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By Grant Edwards
 I remember a night when I was in high school. I was leaving to go out on a Friday night with my friends and I walked past my mother's bedroom and noticed her kneeling on the floor praying. I knew she was praying for me. I wasn't a Christian in high school and I had no intentional of ever being a Christian. In fact, I was trying to be the exact opposite of everything I thought that the Bible would want me to be. But my mother prayed for me ... on that night ... and others. Often you hear of problems passed down from generation to generation. Talking to an alcoholic or abuser you will hear a generational pattern with the behavior in past parents and grandparents. My family has a generational blessing - prayer. My mother prayed, my grandmother prayed, and now I enjoy prayer more than just about anything else. From a pagan in High School to a pastor today who loves to pray. My mother's prayers were answered, perhaps beyond what she expected or even imagined! |
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My Grandmother, Mother and Wife Were Healed! by Grant Edwards
A story often repeated in the Edwards' family lore is the healing of my grandmother. She had an open tubercular tumor that bled continuously for over ten years. One night she attended a Billy Sunday revival in the Pittsburgh area and walked out totally healed.
I remember my mother's illness vividly. It started one night at the dinner table when she said that she had numbness on her left side. The next day my father had to take her to the hospital. The next night she was completely paralyzed on her left side and the next day her right side went numb. The doctors didn't know what was going on but as the paralysis continued they began to discuss the possibility that she wouldn't live through the night. But the church where my parents attended called people to pray. That night, while the church was praying, my mother woke up and told my Dad that she could feel something in both her left and right side. A few days later she was totally healed.
I believe God still heals people today. A few years past my wife had a tumor in her chest and was scheduled for a biopsy. We went to a prayer meeting at the church where she received prayer. The day of the biopsy was an amazing day. I had dropped my wife off at the door of the hospital and by the time I entered the unit where she was to have her surgery, I noticed a nurse that I knew smiling. I went into a room where a doctor was showing my wife an x-ray that showed the tumor and another x-ray that didn't show a tumor! The doctor emphatically showed us the two - he was amazed but also wanted to explain why he had scheduled the biopsy.
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From Generation to Generation
In the previous two articles I have briefly described two blessings from my past - prayer and healing. I believe in both because of my past experience with both. The Bible teaches that blessings and curses can be passed from generation to generation. The Psalmist talks about those who are generous - that even their children will be blessed. (Psalm 37:26). The Old Testament also says that the sins of the father will be passed to the fourth generation. (Ex. 34:7)
We all make decisions but seldom do we consider consequences. Our culture teaches that "you" are the only thing important. We live this way not realizing that our decisions impact not only us but our children.
Fortunately, God's grace makes up for your past. You can decide today that by God's power you will obey God and be a blessing to others and your children. Your children do not have to live according to your mistakes. You can pass a blessing of faithful obedience to your children.
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