Donna O.
Original artwork by Donna Ogle
What if my prayer wasn't good enough? What if I left out something really important? What if Mel wouldn't be saved because my prayer was inadequate?
Recently, Bob and I went to see Mel, our dear friend, who was in the hospital to have brain surgery. The news was not good. The tumor in his brain was cancer, stage 3-4. I was urged by another friend that I MUST share the Gospel with Mel. Mel, who is Jewish, had been going to church but had always held back from committing his life to Christ.
In a moment when we were alone, I told Mel that Bob and Michele, Mel’s wife, and I would all be in heaven together for eternity, and we wanted him to be with us. I told him that the only way to get to heaven and have eternal life was through accepting Jesus as Lord and believing Jesus died for his sins. Then I asked him if he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart? Mel whispered, “Yes, I do.” Then I prayed with him….
Later at home that evening, the doubt started creeping in when I started thinking about my prayer with Mel. I had a hard time sleeping that night because I was so worried.
The next morning I drove a friend of mine with bladder cancer to City Of Hope for her treatment. She is a mentor to me. I love her and trust her. God has given her so much wisdom. I shared my story of bringing Mel to Christ, along with my doubts and guilt over my prayer. She had also been praying for Mel and his new diagnosis of brain cancer. She looked at me, and said, “Donna, that is Satan attacking. The minute that Mel said yes, he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart, he was saved. You could have said blah, blah, blah, after that, and he would be saved.” God knew it was Mel’s heart that changed and saved him, not my words! I immediately knew that she was right. I clearly saw Satan's plan to rob me of the joy of Mel’s salvation! That is what Satan does.
Just a little later that morning Mel’s wife called to tell me that Mel did not even remember us being there the day before. Since I was still with my friend, I told her. She said, “Donna, it does not matter if Mel remembers asking Jesus into his heart or not. He is saved!" She said, “Suppose someone accepted Christ then hit his head, and could not remember. Would he be saved? YES!”
O Lord, thank you for my mentor, and for her wisdom. Thank you for being so loving, and amazing, and powerful. Thank you for saving us and for protection from the evil one, and from the darts he throws to rob us of our joy. Thank you for Mel. Please continue to heal him completely. Amen