Friday, May 11, 2007

Prayer from our Church Elders

The Prayer of Faith - James 5
13 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14 Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

Dan, of his own accord, recently asked if the elders of our church, Harvest Bible Chapel, could come and pray over him. [Some of you reading this might not be familiar with this New Testament church practice.] I will just say that this morning some of our church elders came down to the
RIC . We all gathered around Dan and had a time of talking then prayer. It was a very special and private time for us, to hear our elders pouring their hearts out to God on Dan's behalf. Thank you.

What kind of healing
can take place or how can he be "made well" considering that Dan has a complete Spinal Cord Injury, you say?
  • Healing of the Soul - Dan still expresses his love and acknowledgement for God in his life, but what plans and purpose does God have for him in this new life?
  • Healing of the Mind - He does not have all the proper signals working between his mind and body. Everything may physically be okay, but he still feels short of breath, anxious, low blood pressure, dizzy, etc. From fear of the unknown or his future.
  • Healing of the Body - [we'd take the same son pre 3/09/07] Current everyday healing would be for sound sleep at night (more than 4 hours), strengthening of his neck muscles, getting off the ventilator (with his diaphragm working again, or a "breathing" implant), better mind body communication, eating more food by mouth.
We know that the prayers from all of you, who so fervently have been praying for Dan these past 2 months, are heard by God. Thanks - things could be worse. Realize that prayer not always about God giving us OUR desires, but maybe about God changing our desires to HIS desires. Psalms 37:4

Thank you once again for CheckingInOnDan.

14 comments:

Blessed Mommy said...

Praying for HEALING and will not stop!

Anonymous said...

I check in daily, and pray, for strength, peace, sleep, and now will add that His desires will become the deisers of your hearts. And we know how God longs to give us the desires of our hearts!

In His Grace - Bev - Keizer, OR

Anonymous said...

hey dan, it was really great to see you the other day. I'm still praying for you and continue to be encouraged by your perserverence and willingness to follow God's plan for your life...love you man!

Jane said...

The road through The Potter's fire is never the way we would have planned it. Dan, I KNOW this to be true!
I pray that as you are in this fire of life, you are growing your relationship with Jesus. I am praying for you to finish well... no matter how long or what your path looks like.
You are a child of God... and He makes no mistakes!
Praying Jane

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you got to go outside, Dan.
*hug*
an MK

elj377 said...

We are praying for the healing of every area. I often think of Joni Erickson Tada and the lives she has reached through her injury. May God reveal to you and the family how you can have a dynamic ministry.

Anonymous said...

Hi! I check in on Dan daily without fail and pray for you all throughout the day,sometimes in the night because you often come to mind. I remember when the HBC Elders prayed over Steven in the beginning of his cancer, I pray that you have the same deep sense of God's peace and power that we all experienced through that time. We never pick the trials but God is faithful to not only walk with us through them but to carry us along too. Love in Christ, Kim

Anonymous said...

Praise God. "A man plans the cousre for his plans, but the Lord decides his steps." Prov. 16:9
Dan, I'm filled with joy that the elders of Harvest came and prayed with you! The Lord is using you to bring people together and pray to our God. He is also using you in the lives of everyone you know to show us that God is bigger than anything and He is always soverign. Thanks for persevering in the faith Dan.
jen morzak

Anonymous said...

Hi Dan and Fam,

We continue to pray for a miracle in heart, body, soul and mind. God is the God of miracles! In His Care, Sandy for the Basiles in Puebla

Blakemore Family said...

Many prayers for you, Dan, here in Virgina. We have shared you with our Bible study group, and you have many believers out here praying who you will probably never know until heaven. Many God continue his wonderful work of grace in your life, and in your sweet family!
Jon, Karen, Michael, & baby Blakemore

Abraham Vivas said...

We continue to pray for your healing here in Puebla and we know that God is dong something great in your life!!!
The Vivas Fam.

Anonymous said...

Hi- I am a student at Cedarville and I just wanted to say that first, I have never met Dan (he was always a member of one of the many sets of twins on campus to me) but I think of him and pray for him often. And second, I love the ability to "check in on dan" with this blog, knowing what is going on in his life, his treatment, the family's life, and being able to know what everyone needs prayer for. I praise God with you in the amazing progress in Dan's treatment but also still pray for the many struggles that occur and lie ahead of him. I pray that God continually strengthens each one of you as you live life day by day.
-Reba Brown


"I still believe in your faithfulness. I still believe in your truth. I still believe in your holy word. Even when I don't see, I still believe."
-Jeremy Camp

A Weaver's Touch said...

I am an aunt to Jillian Anderson (who was on the Mexico trip two years ago and also knows your daughter) and a friend to the Sherfs (who attend my church). I've "checked in on Dan" from the very start, and continue to pray often for your entire family. How amazing to know that God was not surprised by the past, is not confused by the present, and is not uncertain about His plans for Dan's future! What a truly amazing God!!!

Brenda Strohbehn
Detroit area, Michigan

Amanda Martin said...

Praying right now