Introduction
In the Day of Trouble
In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, for You will answer me.
Psalm 86:7
The world will long remember September 11, 2001.
Most people will remember that date for the horrific terrorist attacks against the Pentagon and the World Trade Center towers that claimed thousands of innocent lives. Twenty-year-old Anna will remember the day for another reason as well. On that very day, she walked into a medical clinic and began treatment for a deadly cancer that had invaded her body.
The oldest daughter of ten children—in a single parent family—Anna began experiencing excruciating pain in her hip early in August. On September 11, while the world reeled over the news of the attacks on America, Anna began chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma—which had spread to her bones.
Yes, the doctor had recommended a treatment plan…but prospects were not at all hopeful. Anna struggled with side effects from several pain medications—including morphine. Her weight had plunged, and she experienced so much pain that she needed assistance just to walk across the room. Her cancer was so far advanced that there was little likelihood of turning it back.
Anna had worked on the headquarter’s staff for the Institute in Basic Life Principles. She had also spent time in Romania, serving students and orphans in that impoverished nation.
Stunned and grieved by the shocking turn of events in her young life, Anna called for her church elders to anoint her and pray for her. Here at the ministry, we too were devastated. Gathering as a staff, we cried aloud to the Lord: “O Lord, Abba Father, deliver Anna from cancer and raise her up for Your glory, in the name of Jesus!”
On Christmas Day, Anna recalled the account of the widow pleading her case before the unjust judge,1 and spent the day crying out to God.
Two days later, she and her mother returned to the doctor. After reviewing the tests used to monitor the cancer, the astounded oncologist declared that she was cancer free! According to the tests, there was no trace left of an aggressive cancer that had already reached stage 4B, the final stage before death. Soon after that appointment, Anna returned to the ski slopes!
What had we done? We had cried out to God. We lifted our voices together, seeking His mercy, His power, and His healing. And He heard and answered with a true medical miracle. (Just ask her doctor.)
Did it matter that we
cried out to God, calling on Him with
loud voices?That is what this little book is all about.
Copyright © 2002 by Bill Gothard. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
