Prayer for David

Before I almost died ten years ago, Christians who actually asked God for something in faith and expected Him to answer made me feel uncomfortable. Like most Christians, my role had always been to pray for others who may have lost perspective in a tragedy.

But on that day I realized the enormous difference between standing at someone’s deathbed and lying in your own.

Stop telling God what He already knows! I wanted to shout. Look at my wife, my children. I’m dying and you’re preaching on the sovereignty of God? Somebody ask Him for something. There’s not enough faith in this room to heal a bunny rabbit!

Time was running out.

Today our family returns to this desperate place of prayer. My son-in-law, David Newkirk lies in a hospital bed in Pasadena, and he is very, very sick with Gillian Barre Syndrome. An excerpt from my book, When God Breaks Your Heart, summarizes our feelings, our request, and the man who taught us how to pray dangerous prayers of faith:

Just then our elders walked into the room. Even they were shaken by the tortured figure in the bed that eerily resembled their pastor.

Charlie White, mentor to most of us in the room and friend to all, taught us all a lesson in prayer at that moment. Leaning across my bed like a prophet of old, this dear brother cried out to His God:

Father, we are frail and foolish. There is little here we comprehend. But we remember Your love for us and hear the words of Your Son who taught us to pray. He promised us You would listen to our prayers and that He would remind You that we are weak. He told us to pray with the faith of a mustard seed, to believe that You are able to answer our prayers. He told us that with You all things are possible. And so, our Father, we come now to Your throne of grace with this one request: Please heal our pastor. O Lord, we love him and do not want him to die. There is so much to do. Our church needs him; his family needs Him. Please let him live. We beg You, in Jesus’ name.

And then, his own private appeal: “Lord, I love Ed. Please let this boy live and serve. Amen.”

The fear and doubt drained from my heart as this old saint and retired pastor spoke his mighty prayer. His bold words gave us hope. His faith kindled a fire of courageous faith that spread around the world. By the next day, over ten thousand Christians were repeating Charlie’s simple request: Please let Ed live and serve.

There’s a young man I love more than life, my Celia’s David. Yesterday he asked her to tell people to just pray for healing, and “not all that other stuff.”

I know how he feels.

Please kneel with Celia, Judy, and me at the throne of grace and beg our Father in heaven: “Please heal David Newkirk.”

If you believe, you will see the glory of God (John 11:40).