One of the most faith-promoting experiences I’ve had recently involved my nephew Marcus, who is only 30 years old. He was in excellent shape, so it came as a complete shock when he suddenly experienced intense, debilitating chest pain at home. When he arrived at the emergency room, an EKG confirmed he was having a heart attack. He was taken immediately to the cath lab, where doctors discovered his left anterior descending artery —often called the “widow maker” — was 100% blocked. They were able to clear the artery, but during the procedure they noticed what appeared to be a growth on his aortic valve, which they believed may have broken off and caused the blockage. Open heart surgery was scheduled for a couple of days later.

I was deeply worried about him. My extended family, including my sister, are no longer active in the church, so I quietly reached out to friends and asked if they would fast and pray for Marcus. I was overwhelmed by the response — friends near and far, including many in Alaska, joined together that Sunday in fasting and prayer on his behalf. I was completely overwhelmed with gratitude. The following morning, just before he was to go into open heart surgery, the surgeon called my sister. He explained that they had performed another transesophagealec hocardiogram to get a closer look at the growth before proceeding — and it was simply gone. There was nothing there. Not wanting to perform major surgery unnecessarily, they cancelled the procedure.

My sister called to tell me the news, and I told her about the friends who had been fasting and praying for Marcus. She was just as overwhelmed as I was.

I am so grateful for the power of prayer and fasting.