28 September 2010

Praying Like Eliezer

And he said, ‘O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. Let the girl to whom I shall say, “Please offer your jar that I may drink”, and who shall say, “Drink, and I will water your camels”—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.’
Genesis 24:12-14 (NRSV)


If you've read about Ewan's name, you know his middle name is from the book of Genesis, after Abraham's servant. We chose Eliezer because of the tremendous humility and servant's heart he demonstrates. As long as Abraham remained childless, Eliezer stood to inherit all of Abraham's wealth. But then Abraham had a son. In Genesis 24, Abraham sends Eliezer on an important errand: to find a wife for his son, Isaac (the one who would take the inheritance that could have been Eliezer's). He obeys his master, and faithfully discharges the duty of finding Isaac a wife.

Before he finds Rebekah, he prays the prayer above. His prayer is simple and it is specific. It isn't grandiose or sparkly, but modest and practical.

As much as I would love to see the kind of miracles that are as dramatic as raising someone from the dead or giving a blind man his sight, I wonder if we shouldn't be praying for Ewan like Eliezer prayed to find a wife for his master's son: simple, modest, practical. This request is for a miracle measured in inches, not in miles. And when the request is answered, we (like Eliezer) will fall down on our knees and thank God for his provision.

While we do have some long-term prayers in mind, let's try and think of the immediate needs, namely this: getting this baby off of ECMO. Yesterday's surgery resulted in an improvement in Ewan's numbers. After the cath lab procedure today (where they were able to stretch out his pulmonary arteries and the point at which the shunt connects to the aorta), the numbers were even better. But he's still on ECMO. We need to get him off of this machine. His lungs need to do a bit more work before he's ready. But I'm confident that God is able, and I know that if we storm heaven with our prayers, it will happen when it's supposed to.

Quite simply my request is this: let's pray Ewan off of the ECMO machine. In the grand scheme of things, it's a small request, but an important one. It only asks for independence from a machine. Please pray with me for this request: that Ewan's body would be strong enough to handle getting off of ECMO. It sounds like doctors want to do another trial off of ECMO in the morning. We pray that when he is tested tomorrow, that we will see that this little fighter can handle it.

Ready, team? Let's pray baby Ewan off of ECMO.

27 comments:

Tea said...

Praying with you, Kirsten.

That passage is one of my favorites. I love Abraham's servant.

Sarah said...

Tears and prayers . . . praying he does well tomorrow morning.

terri said...

yes, Lord. amen.

Elyse said...

Amen, Amen, and AMEN!!!

Anonymous said...

Praying in agreement with you! Amen.

Kimberley said...

Ready!!!! Lord, touch this precious baby with your healing hands! In your name, I pray for a complete healing!!

Rachel said...

Praying with you all that Ewan will be successful tomorrow on his trail off of Ecmo and that his little heart will be able to sustain his body without the Ecmo machine.
Hugs and Prayers
Rachel in TN

Melissa said...

In complete agreement! Praying a simple, modest and practical request that Ewan would be able to be off of ECMO!

The Hansen Family said...

Yes, please Gracious Father. No more ECMO for Ewan. May he be strong enough to live on his own for your glory. In Jesus' Name, Amen

Shay said...

Praying him off ECMO...love it! simple, modest, to the point...God, please show Your mercy and grace and strength tomorrow as they take Ewan off of ECMO...help him to become independent of this machine...You are all powerful and can do amazing things...thank You for hearing our prayers.

christianne said...

Father of our faith, please hear our humble, practical, collective prayer: that Ewan's heart would beat strong and that his body will be hardy enough to handle getting off the ECMO machine when they do the trial run. Thank you for your mercy and your provision thus far. Your love is amazing and your might so powerful! God, please hear and answer this prayer of ours. Amen.

Ashia said...

i found out about ewan somehow through twitter. i am praying for you guys constantly. he is absolutely beautiful, and i know you are so proud of him. GOD IS GOOD!! much love from mississippi...

Amy said...

Definitely praying. Praying for Ewan to get off ECMO, and praying for strength and courage for his Mommy and Daddy.

The Hands said...

Praying with you.

Nadine said...

Absolutely <3
Baby steps!! Praying that the trial off of ECMO goes well!!!

Anonymous said...

Saw your story from a friend on FB. Captivated by it and your little guy. I am 24 wks with my first son at 43. Been praying everyday for Ewan and you all. Praying for success today!!!!

HennHouse said...

Joining and others in prayer...

Love you all.

Tara said...

Praying for Ewan to sucessfully get off ECMO!

Unknown said...

You are always in my prayers. Praying hard for these small miracles.

Wodzisz Family said...

Praying like crazy this morning. I am anticipating the next blog entry to be that Ewan is off ECMO and holding his own!

Anne Mulvey said...

You are in our thoughts & prayers. My son Owen was on ECMO for 5 days following his first surgery (He has HLHS). He turns 4 this December.

Blue Moon Girl said...

Praying so hard for success today with getting off the ECMO! Come on Ewan, you can do it! We're all behind you!!

Stefenie said...

Praying with you always!!

kdactyl said...

I found out about Ewan through a blog I follow (snowflake family)....I have been following and praying since just days after Ewan's birth. I have two very close friends whose babies have had congenital heart issues and were in serious condition...and in both cases God guided the surgeons and those children are happy and thriving now. I pray for the same for Ewan. For now I will pray him off ECMO....God Bless you and your husband as well. As a parent, my heart and prayers are also offered up for you as I know this is such a difficult journey, but I know your faith will guide you to make all the best decisions for Ewan.

Kd

Anonymous said...

Ok Little Ewan, it's time for us to talk. This here is Brady. I'm 2 1/2 and have HLHS. My mom told me about you and I thought it was about time I had a little chat with you. You see, I too have a special heart. Well, all hearts are special, but ours well, they were designed extra special by God and believe me He knows what He is doing. Sometimes our parents get really scared. There are all kinds of alarms going off in our rooms, machines buzzing all day and night, people coming in and out at all hours of the day, and well lots of prayers being said for us. Prayers for healing, prayers for patience, prayers for peace, and sometimes down the road prayers for potty. Yah, you read that right, sometimes they pray for us to go potty. Silly huh? But here's the honest truth Ewan. We have a plan that has been laid out for us. A plan that sometimes our family just doesn't get yet. It's God's plan. My doctors always told mom and dad, "Brady will tell you." "Wait for Brady's sign" And where do I get my sign from? God. He helps me know when to come off things like Ecmo and when to come off venilators. But, from what I hear everyone is really hoping that you step it up a little my friend. It really is better to be off the machines. And when you come of it, you can do all kinds of things like begin to learn how to talk and sing. You want to make everyone smile and get all sappy?That's the ticket! The sound of your voice will be priceless!! Another heart friend of mine told me long ago that a heart life is like a marathon. We have to take things a little at a time. There's no need to rush things. Sometimes we have easy legs on our journey, and other times the legs of the marathon are hard, hard, hard. There are miracles my friend. We're both one!! Every day we get to spend with our family is a miracle, a blessing, call it whatever you want, it's amazingly good. Always know you are loved and we'll continue to send prayers of healing and prayers of thanks your way. If you ever want to talk, please know that you'll always have someone who understands your journey.

Sending you lots of love.
Brady and mom Lisa

Indreni said...

Praying for Ewan!

Kathy said...

I will be praying for you today!
Kathy