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Автор: Wessel Bentley
Издательство: Ingram
Серия: 28 Days of Prayer
Жанр произведения: Религия: прочее
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9780835811521
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       PRAYING THROUGH A CHILD’S ILLNESS

      28 Days of Prayer

      Wessel Bentley

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      PRAYING THROUGH A CHILD’S ILLNESS: 28 Days of Prayer

      Copyright © 2011 by Wessel Bentley

      All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. For information, write Upper Room Books, 1908 Grand Avenue, Nashville, TN 37212.

      The Upper Room Web site: www.upperroom.org

      UPPER ROOM®, UPPER ROOM BOOKS®, and design logos are trademarks owned by The Upper Room®, a ministry of GBOD®, Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved.

      Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, © copyright 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

      Cover image: © Sean Justice / Corbis http://corbis.com

      Cover design: Left Coast Design, Portland, OR www.lcoast.com

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Bentley, Wessel.

      Praying through a child’s illness : 28 days of prayer / Wessel Bentley.

      p. cm.

      ISBN 978-0-8358-1064-7

      1. Parents—Prayers and devotions. 2. Sick children.

      3. Intercessory prayer. 4. Prayer—Christianity. I. Title.

      BV4845.B46 2011

      242'.4—dc22 2011011195

      Printed in the United States of America

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I would like to thank three groups of people who made this book possible. Needless to say, the first is my family: Natalie, Matthew, and Nathan. Your love, encouragement, and support through good times and bad bear testimony to God’s work in our little “team.” Second, thanks must go to Africa Upper Room Ministries and those who assist them. Specifically, thanks go to Roland Rink, Renny Stoltz, Thyrza Price, and Dion Forster for doing the first editing of the manuscript. Finally, thanks must go to the team at Upper Room Ministries, Nashville. Sarah Wilke, Robin Pippin, Joanna Bradley, Jeannie Crawford-Lee, and many others have done a wonderful job in putting together this edition of the book. God bless you all.

      * * *

      Dedicated to Matthew, our son.

       Since birth

       you reminded us of God’s love.

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      Introduction

      How to use this book

      WEEK 1: HOW CAN THIS BE?

      The shock of knowing

      Feeling exhausted

       Does God care?

       Why?

       Gaining clarity

       The gift of listening

       Sunday: Celebrate God’s Faithfulness

       WEEK 2: WHOM CAN I BLAME?

       Is it God’s fault?

       Was it me?

       Is it the devil?

       What about the doctors?

       Where is the church?

       Elusive peace

       Sunday: Celebrate God’s Presence

       WEEK 3: WHAT CAN I DO?

       Can I do anything?

       When I feel weak

       Allowing others

       When all I can do is pray

       When I cannot pray anymore

       Equipping myself

       Sunday: Celebrate God’s Ability

       WEEK 4: HOW DO WE LIVE?

       One day at a time

       Our daily bread

       Entrusting God with the future

       Faith

       Hope

       Love

       Sunday: Celebrate the Gift of Life

       Conclusion

       Reflection Questions

       Notes

       About the Author

       INTRODUCTION

      Events during the first year of our firstborn son’s life inspired this book. What you are about to read is based on our experience and the experiences of others who have walked the road of caring for an ill child. You will see that there are no generic answers but simply thoughts and prayers that helped us through difficult times. Allow me to briefly share our story with you.

      For two years Natalie and I had been trying to conceive without success. You can imagine our joy when the doctor phoned, saying, “You are going to have a baby!” We were ecstatic. Just when we thought that all hope was lost, it happened. We were going to have a baby! Not only would this child be our first, but he or she would be the first grandchild on both sides of the family. Grannies started knitting, grandpas talked about taking this child on fishing trips. This child was not only going to be our child but also would belong to the whole family.

      Weeks and months passed and, with the doctor, we agreed that this little boy, who would be called Matthew, would be delivered via caesarean section on September 11, 2003. We chose to give Matthew an unofficial second name, Nkosinathi. “Matthew” means “gift from God,” and “Nkosinathi” means “God is with us.” We couldn’t have imagined how much these names would mean in the months and years that followed.

      Matthew Nkosinathi Bentley was delivered on the morning of September 11, a Thursday morning. Everything appeared to go well with the procedure. Matthew emerged, a seemingly healthy little boy, screaming at the top of his lungs. I will never forget his face, all wrinkly, with his eyes barely open. The doctors and nursing staff quickly took him away to be weighed and to do the necessary checks. Then, without any comment, they charged with him to the neonatal intensive care unit. He was turning blue, a sign of lack of oxygen. Natalie was heavily sedated and did not know quite what was going on. I stood feeling helpless and all alone. What were minutes felt like hours.

      The medical team first thought something was wrong with Matthew’s lungs; they inserted drainage pipes, but this did not help. A cardiologist arrived; after a prolonged ultrasound, she called me aside. Matthew had severe heart defects, she told me. His aorta and pulmonary arteries were switched around, a condition called Transposition of the Great