Laynie and the Power of Prayer - 5-24-09

Wow. Our lil miracle is 16 months old. She has 7 almost 8 teeth. She yells alot. She is finally starting to babble her consanants again. She has rolled over a couple of times, I am sure strictly by accident, but she was pleasantly surprised and clapped for sooo hard that she knew she had done something amazing. I just don't have the words.


Church always speaks to me. Today, I looked over at one point, and the tears were on Lacey's face, and I knew we were thinking exactly the same thing, and tonite over spaghetti at Gram's, she almost verbatim delivered the message to my brother and Brad, and mom. Elijah and the immense awesome power of prayer. Delivered by our campus pastor Miles, Incredible job, I might add, starting out with acoustic worship with Trent and Trent alone. Already so in the worship zone when Miles took the stage, because Trent is just amazing (Lifechurch in Edmond, for those of you looking and wanting a fantastic church)..

My take on today's message....

Prayer must be humble......I remember shortly after finding out about Laynie, sitting in the front room, my brain rolling over and over about the matter at hand, the questions, the worries, the feeling of helplessness.... I walked to my room, fell to my knees at the foot of my bed and cried to God. Cried a prayer so broken and humble, and begging for comfort.. He delivered, and most of you know this from my blogs on my journey. Peace that passeth understanding that only comes from total surrender in a place that can on be found when you are at your most humbled.

Prayer must be specific...... From my first prayer request to friends, up to months after Laynie was born...Does everyone remember Lolly's requests? Please pray for peace for the parents, pray for Laynie's MRI, pray for her heart, pray for her cyst on her brain, pray for her eyes, pray for health. And God has HEARD every prayer. From the heartfelt prayer of 3 broken people in the ultrasound room at the discovery of her journey to last night's prayer of thanks, he has heard and delivered. I haven't asked for a specific for Laynie is a long time. She is doing so amazing.... I want to ask now, in the voice of a grandma prayer warrior, to pray for her legs. To pray for amazing things to happen with her sweet little toothpick bone legs. Her Orthopedic, Dr Herndon, saw her for the first time in 4 months and he was so amazed at her progress, and of course, his assistant, Anthony was over the Moon. Little Laynie...Little Laynie..... I viewed her xrays, and was amazed at her tiny tiny little bones, and of course, the absence of her hip bones very apparent in the xray. So I want prayer, specific prayer, to give this little miracle a chance of sitting on her own.. a chance of strengthening those limbs and ability to do things we take for granted in a sweet baby...roll over, crawl, sit up, walk. Specific prayers for strength for Laynie.

Prayer must be repetitive.....Miles example of cutting a tree. Could you cut a tree with one swipe of the ax? No, it must be hit again and again and again and again and again to ever achieve the goal. That's why I believe in nationwide prayer on a specific request. I know at one point, there were thousands of people praying for Laynie. Specific prayers, prayed fervently by people we didn't even know for a baby not even born.. Over and over without ceasing... Prayers must be repeated.

Prayers must be expectant. When you put a prayer up to heaven... you have to have Faith that that prayer is being heard. Elijah prayed a drought onto a nation, and when he went to pray to bring the rain, he sent his servant, not once, not twice, but Seven times to see if there were clouds, and in the sight of a small cloud..not even rain..he sent his servant to the king to tell him the drought was over. Faith is Action. Faith is a belief that goes beyond anything we humanly understand. Faith was 15 Lifechurch staff standing in our hospital room telling us that God was bigger than anything we knew, and that God WOULD deliver Laynie from her diagnosis. We BELIEVE what we are praying, and we go on Faith, that God will bring it to us.

I think this blog has a sermon feel. I was moved and amazed at how God is working through us. IF we had had a "normal" child, NONE of us would be on the close and surrendered walk we are on. God answered our prayer with a prayer of His own..... "Know me, follow me, trust me and believe in me"... and we are.... All because he gave us Hope....Laynie Hope.

God is Good, all the time.