On February 27th, my seven month old grandson Jacob was brought to the Montreal Children's Hospital. He was vomiting and had difficulty breathing. He was put on intravenous and oxygen. With this intervention, and with physiotherapy, he improved slightly.
I prayed for him and so did many others, but he did not seem to be getting better. He was listless, didn't want to drink his formula, and still needed the oxygen. The doctors did not understand why he wasn't getting better faster.
On March 4th, each time I prayed for Jacob, I had a strong feeling that God was doing more than we could see with our eyes. The next morning as I prayed for him during my morning devotion, the Lord said to me, 'You are praying for the part, and I desire the whole.' God impressed upon me that He wanted Jacob to be baptized, and that I would be the one to do this. I gave this into His hands.
All day, there was a feeling of warmth and His words pressing upon my heart.
I went to see the baby at the hospital, but I said nothing. Each time I began to pray for his healing, I would hear the words, 'You know the way...you know what needs to be done.' Jacob was listless. They had brought X-rays to show us that the mass that was there at the beginning of his illness, was still there.
I said nothing.
When I got home, I spent time in prayer, again praying for healing for Jacob, and the Lord gave me clear direction now. As His Word came to me, I wrote:
'I alone in My Glory can do these things. How can you in your humanness bring this one to Me? Do the things I say. If I say this one is to be baptized, why do you hesitate? This is not a matter of good and evil. This is a matter of life. My life in you, and in all those around you.The Kingdom of God is not of this world. Those that enter in must be proclaimed. This child of Mine has need of Me, and I have need of him.
Come now, let us reason together. If I am in you, would you not say that that which is of you is also of Me? I claim not this child of the evil one, for he is of Me. Yet I would have this proclaimed. If the very heavens proclaim My Name, why then not the lips of man?
In their midst, you are Me in them, for how can I be near and not touch those near Me? I am the Lord and all consuming am I. Yet this one is to be proclaimed. This is to My Glory, and to the salvation of those who are near.
Call on Me while I may be found. I am near yet they know Me not. You then come near that they may know Me, for I am within you and this shall be visited generation upon generation. There is naught to be done. Proclaim this child as Mine own. I shall do the rest.
Your prayer is in My ear and in the ear of many has it been heard. Proclaim this child to Me. This is all I ask. Your prayer has been heard, My child. Now hear My words. Proclaim this child to Me.
That those that are near know the Name of the One Who saves.
That those who are near receive a taste of heaven in the midst of turmoil.
That those that are near come to know Me and the blessings I enfold.
That those that are near proclaim this child in My Name.
I am the Lord and these are My words to you: Proclaim this child in My Name. The hosts in heaven shall proclaim this with you and the Kingdom rejoices that one is proclaimed in My Name.'
I read about *Private Baptism in our Book of Common Prayer. I gave all this into Jesus' hands and went to sleep. The next day, the feeling of warmth pressing upon my heart stayed with me all day at work and the direction to go to the hospital was strong. I prayed continually.
I arrived at the Hospital at 5:30 in the evening. Jason and Sarah, Jacob's parents, were both there. Again, each time I tried to lift Jacob up in prayer, the same thing happened, I received the same words, 'You know the way, you know what needs to be done. This one is to be baptized.' I said nothing.
It was soon 8:30, and I would have to leave.
I was on the verge of tears as I went to wash something at the sink in the room, so strong was the feeling that I was to do this thing, and I asked the Lord how I could even say this. Jason and Sarah were just beginning to think that God was real and had not yet come to the Lord. He told me that it was His work to move in their hearts, and not mine.
I knew then that if I did not speak, I would be saying no to Him, and this I could not bear.
I asked Jason and Sarah if they remembered that I had told them that I spent time in prayer every morning. They said yes. I asked them if they remembered the things that I had shared with them about receiving direction from the Lord for different things and what had happened. They said yes. I told them that each time I prayed for Jacob, that the Lord was putting something on my heart: that He wanted Jacob to be baptized.
My son, Jason, looked at me and told me that this had been on his mind for 2 days now.
I told him that I believed that the Lord had put this on his heart. I told them that the Lord loved them very much and that this Baptism was not a matter of good and evil. I told them that the Lord wanted the child to be proclaimed as His. I explained to them about the service in our Book of Common Prayer. They agreed.
I told them that although it looked as if we were the only ones present: Jason, Sarah, Jacob, and myself, that we were not alone. I told them that God had shown me that He was there, all the hosts and angels of heaven were there, and that this was for His Glory. I used the words in the service for *Private Baptism.
It was a peaceful time, and I remember that I felt very human, and that God Himself was doing this.
The next few days, I tried to reach Father Alex, our parish priest. There was a strong feeling that this was the last part of the healing process for Jacob, and for the work that the Lord was doing. I was afraid to tell him because I feared rejection. Yet I knew this was the Lord's work and not mine. When I finally spoke to him, he was very kind, and my anxiety faded away.
A specialist came to see Jacob, said that the problem had "gone away", took him off the oxygen, and he is now home.
On Friday, April 11, we brought Jacob back to the Montreal Children's Hospital for his checkup following his hospital stay. They took another X-ray. Sarah was quite concerned because Jacob had become congested over the last couple of days, and she was afraid that it was starting all over again. We were sitting in a tiny room with the doctor, waiting to hear what she had to say. Jacob was smiling, talking his baby talk, and being his normal, happy self.
The doctor examined the baby. She asked Sarah if she had seen the X-rays taken while Jacob was in the hospital. She talked a bit about how sick he had been, and told us something medical about what she would expect to see in an X-ray following this type of illness. She seemed to be talking to herself, as well as to us. Then she said, with a puzzled amazement in her voice, "I've never seen a clearer X-ray." All I could say was, "Thank You, Lord."
Later....
I didn't understand what the Lord had meant by the 'part' and the 'whole' until much later. God always has a bigger plan.
The following June, Jason and Sarah were married, and Sarah shared with me that when she was going to sleep the night before her Wedding Day, these same words kept coming to her.
Sarah and Jessica, her 5 year old daughter and my newly inherited and delightful granddaughter, were baptized the following month. When Jessie, standing on a chair at the Baptismal font, raised her blond head with drops of water falling down on her smiling little face, my heart caught in my throat.
There were many moist eyes at the service.
Excerpt taken from:
The Unquenchable Fire and Streams of Living Water, a journey in faith
Chapter 6. A Gift at Easter, The Part and the Whole
Book 1 in the series
