Laura J. Davis

Earlier this year, my mother in-law was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Given her age and the prognosis, she opted out of surgery. She knows where she is going and feels she made the right decision.

Recently, a good friend was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Her prognosis is not good and she has been given a few months to live.

In November, I'm going in for surgery to remove a lump on my leg that has been a "thorn" in my side (or should I say leg?) for more than two years. I'm told the operation is risky, but it needs to come out - the lump is so big I run into it with my other leg!

On Sunday, my mother had a stroke. She couldn't walk or talk. Everything that came out of her mouth was gibberish. She became quite agitated in the hospital because we couldn't understand a thing she said. She lost the use of her right leg. She was understandably confused at what was going on. The doctor's said the next few days will determine if she gets better or not. I immediately put out a call for prayer to my writer friends in The Word Guild.

I needed some good news.

On Monday morning my father walked into my mother's hospital room to discover her sitting up in bed reading the paper! She was also talking normally. The doctor's and nurses were astounded. We all were. Today is Thursday and I'm happy to say Mom is still doing well. She is walking with the help of a walker and her aphasia has not returned.

Does God still hear our prayers today? Yes! I believe my mother was healed by God through the power of prayer. I may be alone in that assessment, but nothing else can explain her remarkable recovery. Some may ask, "Why did God heal your Mom and not your friend or your mother in-law? Didn't you pray for them?" Yes, and I still am praying for them. In fact, my mother in-law hasn't been given long to live and should be in a lot of pain right now. But she's not. She's doing great. My friend however, is not doing so great and this makes me very sad. But, I don't stop praying for any of them. God knows the plans He has in mind for my Mom, my friend and my mother in-law and He answers my prayers for all three of these women accordingly.

Sometimes we don't get the answers to prayer that we want and other times we are astounded over God's goodness to us. Right now I'm celebrating the good news of my mother's healing. Tomorrow I may be mourning the loss of a good friend and yes it does make me question "why", especially when I see how much my friend has to live for (she's still so young). Is God fair? Yes, He is. We don't know the future, but He does and He alone knows what is best and that is where trust comes in.

Prayer can only have two outcomes - "Yes or no." Positive answers are what we long for and they make our faith stronger. Negative answers will cause many to ask "why?"  and it may even cause many to struggle with the goodness of God. But, don't let it. God sees beyond what you can see and knows what is best for you and for those you are praying for. Keep on trusting Him. He knows what is best for you and your loved ones. He sees their future clearly. Just keep praying and let Him take care of the rest.