect over his spirit. His body may be broken, but his soul is made whole by the Lord…
…and that’s all that really matters. Hah! Take THAT, Cancer!
My God wins.
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Just a short post… I’m still experiencing a “spiritual high”, so to speak… Why you ask? Well, because my prayer time has considerably improved… in terms of quantity and quality.
When I first started out before, I used to spend some 5 minutes in prayer when I wake up and a few short prayers here and there throughout the day whenever possible.
Now, I still have some prayers spread out through the day… some are more intimate than others… there are moments when I also go into simple silent public prayers…
But what has really improved the most is my private time with the Lord. Whenever I wake up… I make sure that I’m totally up and about so as to be confident that I won’t accidentally doze off during prayer. Then I spend quality time praying and meditating in a specially designated room…
Surprisingly, I noticed that the duration of my prayers recently have lasted a good 30 minutes per session. At times, I pray out loud… on other occasions, it’s a mix of prayer and silently listening for the Lord to speak to my heart.
It’s such a wonderful feeling. Refreshing and overwhelming. I pray for daily anointment. This is very important, indeed. It’s one thing to live and speak the Good News to others and share your personal spiritual victories… but it’s another thing to speak it with the “anointing” of the Holy Spirit within you. It makes all the difference.
(Hmmm… this turned out to be a longer post than I thought…! Hehe!)
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I just realized as I reflected… ever since I really started regular worship and daily prayer, I started to feel a heavier burden towards my surroundings, towards people who are underprivileged and in dire need of the Lord.
I knew that a deeper faith in God would bring about a more sensitive and greater consciousness within me… but only recently did I realize one of the reasons why this has happened…
I went into quiet contemplation and reflected on some of the chapters of the book I read entitled, ““, which talks about effective prayer. And I learned that a prayer that comes from a painful heart is easily heard by God hence making it more powerful.
The pain I am experiencing is a “spiritual reality”… it is actually brought about by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit allows the pain and sorrow to overwhelm me so that I can channel all of it through prayer… thus creating a powerful prayer to the Lord for those in urgent need of God.
Wonderful, isn’t it? The pain is a gift… because it serves a greater purpose.
Praise God for these revelations.
