carole
just read this email a friend fwd to me..
Subject: Isaiah 65:24 This will give you the chills...
>
>
>This story was written by a doctor who worked in South
>Africa ..
>
>One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the
>labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she died
>leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a crying
>two-year-old daughter. We would have difficulty
>keeping the baby alive, as we had no incubator (we had
>no electricity to run an incubator).
>
>We also had no special feeding facilities. Although we
>lived on the equator, nights were often chilly with
>treacherous drafts. One student midwife went for the
>box we had for such babies and the cotton wool that
>the baby would be wrapped in.
>
>Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot water
>bottle. She came back shortly in distress to tell me
>that in filling the bottle, it had burst (rubber
>perishes easily in tropical climates). "And it is our
>last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed. As in the West,
>it is no good crying over spilled milk so in Central
>Africa it might be considered no good crying over
>burst water bottles. They do not grow on trees, and
>there are no drugstores down forest pathways.
>
>"All right," I said, "put the baby as near the fire as
>you safely can, and sleep between the baby and the
>door to keep it free from drafts. Your job is to keep
>the baby warm."
>
>The following noon, as I did most days, I went to have
>prayers with any of the orphanage children who chose
>to gather with me. I gave the youngsters various
>suggestions of things to pray about and told them
>about the tiny baby. I explained our problem about
>keeping the baby warm enough, mentioning the hot water
>bottle, and that the baby could so easily die if it
>got chills. I also told them of the two-year-old
>sister, crying because her mother had died.
>
>During prayer time, one ten-year old girl, Ruth,
>prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our African
>children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send us a water
>bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God, as the baby
>will be dead, so please send it this afternoon."
>
>While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the prayer,
>she added, "And while You are about it, would You
>please send a dolly for the little girl so she'll know
>You really love her?"
>
>As often with children's prayers, I was put on the
>spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen". I just did not
>believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know that
>He can do everything, the Bible says so. But
>there are limits, aren't there? The only way God could
>answer this particular prayer would be by sending me a
>parcel from homeland. I had been in Africa for almost
>four years at that time, and I had never, ever
>received a parcel from home.
>
>Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who would put
>in a hot water bottle? I lived on the equator! Halfway
>through the afternoon, while I was teaching in the
>nurses' training school, a message was sent that there
>was a car at my front door.
>
>By the time I reached home, the car had gone, but
>there, on the veranda, was a large twenty-two pound
>parcel. I felt tears pricking my eyes. I could not
>open the parcel alone, so I sent for the orphanage
>children.
>
>Together we pulled off the string, carefully undoing
>each knot. We folded the paper, taking care not to
>tear it unduly. Excitement was mounting.
>
>Some thirty or forty pairs of eyes were focused on the
>large cardboard box. From the top, I lifted out
>brightly colored, knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I
>gave them out. Then there were the knitted bandages
>for the leprosy patients, and the children looked a
>little bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
>sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the
>weekend.
>
>Then, as I put my hand in again, I felt the ... could
>it really be? I grasped it and pulled it out - yes, a
>brand-new, rubber hot water bottle. I cried. I had not
>asked God to send it; I had not truly believed that He
>could Ruth was in the front row of the children.
>She rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the
>bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!"
>
>Rummaging down to the bottom of the box, she pulled
>out the small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes
>shone! She had never doubted!
>
>Looking up at me, she asked: "Can I go over with you
>and give this dolly to that little girl, so she'll
>know that Jesus really loves her?"
>
>That parcel had been on the way for five whole months.
>Packed up by my former Sunday school class, whose
>leader had heard and obeyed God's prompting to send a
>hot water bottle, even to the equator. And one of the
>girls had put in a dolly for an African child -five
>months before, in answer to the believing prayer of a
>ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
>
>"Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24).
>This awesome prayer takes less than a minute. When you
>receive this, say the prayer, that's all you have to
>do. No strings attached. Just send it on to whomever
>you want - but do send it on. Prayer is one of the
>best free gifts we receive. There is no cost but a lot
>of rewards.
>
>Let's continue praying for one another: Father, I ask
>you to bless my friends reading this right now. I am
>asking You to minister to their spirit at this very
>moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and
>mercy. Where there is self doubting, release a renewed
>confidence to work through them. Where there is
>tiredness or exhaustion, I ask You to give them
>understanding, guidance, and strength as they learn
>submission to Your leading. Where there is spiritual
>stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing Your
>nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy
>with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and
>release to them Your courage. Where there is a sin
>blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold
>over my friend's life.
>
>Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and
>raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage
>them. Give each of them discernment to recognize the
>evil forces around them, and reveal to them the power
>they have in You to defeat it. I ask you to do these
>things in Jesus' name.
>
>P.S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend
>will bless you both. Passing this on to one not
>considered a friend is something Christ would do.
>
>"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you're
>not willing to move your feet."
