A Prayer

Just received a heart-breaking email from Jody that said Takeshi’s 5-year old son has contracted leukemia. I was literally stunned at the news, since it was not too long ago that Seiji lost his son, Sho, to leukemia as well. And everything else that followed simply made it even harder to take.

Seiji accompanied Takeshi and his son to the hospital. This was the exact hospital where Sho was diagnosed, treated and later passed away.

Takeshi’s wife had just given birth to another child, and needs to be nursing. Thus she cannot be with their son, and it makes the birth such a bitter-sweet memory.

I can only imagine how devastating it must be for the staff team in Nagoya. Jody’s frustration sums it up best when he wrote “Please join with us in fighting for this child. Pray against a relentless enemy who plays dirty.”

Its been a whole chain of pretty bad news that have been coming out of Nagoya. Every time I read his updates, there’s something new that needs prayer, and really doesn’t sound good. Yet every single time Jody has managed to make it sound not as bad as it seems, and always hopeful. So it says a lot when he signed off this time round saying “We are all numb”.

This is on top of the bad news that Billy is again back in the ICU, and doctors are advising the family to take him off life support.

I couldn’t help but notice Jody’s email signature right before I closed the email. It was a verse from Psalm 112:6-8. It says “Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever. He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.”

I closed the email thinking to myself: what kind of a person would never be shaken by such news? What kind of person has no fear of bad news? Whose heart could ever be so steadfast, and able to trust in the Lord despite everything that he sees around him?

When I prayed a payer for Takeshi’s son, Manon, remembered a line from the movie "Into the Shadowlands", where C.S. Lewis responded to his colleagues who asked him why he still prays when it changes nothing. He said “I pray because it changes me.”

It’s a sublime reply, one that I’m still struggling to really grasp. But I guess it’s the only reason nowadays why I pray. Otherwise prayer would really be meaningless to me.