More from Kim Koratsky

For those who follow the Upper Room comments, you may remember that I was asking for prayer in mid-August for my wife as she was getting ready to undergo extensive oral/periodontal surgery.  At the surgical center on the morning of the surgery, because she had taken the sedation medication and was unsteady, I walked her back to the room where the procedure was going to be performed.  Once we got her settled, I asked the technicians and nurses in the room if I could say a short prayer before they got started.  As usually happens, they agreed.  After I left the room, I ran into the periodontal surgeon. 

As it happens, I have known this surgeon for many years, originally meeting him through the Walk to Emmaus.  I asked him if we could pray together before he started.  I expected that just he and I would pray, but he said, “Sure, let’s go,” and walked toward the room.  He put his hand on my wife’s shoulder and said the sweetest prayer, asking for skill, wisdom, and guidance for him and his team, and a successful procedure and healing for my wife.  As anxious as I had been about the procedure that morning, I left the room with great peace and confidence.  By the way, as I write this, she just had her three-week check, and they tell her she is healing nicely.

One of my favorite expressions is, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”  I find it interesting that only one month before the publication of today’s devotion about praying before medical procedures, we had this wonderful experience by asking the question: “Mind if I pray first?”  I am confident that prayer works, and this experience bolstered my belief that God will walk with us if we just ask.  Try it.  You have nothing to lose except the anxiety you may be feeling about a procedure you are about to undergo.

I pray that my devotion and this blog post have been helpful to someone reading them.  I also pray that all who are reading The Upper Room today are abundantly blessed by our wonderful, generous God.  I cannot say it better than Numbers 6:24-26 (NIV): “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”