Prayer Miracle

2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it— the Lord is his name: 3  Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.“ – Jeremiah 33:2-3

I just made it back from summer camp today, and the focus this year was on prayer. Prayer is one of those things that you know is so important, yet sometimes it is difficult to recognize the importance of it, like your pinky toe. Without it you would not be able to walk correctly, but it’s easy to dismiss and forget about. Praise the Lord He never forgets about us. 

Recently, I had the blessing of experiencing the power of prayer in a way I had never experienced. It is one of those things that you read about but do not really expect to experience yourself. A student at another camp, let’s call him Cole, earlier this month had recently experienced tragedy in his life. One of his fellow students, let’s call him Bret, proceeded to beat him one day, relentlessly punching him over and over. Cole tried to take it without fighting back, even to the point that he attempted to share Christ with him during the attack. However, he could not sit there forever and chose to strike back with one punch. Let me make it clear that Cole is no bodybuilder. In fact, he is a scrawny kid. Yet, that one punch put Bret into a coma.

At summer camp, Bret had been in a coma for a few months. Cole was broken. He was dealing with the reality that he could have sent someone to hell. He had been praying for Bret ever since the incident. Cole came to me after one of my messages, completely broken. I cannot imagine having to go through what he was going through. Bret was not a follower of Christ, and his family wanted nothing to do with Cole. Bret’s grandmother, though, was a believer. Attempting to console Cole, I was at a loss for words. What words could make a difference in this circumstance? No words to Cole could change things. However, words to God could.

I told Cole that I didn’t have all the answers. I did not know whether or not he should have thrown that punch. But I did know that he had been trying to share Christ with Bret, and that was a courageous thing to do. Cole stepped out and was doing the work of the Kingdom, and he got targeted by the enemy. I told him that it’s a miracle he could put anyone in a coma in the first place and that God could be the one orchestrating this. Cole could have taken the beating, and Bret could have went on with his life never thinking twice about God. However, this very incident could be the only thing that could bring him to the realization of His need for a Savior. I told Cole my belief and prayer was that Bret would wake up from the coma and accept Christ. I prayed that he would come to realize his life was fragile and that Christ was the only answer.

After we prayed, I went to lunch. After lunch, I came back to the classroom. It had been about an hour. Cole walked in and told me that Bret, who had been in a coma for months, woke up. I expected the news to end there, but it did not. Not only did Bret wake up, but he woke up and gave his life to Christ! What a miracle!

God shows up when we are willing to pray with faithful hearts. This was not my doing. Cole had been praying for months. I was simply able to be a part of what God was doing.

God never ceases to surprise. Call to Him, and he will tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know.

Commanded and Called,

Matt Atwell