Talitha Cumi

Early this morning, I got a phone call. Calls this early never bring good news. Sure enough, it was a lady in our church who told me of a teenage girl who attends our church with her grandparents. The girl had fallen off of a golfcart on to a sidewalk and hit her head. At that time, she was in Pediatric ICU. There was a hematoma in her skull and she was unresponsive.

I told my wife about the situation and she was troubled. I took a shower and prepared for church.

At approximately 7:15 this morning I took my wife's hand and we prayed for this young lady and another child we heard had been involved in a lawn mowing accident.

As we prayed, I led out. I was reminded of Jesus' words to Jairus' daughter in Mark 5:41. Jairus had requested Jesus' presence to heal his sick child. But before he could arrive, the child died. Jesus told the crowd when he arrived that the girl was not dead, but sleeping. He was ridiculed. Then Jesus took her hand and said, "Talitha Cumi," which is Aramaic for "Little Girl Arise." Indeed the girl awakened. Jesus raised her from the ded.

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I prayed, repeating the words of Jesus, "Talitha Cumi" and went to eat breakfast.

Later, as I finished getting ready, I could hear my wife in the living room on the phone. She had been trying to reach the grandmother of the girl who had been injured and get the latest report. I heard her laughing, crying, and pounding the bar in kitchen.

The girl had just awakened and begun to talk to her family.

My wife asked the grandmother when this happened.

As it turned out, it had happened about the time we were praying for the girl to awaken which was ten minutes earlier.

God heard our prayer!

Coincidence? I find more coincidences occur when I pray.

I shared the story with my prayer partners and later with my church. There was spontaneous applause and cheers.

After church we went to the hospital to visit the girl and her family. We told them of our prayer, the answer, and the church's response to the story of healing and answered prayer.

The girl in particular was fascinated. "They clapped and cheered for me?" she asked.

"That's right," I said. "They clapped and cheered because you are an answered prayer."

The words of the prophet Isaiah came to mind several times today, "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear." Isaiah 65:24 (NIV)

Indeed, God answered while we prayed, "Talitha cumi."