I Remember How You Prayed

I woke up early one Saturday morning. I read the morning newspaper and had breakfast before I settled into my home office to catch up on some filing and other mundane backlogged things that needed my attention. The phone rang and revealed an unfamiliar number. I hesitated to answer, expecting some telemarketer trying to sell me something I didn’t need or want. Strangely, I felt compelled to answer before the answering machine picked it up.

“Hello” I said.

“Hello Mr. Musterer.”

I didn’t recognize the voice so I inquired, “Who is this?”

A reply came, “Its Michael.” I had no idea who it was. It didn’t sound like any one of my friends named Michael, nor any others that I knew.

I said, “Michael who?”

The voice responded, “I lived across the street from you many years ago. I was your son Randy’s friend. I am now living in Florida.”

Then I remembered him and quickly said, “Hi Michael! How are you! It’s so nice to hear from you.”

“Oh, Mr. Musterer, I am not doing well at all.”

“What’s wrong Michael?”

“It’s my girlfriend, she has cancer and she is dying. The doctors gave her six weeks to live.”

“Oh, Michael, I am so sorry. Is there anything I can do?” I spontaneously responded.

Then Michael said something that really struck me.

“I remember when Randy and I were eight years old. You took us up to Big Pine Creek in the Sierras trout fishing. One morning, before we went out fishing again, you took us into the woods and you talked to us about God. I remember how you prayed. Would you pray with my girlfriend?”

For a moment I was speechless. After a pause, I said, “Michael, I would be honored to pray with your girlfriend.”

Michael said he would call back in a few minutes with her on the phone.

I was shaken at the revelation that something I had done some 25 years before had given this young man a measure of hope in his direst need. At the end of his rope, he saw a need to bring God into the situation and he believed I could do it.

I remembered that time in the summer of 1981. I had invited Michael to join Randy and me on a four day trout fishing trip to my favorite spot on Big Pine Creek high on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Mountains just above Big Pine. We loaded up my pickup truck and while packing I included my bible and my traveling pocket chalice with Holy Communion wafers. I paused with these items in my hands and thought, “why am I taking these? After all I am going on vacation into the wilderness with two children. And Michael’s faith is unknown to me.” But I took them in spite of these thoughts. Packed and ready to leave, the boys said their goodbyes to their mothers and we set out on the seven hour trek to the mountain campground.

When we arrived at the campground, we set up our camp essentials and headed for the frigid stream fed by a glacier higher up on the mountain.  Once we caught a few fish, we returned to our campsite to finish up the final details.

After two days of good fishing and the warming evening campfires, Sunday morning dawned. We ate breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen utensils. Then I took the boys into the woods and we found a spot where they could sit on a fallen tree trunk. I told them we were going to have a little church service. I prayed with the boys, spoke on the theme of the service that was being presented that day in our church back home, and together we celebrated Holy Communion. I prayed again and we returned to camp, picked up our fishing gear and went back to fishing.

Since that August 1981 fishing trip, I never gave any thought to what we had experienced with that little wilderness church service and I didn’t tell anyone. I suspect that had I told someone, they might have leveled some criticism like “Hey, you were on vacation! No need to have church there!”

Now, some 25 years later, with Michael’s call and the weight of his request on my heart, I deliberated on what just came to light. I woke my wife and told her what had just happened. We marveled at this and I asked her to pray that I would be a blessing for Michael and his girl friend. Then the phone rang.

“Hello” I said.

Michael said, “Allan, this is my girl friend Jennifer.”

I said, “Jennifer, it is so nice to meet you. Michael tells me that you are very sick, and the doctors seem to have given up hope.”

Jennifer humbly answered, “Yes that is true.”

I said, “Jennifer, I do not know you, but I know that God knows you. I know that His love for you is beyond what you or I can understand. To Him you are worth a kingdom. He will not let any harm come to you. I also know that Michael loves you dearly and he has asked me to pray with you. Would you like me to pray with you?”

“Yes, please.” she said.

I proceeded to pray with Michael and Jennifer. I thanked God that He revealed to Michael that there was a source of help in Jennifer’s dire situation.  I acknowledged God in His omnipotence and asked for His grace and blessing on the health of Jennifer. I asked that through His Holy Spirit, He would guide the hands and minds of the doctors to insure a positive, blessed outcome for her. I finally thanked God for what He would do for Jennifer and that His perfect will be done.

The three of us spoke briefly and we said our goodbyes.

I continued to pray for Jennifer and Michael in the days that followed. Early that week, I received another call from Michael. He told me that on Sunday, Jennifer became seriously ill and was rushed to the hospital emergency room. She seemed near death. Her regular doctor could not be reached so another doctor took over her care. When this doctor reviewed her medical charts, he immediately took her off the medication previously administered and changed to another one. Jennifer responded immediately to the new medication. So rapid and dramatic was her response that she was released from the hospital the next day. Her cancer went into remission and she was feeling better than she had for a long time.

I was thankful beyond words and offered up a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. I invited Michael to our church in his area. Later I found out he never went. Five years later Michael called again and told me that he and Jennifer were now “just friends” but she was still healthy and well. I took the opportunity to once again invite him to church. Whether he accepts or not is yet to be determined. But I learned much from this experience.

Turning Points

The turning point for me was the realization that actions that we take can have profound positive effects on people and that these may be hidden for many years. They are like seeds that take root and blossom only in God’s perfect and meticulous timing. I learned that we need to follow the impulses that God places into us, even if they don’t seem necessary or appropriate at the moment. God’s purpose for us may not be clear in its details, but it is undeniable in its reality. Prayer changes things, and prayer changes me.

It is my constant and continuing hope that this experience will be a turning point for Michael and Jennifer, and that they will realize the love and power of God that is available for them. I hope that they will know that God used them to give me a profound turning point in my life.

I am reminded of a story of a nun who, during World War I, had a hospital where she treated soldiers who fought in the war. Above the entry to her hospital were the words “Do Good and Disappear”. At times, God reveals to us the results of what good we once did and tried to disappear. Sometimes it takes years to know and sometimes we may never know.

COPYRIGHT © 2014 ALLAN E. MUSTERER