The power of prayer
After the recent Pioneer conference in Malaga, Spain, we received the following email from a man named David, whom some of our delegates had met in the hotel. All delegate names have been changed.
I am 48 years old and I live and work in London. I went on a motorcycling trip across the Riff Mountains in Morocco. I was with a number of friends aged between 39 & 55 being led by three guides across trails in remote parts of the mountain range (I'm the one with the 'rabbit ears' in the picture). All of us are experienced, well trained motorcyclists and the guides are professionals. There was no silliness or daredevil stunting that sometimes people imagine is what motocross riders do, just a group of friends on a travel adventure we’d all saved up for. Motorbikes are the only vehicle that can traverse the terrain and cover large distances in the places the guides took us.
On Saturday 7th October, whilst riding in the mountains, I fell from my motorbike whilst going up a steep incline. Low speed falls are to be expected from time to time as you negotiate difficult terrain and loose surfaces and we were all wearing head to toe protective equipment to make such falls almost a non-event, but this time, I landed awkwardly and the motorbike fell back onto my leg. As I put my leg down, the motorbike fell on me and then as I tried to push it away from me, I twisted 180 degrees - however my foot was still facing forwards.
As bike and rider tumbled back down the hill, there was a horrible ripping sound, and when I came to rest, my left foot was by my left ear.
Astoundingly, my knee was not broken, but dislocated. It was moved round popped back in on the spot by one of the guides. I was carried to a road where I was lifted onto my motorbike and I limped into the nearest town on metalled roads.
Once there, I was lifted off the bike and laid up for two days until I was driven to Spain where I went to hospital and the leg was strapped up and braced. My knee joint was not very stable at all and the doctor told me the ligaments had probably snapped. He was not optimistic.
From there, I was sent to The Hilton Garden Inn Hotel, where I was to wait for a flight with enough room to give me a row of seats to myself - two days.
At the hotel there was a Relational Mission conference on and I was approached by a very kind man called Andy. After hearing my story he asked if he could pray for me and I agreed. He laid hands on my injured knee and prayed out loud. During the prayer, I felt a strange thing I had never felt before which I will find difficult to describe:
The feeling originated from the top of my head, shoulders and into my chest. Possibly my arms too and was perhaps like something being poured over me. Not hot or cold, just very different.
Andy asked God for a miraculous recovery and told me not to be surprised when the hospital told me that there was nothing seriously wrong and my injury healed. Bob was with Andy.
That evening I was approached by Neil, who also prayed for me, laying on hands with his colleague whose name I did not get and the next day by John, a fellow motorcyclist who all also prayed for me out loud whilst laying hands on my knee. During their prayers, I felt very still and calm, like I was ‘paused’.
I was repatriated last night and I went to hospital this morning. The examination revealed that the ligaments in my leg were strained but not snapped. The leg is already healing and is a good deal less painful than it was. Given the trauma, this is indeed miraculous and can only be because of the power of prayer.
When we asked permission to share his story, David gladly agreed, and sent this update:
My leg is still in a brace, but a different one that allows more movement. It is still quite tender but it doesn’t hurt at all, except for very occasionally. However it is healing and I will make a full recovery with patience and physiotherapy. I don’t have to take any form of drug, which I am particularly pleased about.
The doctor said that the knee joint is a very tight, strong joint and in my case, particularly so and he was very surprised that the damage was not much greater.
Thinking back to the accident, it is indeed miraculous.