Miracles are an out-of-ordinary intersection of God’s power in our ordinary lives that changes something for the better. Based on what my parents told me, my birth was a miracle (read all about it here – The Story Behind My Name) but the first real miracle I remember was when I was in 4th grade.
When I was in 4th grade, I became really sick with typhoid. I couldn’t eat or drink and was admitted to the hospital for a long time. I was so sick that I had to skip my final exams that would allow me to finish my grade. The school gave special permission based on previous exams to skip my final assessment and still graduate to the next grade. I was skin and bones and couldn’t keep food down. I would vomit it right out. So, they had to put me on IV. They poked me so many times that my arm was sore. I was given 13 bottles of IV, if I remember correctly.
But I was recovering, or so we thought. Trouble came when one of the doctors administered wrong medication to me. Within a few minutes of getting the medication, my whole body began to swell like a balloon. I was so swollen that my eyes became shut, even if I was not sleeping. My parents asked the doctors to come and help me but they all abandoned me, one after the other. None of them did anything to save me, and the chief physician was off duty. Someone said I was going to die. My parents were furious; they knocked on every door in the hospital for doctors or nurses to come and help me. But no one did. An old man in the adjacent room saw my battle for life, and other patients in the hospital saw our tears, but they could do nothing.
That’s when God began to move. My mom used the telephone at the hospital (no mobile phones back then) to call my grandmother. My grandmother’s sister, and two of my aunts immediately came to see me. I was still swollen and very sick. My mom told them everything, assuming I was sleeping because my eyes were still closed shut from all the swelling. I heard them talk, and I realized I was in a very serious situation. Then my aunts and gradma who visited me stood beside my bed. They laid their hands on me and simply began to pray in the name of Jesus. No loud prayers or anything grand. Just three simple, ordinary women praying in faith to the God who shed His blood for me. They pleaded the blood of Jesus over me and prayed boldly with faith. And God listened. Within the next half an hour, my swelling went down and I was revived to life. I was healed and I knew it was God!
After a few days of getting discharged from the hospital, the old man who was a patient in the adjacent room came to see me. He visited me at my grandmother’s home, ate with us, and saw me play. Before he left, he said, “I saw how this little child was battling for life. That same child is running up and down the stairs and playing like nothing happened. Your prayers were answered. It’s a miracle! Your God answered your prayer and He is truly great!” His words strengthened my faith.
I had heard of God through my family, and went to church and read the Bible, but this first miracle changed something in me. I realized that God cared about me and that He could answer prayers of ordinary people. I recognized that my life was a gift and I owed it to God. While I was still too young and couldn’t put all this into words, my spirit turned towards God. It was probably my first salvation moment. I had come face to face with the reality of the God who had died for me and who had pulled me out of death. God became real to me. Over the years, I have realized that my first miracle changed the trajectory of my life for good. It set me up to expect miracles when things are impossible. It helped me understand the power of prayer, and the power in the name of Jesus.
I am forever grateful for my two aunts and the grandma who prayed for me that day. If not for their simple yet bold faith, I may not be who I am today. God used them to bring a brand new life for me, both physically and spiritually. What the enemy brought upon me to harm me and kill me, God turned it around for good. Our God is awesome like that!
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5