Prayer in Time Saves Four

Prayer in Time Saves Four



On 31st December 2005, I declined a lucrative offer from my friends to ring in the New Year at a pub downtown and instead chose to spend the last moments of the year at Church. All the while, my mind was drifting towards the revelries outside but I decided to focus on God and pray. Raised in an Orthodox Christian family with Christian virtues, I was considered the black sheep of the family for my bratty behavior and outspokenness. My sister was sober, docile, meek, and humble. I remember most of our near and dear ones referring to her as “Job” of the house and me, “Jacob-the cheat.”  On a hot summer morning in 2006, my dad woke up with his face twisted to the right and his right eye was closed. He couldn’t talk, eat or drink and we got all panicky. We called the doctor who diagnosed his condition as Bell Palasy and was advised lots of rest and heavy medication. This definitely took a toll on my mother, who fell very ill and used to sleep all day. Though my sister and I dismissed it off as over exertion, heart of hearts, I knew something was terribly wrong. Sometimes, I would go near her, wake her up and ask her if she was alright, she would then smilingly reply, “I’m as fit as a fiddle”, walk around the garden and go back to sleep like a dead man. She looked pale and sick but we sisters were too busy to notice as we took up jobs to cover the mounting medical expenses and had to take care of our parents as well as the household chores. It was quite taxing and despite medication and attention, my parents’ health was gradually deteriorating. One fine morning, my sister couldn’t get off the bed or talk. She was running temperature but her body was cold, immediately I took her to hospital and after a series of medical tests doctors declared she had pneumonia, dengue fever, viral fever, jaundice and measles all at the same time.  I was the only physically strong person in the house shouldering all the responsibilities with a confused state of mind. I didn’t inform my parents and whenever Dad inquired about my sister I told him, she was doing an extra shift at office and whenever was home from work, he was sleeping. As for mom, she used to sleep all day and never interacted much. At the hospital where my sister was admitted, the nurse who befriended me suspected that mom had some serious medical condition and it would be better if I admitted her. Despite mom’s feeble resistance and weak protests, she was admitted and the doctors were amazed that she was still alive. Her blood count was 2.3 and had uterine fibroids. This of course was my breaking moment and I wept by my mother’s bed hoping for help, comfort and someone to give me courage. Suddenly, I could see a white light coming closer to me and even though my eyes were shut, it seemed real. A little inner voice told me, “You are in God’s presence.” I started praying fervently and never felt such peace. I felt new and lighter as if a heavy load was taken off my shoulders, I was reborn.  This was for real and since then I never stopped praying. Miraculously, my dad got better within a week and was helping me take care of my sister and mother. My sister took six months to recover and never had any relapses. As for mom, it took over a year for her to get completely healed. Though, I faced many trials in 2006, I never regretted any of it as it drew me closer to God.  The only regret I had was that, I was too caught up in my own lifestyle that I forgot to give quality time to God and if I would have prayed a little early, maybe my family would be sickness free. After feeling guilty about it, my inner voice spoke up again and said, “God has His own time, chosen one and a different way of bringing back His lost sheep.” This incident changed the course of my life and even today when I encounter problems, I feel everything is possible.