We Prayed for a Miracle

For certain, hundreds prayed for my friend Bethany. That number is likely more in the thousands, but I’m always one to estimate modestly. I prayed. Family prayed. Friends prayed. Friends of friends prayed. Missionaries prayed. Pastors prayed. Children prayed. Strangers prayed.

Yet, Bethany passed away in the early morning hours on January 8, less than two weeks after her initial breast cancer diagnosis. She leaves behind a husband of 10 years, three children under the age of 6, and numerous family and friends shocked and sick and sad by her death.

So with all that praying, why no miracle?

I’ve been asking that question—and several others—for the last 10 days. If the elder session at my church were aware of some of my thoughts, my excommunication is a likely possibility.

As I’ve said before, prayer is a mystery I cannot crack. Yes, the more and more I think about it, reading Scripture as my guide, I’m realizing that my personal view of prayer, uh, of God, is more like a vending machine, a genie in a bottle, a lucky charm, a help hotline. Doesn’t God respond to simple formulas? Jesus follower + request to God = all my desires come true. Or even better: Jesus follower + asking for a good thing = guaranteed affirmative response. Isn’t there a point when the sheer number of people praying for one thing trumps God’s plan? Totally what we think, right? If we could only get a few more folks to pray about this, then . . . .

Although I cannot completely explain the mystery of prayer, nor is this the post for me to try, I can assert, with quite a bit of confidence, that God not only heard our prayers, but also responded.

Months ago my four college pals (which included Bethany) and I planned a girls’ getaway. Airlines tickets were purchased. Husbands asked off work. Kiddos cared for. Dozens and dozens of weeks in advance the way was made easy for Lori, Natalie, Emilee, and I to be able to change destinations and to be able to be together to celebrate and bury our friend. Luck or chance had nothing to do with it. God knew our needs and provided for them before we even realized we had a need. To me, that is miraculous.

And how many times did I say to my husband in the last week, “I will not be able to handle it if she dies. It will be impossible for me to be okay.” These were not and are not flippant statements. I meant it. I mean it. Yet, God’s faithfulness, mercy, and sovereignty have and will enable me put one foot in front of the other. It is a miracle that David, Debbi, Brooke, Brandon, Isaac, Jude, Naomi, and on and on and on can function, not to mention laugh and dream of the future. It is a miracle. 

The miracle of redemption has made this possible; and that miracle is still working out in my life, in their lives. We have much to stir us and cause amazement. We have much for which to be thankful.