Subject: Isaiah 65:24

[MORTARDUDE]

Subject: Isaiah 65:24

This is a true story was written by a doctor who worked in
South Africa...
One night I had worked hard to help a mother in the
labor ward; but in spite of all we could do, she
died leaving us with a tiny premature baby and a
crying two-year-old daughter. We would have
difficulty keeping the baby alive, (as we had no
incubator we had no electricity to run an
incubator). We also had no special feeding
facilities. Although we lived on the equator,
nights were often chilly with treacherous drafts.
One student midwife went for the box we had for
such babies and the cotton wool that the baby would
be wrapped in.
Another went to stoke up the fire and fill a hot
water bottle. She came back shortly in distress to
tell me that in filling the bottle, it had burst
(rubber perishes easily in tropical climates). "And
it is our last hot water bottle!" she exclaimed.
As in the West, it is no good crying over spilled
milk, so in Central Africa it might be considered
no good crying over burst water bottles. They do not grow
on trees, and there are no drugstores down forest pathways.


"All right," I said, "put the baby as
near the fire as you safely can, and sleep between
the baby and the door to keep it free from drafts.
Your job is to keep the baby warm."
The following noon, as I did most days, I went to
have prayers with any of the orphanage children who
chose to gather with me. I gave the youngsters
various suggestions of things to pray about and
told them about the tiny baby. I explained our
problem about keeping the baby warm enough,
mentioning the hot water bottle, and that the baby
could so easily die if it got chills. I also told
them of the two-year-old sister, crying because her
mother had died.
During prayer time, one ten-year old girl! , Ruth,
prayed with the usual blunt conciseness of our
African children. "Please, God" she prayed, "send
us a water bottle. It'll be no good tomorrow, God,
as the baby will be dead so please send it this
afternoon."
While I gasped inwardly at the audacity of the
prayer, she added, "And while You are about it,
would You please send a dolly for the little girl
so she'll know You really love her?"
As often with children's prayers, I was put on the
spot. Could I honestly say, "Amen". I just did
not
believe that God could do this. Oh, yes, I know
that He can do everything, the Bible says so. But
there are limits, aren't there? The only way God
could answer this particular prayer would be by
sending me a parcel from homeland.
I had been in Africa for almost four years at that
time, and I had never, ever received a parcel from
home. Anyway, if anyone did send me a parcel, who
would put in a hot water bottle? I lived on the
equator!
Halfway through the afternoon, while I was
teaching in the nurses' training school, a message
was sent that there
was a car at my front door. By the time I reached
home, the car had gone, but there, on the verandah,
was a large
twenty-two pound parcel. I felt tears pricking my
eyes. I could not open the parcel alone, so I sent
for the orphanage children. Together we pulled off
the string, carefully undoing each knot. We folded
the paper, taking care not to tear it
unduly. Excitement was mounting. Some thirty or
forty pairs of eyes were focused on the large
cardboard box.
From the top, I lifted out brightly colored,
knitted jerseys. Eyes sparkled as I gave them out.
Then there were the knitted bandages for the
leprosy patients, and the children looked a little
bored. Then came a box of mixed raisins and
sultanas - that would make a batch of buns for the
weekend.

Then,
as I put my hand in again, I felt the.....could it really
be?

I
grasped it and pulled
it out - yes, a brand-new, rubber hot water bottle.
I cried. I had not asked God to send it; I had not
truly believed that He could.
Ruth was in the front row of the children. She
rushed forward, crying out, "If God has sent the
bottle, He must have sent the dolly too!" Rummaging
down to the bottom of the box, she pulled out the
small, beautifully dressed dolly. Her eyes shone!
She had never doubted! Looking up at me, she
asked: "Can I go over with you and give this dolly
to that little girl, so she'll know that
Jesus really loves her?" That parcel had been on
the way for five months. Packed up by my
former Sunday school class, whose leader had heard
and obeyed God's prompting to send a hot water
bottle, even to the equator. And one of the girls
had put in a dolly for an African child - five
months before, in answer to the believing prayer of
a ten-year-old to bring it "that afternoon."
"Before they call, I will answer" (Isaiah 65:24)

1 minute prayer
This awesome prayer takes less than a minute. When
you
receive this, say the prayer, that's all you have to
do. No strings attached. Just send it on to
whomever you want but do send it on.
Prayer is one of the best free gifts we receive.
There is no cost but a lot of rewards. Let's
continue praying for one another.

Father, I ask you to bless my friends reading this
right now. I am asking You to minister to their
spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain,
give them Your peace and mercy. Where there is self
doubting, release a renewed confidence to work
through them. Where there is tiredness, or
exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding,
guidance, and strength as they learn submission to
Your leading. Where there is spiritual stagnation,
I ask You to renew them by revealing Your nearness,
and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You.
Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release
to them Your courage. Where there is a sin blocking
them, reveal it and break its hold over my friend's
life. Bless their finances, give them greater
vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support
and encourage them. Give each of them discernment
to recognize the evil forces Around them, and
reveal to them the power they have in You to defeat
it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus' name.

P.S. Passing this on to anyone you consider a friend
Passing this on to one not considered a friend is

something
Christ would
do.

[Jerry D]

amen