Trey Tuesday January 4, 2011

Today we take a peek into the prayer life of Hannah, mother of Samuel, a great judge and servant of the Lord.
From I Samuel 1 and 2:

"In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the LORD, weeping bitterly."
"And she made a vow, saying, "LORD Almighty, if you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me..."
"I am a woman who is deeply troubled."
"I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."
I KNOW we can all relate to Hannah's agony and grief as she opens her heart before the Lord.
It is OK to admit your honest feelings before God: He knows we are going through these emotions anyway!

And sometimes God sends a friend, a mentor, alongside you to support you, to guide you, to redirect you:
"Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of Him."
"She said, "May your servant find favor in your eyes."
and her face was no longer downcastWith an exposed heart and a friend's gentle leading, Hannah regains a proper perspective, knowing God is far above her circumstances and her feelings.
Oh, the release of a burden when we place it in the loving hands of our very trustworthy God!
Worship Him with an open heart, free from fear and worry!
"Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD..."
God answered Hannah's faithful prayers by giving her a son:
"I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him."
Hannah's next prayer is an amazing song of praise to the God whom we know is Sovereign over all!
"Then Hannah prayed and said:
"My heart rejoices in the LORD;
in the LORD my horn is lifted high."
In light of Trey's diagnosis, do we have something to rejoice about?
Do we have a reason to worship?
ABSOLUTELY!
We have a choice to make: Go with God, His decisions, His choices, His will....
or go on our own knowledge and strength. (no thank you!)

"There is no one holy like the LORD;
there is no one besides You;
there is no Rock like our God."
But how will God do it, you say? How can God take the daunting details of Trey's cancer and exchange it for something good?
How can God switch the devastation for hope?
"The bows of the warriors are broken,
but those who stumbled are armed with strength.
Those who were full hire themselves out for food,
but those who were hungry are hungry no more.
She who was barren has borne seven children,
but she who has had many sons pines away.
The LORD brings death and makes alive;
He brings down to the grave and raises up.
The LORD sends poverty and wealth;
He humbles and he exalts.
He raises the poor from the dust
and lifts the needy from the ash heap;
He seats them with princes
and has them inherit a throne of honor."
Hannah's prayer mentions a FEW ways that God is seen as a God of reversals!
God's intervention always results in unexpected outcomes! :0)
"Exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine..."
Ephesians 3:20,21
He is the Author of taking the seemingly impossible and making them possible!
Remember that little baby born in a stable in Bethlehem? He is Emmanuel, God with us!

And so we lay these prayer requests before our Heavenly Father, our Great Physician...
We first offer a prayer a thanks for Trey's successful and uneventful homecoming yesterday!
Please pray for his overall health while he is under Jay and Rachel's watchful care! That he (and the entire family) may be free from sickness, infection and all the other germs lurking...
Please also pray for the visiting nurses who will be coming to check Trey's blood levels each week. Of course, that they be skilled and kind, but that the nurses may be touched by the gospel being lived out in their home!
Jay and Rachel also ask for prayer for their daily responsibilities in Trey's care, giving daily injections and cleaning his permanent IV port.
May God grant them His supernatural courage and peace!

So, like Hannah, we place our trust (and our Trey!) in the hands of our All Knowing, All Loving God:
"For the LORD is a God who knows"
"For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s;
on them He has set the world.
He will guard the feet of his faithful servants."