Ever
Interceding PRAYER AND SUFFERING
BY DIANA BROWN
D
o you ever find yourself trying to pray with tears flowing from your eyes and no words coming out of your mouth? I recently found myself in this place. My pastor and his wife desire to start a family. Having endured two miscarriages, they recently received a positive result on a pregnancy test, so the church elders and their wives met at the pastor’s home to pray for and anoint the young couple with oil. Remembering the faith of the woman with the blood disease, each person praying received a tzitzit.
FOR SHE SAID TO HERSELF, “IF I ONLY TOUCH HIS GARMENT, I WILL BE MADE WELL.” (MATTHEW 9:21 ESV)
We all walked away from that prayer gathering with such peace that this would be a healthy pregnancy. This was it! This baby was going to be!
The couple was meeting with the doctor the following morning to check the baby’s progress and development. At 8:30 a.m., they sent the group a picture of themselves holding the tzitzit, and we all continued praying along with them. Time passed; it got later in the morning, but there was no word. I kept looking at the clock. Then, at 10:31 a.m., the following text came from our pastor: “We didn’t get the news we were hoping for this morning. It’s looking like an ectopic pregnancy. The ultrasound clearly showed there was nothing in the uterus, and there’s a possible gestational sack by the left ovary. We’re waiting to hear the results of bloodwork taken this morning to confirm, then we’ll decide on next steps, one of which could be surgery tomorrow. We’re both obviously disappointed, but overall, are doing fine. We appreciate your prayers through this whole process and your continued prayers as we figure out what’s next.” Immediately it felt as if we were sucker punched. Tears began to flow; we were sick to our stomachs. God had a different plan. 41
