When we face a dire medical condition, should we pray for a miracle? I admit that, although we believe God could, in most circumstances we have no expectation that he will perform a miracle for us. We are right to ask first for him to glorify himself, rather than to plead to get us out of a jam (a poor prognosis). A recent story, however, gives us confidence to ask.
On August 11, Michael Crowe, 23, suffered from vomiting and chills. His doctor diagnosed him with a bad stomach flu. The next day, however, his mother found him stiff and unresponsive. Lakeland Hospital ran tests and recommended he be sent to Nebraska Medical Center. The doctors there diagnosed him with acute myocarditis, a rare inflammation of the heart muscle. Because his heart functioned at only 10% efficiency, his other organs began to fail. The doctors hooked him up to a heart/lung machine and filtered his blood, but determined he needed a heart transplant.
On September 3, a match became available, but by this time, he faced complications severe enough to be life-threatening. Then, the medical staff determined he had blood-poisoning, making a transplant operation too risky. An hour later, however, the transplant specialist noticed his blood-pressure had risen. On the machine, Crowe’s BP should have remained stable. An ultrasound revealed the left side of his heart working normally. The doctor cancelled the transplant surgery, and hooked him to a machine which aided the right side only. Four days later his heart worked without any machine; an MRI showed no permanent damage or scars.
“We think this is a miracle,” his specialist told the local newspaper, the Omaha World-Herald.
We never know what God will or will not do for us. If a miraculous cure like this is possible, we may confidently pray in Jesus’ name (i.e., according to his will) for recovery.
