The Power of Specific Prayer

Each night before I go to bed, I go into my children's room and pray over them individually.  Much of the prayer stems from their time in the NICU and home on monitors, but I continue to pray it every night.  Some nights I've felt like I don't need to ask for the same things, since they are much older, but I do it anyway.  Here is a sample of what my nighttime prayers are like:

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you so much for this sweet baby boy/girl.  Thank you for how far he/she has come and how much he/she can do.  Please be with Kyran/Karyssa tonight.  Let him/her be safe and protected, and let him/her feel safe and protected.  Please be with his/her brain and let him/her always remember to breathe.  Be with his/her heart and let it beat until he/she is an old lady/man.  Lord, please let him/her always be able to breathe.  I ask that you keep all evil away from him/her and let him/her always be safe and healthy.  I ask these things in Your precious name.  Amen.

God chose Saturday to show me the power of the specificity of this prayer. 

Saturday afternoon, Jason's dad was in town and the two of them went out to run a couple of errands.  I had gotten Kyran and Karyssa up from their nap and started feeding them their snack when Jason and Granddad got back to the house, but they stayed outside to finish something.  The babies had finished their veggies and were eating Chex cereal when I heard Kyran make a weird noise.  He does this a lot when he's eating, and I always check, but this time was different. 

The look on his face was panic-stricken, and I could tell he was struggling to breathe.  I hit his back in the high chair, but nothing happened, so I struggled with the high chair straps to get him out and continued to hit him on his back while I ran to the door to yell for help.  Jason and his dad came in and Jason took over the back-patting while I called 911. 

While on the phone with 911, I was disconnected twice, and the operator had trouble understanding our street name (very easy, one word).  We could hear air going through Kyran's windpipe, but it was more and more strained and his lips were beginning to turn blue, when Jason finally gave him the hit that dislodged the piece of Chex. 

By the time the operator had dispatched the ambulance, Kyran was smiling and crawling around the floor, but I wonder how it might have been if Jason hadn't been able to dislodge the food.  I have not had home phone service in over six years, but I signed up for one today.  Things happen too quickly, and the security of knowing that the 911 operator will have our address immediately upon calling is enough to make me willing to deal with telemarketers again. 

The amazing part of this experience for me was that the entire episode, Kyran was getting oxygen, he was able to breathe, because the Chex had holes in it!  Thank you, God!!

Peek-a-boo

Giddy Up, Bella!

Someone needs his hair brushed!