Jellies and Prayer

My sister, Krista, is pregnant with her 1st child, we are so excited! Unfortunately this excitement is shadowed with fear because she is having some pre-term labor issues, which have included some bleeding. Her doctors have prescribed bed rest for the remainder of her pregnancy. Since she is stuck at home I have tried to call her more often to keep her company any way I can.

So at about 10:30 Tuesday night I called her to discuss the fashion emergency at Old Navy. They are bringing back Jellies for adults. Yes, it was an 80’s flashback that horrified me, so like any good girl; I called to warn my sister. The conversation went on through the mundane to pregnancy chatter. She brought up some scary dreams where she is bleeding. I tried to comfort her by relaying some of the crazy dreams throughout my pregnancies. All of a sudden Krista says “Oh no, not again! –David!” and she hangs up the phone. In a moment I went from a fun chat with my sister to sheer panic. I could not believe we were having a conversation about her problems and somehow the bad dreams had become a reality.

I felt the Spirit urging me to pray, and so I did. I prayed for the safety of my sister. I prayed for the safety of the baby. I prayed for them to have a spirit of peace, and then I felt like I was repeating myself a bunch, so I got out my Bible to read something from His Word. In my mind, I questioned my faith, was I believing that God would take care of my sister? So I asked the Lord to increase my faith and began to “pray believing”. Then I asked the Lord for wisdom. “If any of you lack wisdom let him ask of God”. I prayed for wisdom from the Lord to direct my words and prayer in the way He chose.

After a while I began to think I needed to go to sleep, but sleep was not coming easily. The Lord brought Psalm 4 to me, “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” I desperately wanted the Lord to relieve Krista from her distress. Not only that, but I wanted the Lord to hear my prayers and relieve the distress of my own heart.

The last verse of Psalm 4 says: “I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.” I cannot imagine the fear that David must have endured as he wrote this Psalm. Yet with confidence he goes to sleep knowing that the Lord will protect him. Last night I took comfort in the fact that the Lord would keep my sister and her baby in safety. My worry would not help her at all. I embraced the prayer of David and made this verse the prayer of my heart.

After a couple of hours passed, I finally heard from Krista letting me know that she and the baby were doing well. After the experience of last night, I want to praise the Lord for answering my prayers. I praise and thank Him for giving me the Words to say. He is our fortress in time of trouble. Even when we feel alone and burdened, His walls of protection are all around us. He has provided us with grace, His Word, and the gift of prayer for us. With all these things in mind, I went to bed and slept in peace.

If you think of my sister, please pray for her. While Krista and the baby are doing fine, she is still hospitalized because of the nature of her problems.