“My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” –1 Corinthians 2:4–5
In mid-December of 2020 the husband of a dear friend contracted Covid and was hospitalized. His health deteriorated rapidly and he was placed in the ICU and put on oxygen. I went to take a meal to my friend at her home in the neighboring town at the first possible opportunity: the day the municipal boundary travel ban was lifted and two days after her husband was admitted to the hospital.
While with her I felt God’s nudge to offer to pray for her and her husband. I also felt really nervous to ask if I could pray. What would she think? Would she be offended, and if so, what would happen to our friendship? Would she tell others at the school that I was part of a strange cult? Would this sour an important missional space for us here, not to mention my son’s group of friends? It felt like a weighty decision. And so, with all of these fears swirling around in my mind, I mustered all my apostolic courage and… I bargained with God. I silently negotiated, “Lord, If she starts to cry one more time I’ll do it.”
Just as we were saying goodbye, she began to cry again. I asked her if I could pray and she said yes. I prayed a simple prayer asking for God to heal her husband and to comfort her and her son. We hugged and said goodbye. Less than an hour after I got home, she messaged me to say that the doctor had just seen her husband and was shocked to find that he had suddenly recovered; so much so that she sat him up and took him off of oxygen. The doctor told her, incredulously, it appeared the virus had just left his body. They did a PCR the next morning and it came back negative. Indeed Covid had left his body. Jesus had healed him! He was transferred out of the ICU and in a few short days was able to return home, just in time to celebrate Christmas as a family.
My friend knows that God healed her husband. Since that time she has been attending a women’s DBS with me. God’s transformation in her life is evident. She readily shares how her relationship with God and her understanding of his love and grace continue to heal her from anxiety. Her friends ask her what has changed and she shares with them who God is and how he has met her. And after years of feeling stagnant vocationally she enrolled in a vocational formation program and is thriving with new purpose.
All of this began from God’s tender, deeply personal display of his love, powerfully manifested in a healing miracle.
Why was I so scared to ask her if I could pray for her? I mean, it’s kind of why I am here! Perhaps you can relate though. It can feel really risky to put ourselves out there. I am on a journey of learning to allow God into my areas of weakness, unbelief, and even shame, to reveal his faithfulness and even delight as I surrender and depend on him. Ministry is not about me always having it together, full of faith, strong and passionate. Really, it’s about dependence and allowing God into my weakness, my lack of faith, fears, and worries. His power and love really will manifest in our weakness when we take steps of risky faith.
PRAYER PROMPTS
Where do you feel weak or unsure and in need of renewed courage? Pray the truth of today’s passage over this area.
What risk is God inviting you to take that will only succeed if he shows up?
Listen this week for who God might be prompting you to ask, “May I pray for you?”
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Melinda Talley lives in Málaga, Spain (since June 2015) where she and her husband Matthew create safe spaces for Spaniards to encounter Jesus, and find healing and new life. They have three boys (7,11,12) and enjoy getting out into the gorgeous naturaleza of Andalucia.