He Does!
Our God laughs and cries with us, often about us too. The Bible is full of humorous punchlines, and it’s worth searching for them. I dedicated a year of my Bible reading to the question “How does God think, what is typically God, the divine nature?” Quite naturally, I came to no final conclusion, and there will never be a person who “figures God out.” (God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts.) But an encounter with Him comes closer to the matter. One experience will remain in my memory forever…
- My mother, almost 80 years old, lay 200km away in a university clinic in intensive care. My father called me at the practice with a serious voice… it was a Monday afternoon shortly before Christmas. This time it was obviously serious, and I promised to get back in touch right away. Then I hung up and notified my wife in the next room.
- She was very matter-of-fact and asked: “Should we perhaps pray first?” And I prayed… no clever words, more like stammering: “Jesus… not now!”
- My wife continued praying and suddenly stopped abruptly because I had a broad grin on my lips. “What is it?”
- “He asked, When would it suit you?”
- Within seconds I had regained my composure, could conclude the prayer with thanks, and finish the agreed-upon treatments. The phone call in the evening revealed a stabilization, and in the following days we received encouraging news as well.
- So I paid her a visit the following Saturday on the regular ward and could already hear her familiar voice as I approached, a voice with which she could direct whole hordes of children on the school playground. A ward doctor with a Russian accent had taken the opportunity for an evangelistic conversation. So I waited gratefully until it was my turn and then had a wonderfully ordinary conversation with my mother.
- I didn’t need to be a doctor, therapist, or counselor—just her son, focusing on what God had in store. Years later, she passed away peacefully.
What did God show me through this experience?
- He loves both me and my mother and rejoices when I pray for her wholeheartedly.
- He has given me a wife who lets herself be used by Him and who helps me stay in His will.
- He calls intercessors, sends angels exactly where they’re needed, and sometimes even works through doctors who are willing to be used by Him.
- Prayer from afar is meaningful and powerful—especially when all other options appear hopeless.