Specific Prayer Request

Leslie and I have been asked by many of you for specific things for which to pray. I think we all know that Henley needs healing, but it's nice to be able to be as detailed as possible so that nothing gets left out. Before I get into that, there is something that has convicted me recently that I would like to share. Over the past few weeks I have been studying the book of Revelation with the help of an old series by Francis Chan. The whole series has been great, but there was a passage that stood out to me last week. It is Revelation 4:3-11, which describes the throne room of God. I won't write out the whole passage as it is rather lengthy, but I want to point out some things that have helped transform my prayer life.
In verse 3, John is describing the appearance of God: "And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald."

It's difficult, if not impossible, for my non-creative mind to even grasp what John is saying. Maybe some of you other artsy types can, but not me. Even those that can still wouldn't be able to provide a clear picture of what God looks like. John uses the most beautiful and luminous colors he can think of, but avoids a precise description of God's visible features most likely because there is no way for him to describe with worldly terms what is not of this world. I have no doubt that John's description doesn't even hold a candle to the actual appearance of God. He is more beautiful than anything our broken minds can fathom.

Then in verse 5, he says that "From the throne came flashes of lightning and rumblings and peals of thunder."

I love thunderstorms. I love watching them roll in from the distance, hearing the thunder rumbling, seeing the flashes of lightning and occasionally a bolt touch the ground in the distance. I get a sense of God's power in them. John says that this power emanates from the throne revealing the awe inspiring nature of God's glory.

The subsequent verses describe the scene going on around the throne of God. There are four living creatures with wings, one with the face of a lion, one the face of an ox, one the face of a man, & one like an eagle. Surrounding God's throne are 24 other thrones with elders seated in them. The creatures and the elders never cease in giving praise and glory to God. I don't totally understand all that is going on here, but, to me, this shows that all creation exists to give glory to God.

This passage, when viewed by itself, can be pretty intimidating and confusing. But when viewed in the context of the gospel, it intensifies my worship of Him to know that this all-powerful, sovereign Creator God loves us so much, that he came into our world to save us from our brokenness. It has changed my prayer life because instead of just starting my prayer with "Dear God, thank you for this day...", I start it by meditating on this image of God's throne room and the beauty and power and worship that is taking place which causes me praise God for His infinite power, beauty, love, & wisdom. By starting my prayer doing something that God created me to do, it allows me to connect with God deeply through the Holy Spirit inside of me. Once I am fully connected in this way, the rest of my prayer flows uninhibited and I feel God's presence and that he is hearing every word, whereas before I sometimes felt as though my prayers were just going out unheard.

I'm sorry if I got a little preaching and long-winded, but I truly believe that if we could all take 30-60 seconds at the beginning of each prayer to meditate on who God actually is, then our prayers will be so much more effective. So I will ask each of you to please do this the next time you pray and see what happens, especially as you are preparing to pray for our sweet, little Henley. Now, on to the requests...

-Pray that God completely heals her to the point that surgery will not even be necessary. There will be an MRI done before they begin, so they will be able to tell if something has changed before they make an incision.
-Pray for our neurosurgeon Dr. Richard Roberts and his team that will be assisting in the surgery.
-Pray for our neurologist Dr. Brian Aalbers & all of the nurses that will be caring for her.
-Pray for surgical "Plan A", which will be explained in the next post.
-Pray for no complications, minimal blood loss, and no infections.
-Pray for a quick recovery and minimal hospital stay.
-Pray that Henley will be comfortable with someone other than Leslie.
-Pray for protection around Henley in the months to follow the surgery.
-Pray for the surgery to be effective in eliminating all of her issues (gagging, choking, vomiting, speech, weight gain, reflexes, balance & coordination), and for no more surgeries to be necessary.
-Pray for the people who will be caring for Haven & Zane while we are in the hospital.
-Pray for Leslie and I to have strength, peace, good health, & a moment or two to break away and relax.
-Pray that Haven & Zane are minimally affected by all the chaos around them.

As always, we thank all of you for all the love and support you have shown. We can definitely feel all the prayers that have been sent out on our behalf.