From Geoffrey to you; the Prayer of a rightous man

Tuesday June 9, 2009

I think I was a little confused when I first became a Christian because I used to think of God like Santa Claus. Every prayer I prayed was more like the reading of a wish list and desperate pleas for bigger and better materialistic things. Even though I prayed for these things each night I am still waiting for my millions of dollars, smoking hot model girl friend, and the ridiculously good looks. Maybe I got a rain check in which case I am still waiting to cash it, but that isn’t likely. I think that I thought about God and prayers completely wrong by putting the entire focus on myself and the furthering of my kingdom.

I have written about and mentioned Janet numerous times. This twenty-three year old woman unexpectedly became blind less than a year ago. She tried going to numerous doctors, hospitals and medical centers but every treatment center seemed to be a dead end and offered ineffective or no help at all. I went with her to the best eye clinic in Kenya about three weeks ago so she could get their take on things. Their gut-wrenching answer was that she would never be able to see again and that it was physically impossible for her to see again because her optic nerve is completely dead.

In all honesty, this whole ordeal about her eyesight has completely torn apart my heart. I have prayed more times than I can count. I have shed tears and literally wept, the look on her face and the tears she shed when she heard the dreaded news three weeks ago struck her so intensely that I couldn’t help but hurt as well. I have visited her nearly each day, talking, reading and just hanging out. She has an incredible little two-year-old girl that says she is number one in her class even though she doesn’t go to school.

I tell you this because I feel like we need to understand that in any dark situation there is always a beacon of hope and light. Since receiving the horrid news three weeks ago Janet has gotten better. With each passing day her eye sight is restoring more and more. She has gone from being completely blind to being able to see colors, shapes and light. There was absolutely no hope whatsoever as far as the doctors were concerned, but God had other plans apparently.

If being able to see colors and light isn’t good enough, Janet made her way to the eye clinic today and the doctors said that her eyes have improved so much that they are going to do an operation in two weeks and she should be able to see again. They were blown away at the improvement in these past three weeks!

Words can’t explain how pumped, excited, thankful, awestruck, and simply at peace I am right now. If you only knew how many prayers I cried out or how many times my heart sank by thinking about Janet’s life and future. In James it says, “the prayer of a righteous man is both powerful and effective.” I wouldn’t call myself righteous, I am too self indulgent and prideful for that, but I can tell you that these prayers I cried out were as genuine as you can get. I can tell you that these tears I cried and the concerns pressed on my heart were sincere. Have you ever prayed for something with more tenacity and passion than you had ever before? I prayed and prayed for Janet, time and time again… now that those prayers are actually being answered I don’t know what to think. I am just kind of in awe… and a little dumbfounded. You praying knowing that God answers prayers, but when it happens you are kind of blindsided sometimes.

Is that just me or does that happen to you too?

Please pray for this whole situation. Pray for the continual improvement of her eyes and for the funds for this operation.

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