Power of Prayer0

Guest Blogger: Jeremy Pollard, Summit Kids Pastor. We asked him to write on what God taught him through a tragic event in his life a couple of years ago. His answer, the power of prayer.

We never understood the power of prayer and the fact that it could change things until we couldn’t pray for ourselves.  In August of 2007, our family was involved in a head-on collision that nearly took our lives.  We were headed to church when a 19 year old crossed the yellow line and hit us travelling at about 55 mph.  Stephen, who was 16 months old at the time, was knocked unconscious and sat lifeless in his carseat as we waited for medical help to arrive.  By God’s grace, a nurse who had seen the wreck stopped, took Stephen to the side of the road, and performed CPR.  After what seemed like an eternity, he began breathing again and was rushed to the hospital.  Once the paramedics and firemen arrived, Tiffany and I were cut out of the car and taken by ambulance to the same hospital as Stephen.  That night, as we lay in the Emergency Room, the waiting area became a sanctuary, a place of prayer.  Students and their parents, who we had given our lives in ministry to, along with family and friends all crowded in the ER and began begging God to spare our lives.

Early the next morning, I was taken into emergency surgery where a rod was placed in both of my upper legs to replace broken femurs.  Tiffany also had surgery that morning on a broken femur and exploratory surgery that revealed a torn intestine, 3 broken ribs, and a broken sternum.  We were both placed in the ICU with one bed between us.  The next day, Tiffany woke up and was amazed to find out that Stephen was going to be released from the hospital in the next few days.  Not long after, however, the Dr. came back in to inform her that after further tests, Stephen was more severely injured than they had originally thought.  Every ligament connecting his skull to his vertebrae had been torn.  A serious surgery would have to be done, and Stephen would lay in an induced coma in the PICU until then. During this time of uncertainty, I could not pray as Tiffany and others were doing on a nonstop basis.

After surgery, my body developed fat embolism syndrome and shut down.  I lay in a coma for 13 days and had a 33% chance of surviving and living a normal life in the future.  I was completely reliant on others’ prayers although I didn’t know it at the time.  After nearly 2 weeks in the hospital, Tiffany was released and moved into the Ronald McDonald House.  In addition to the first surgery, she also had a metal plate surgically placed into both her ankle and wrist.  She also miscarried our second child during this time.  Stephen successfully had his neck surgery where a metal plate, 7 screws, and one of his ribs were put into the back of his neck.  He wore a neck brace for awhile but was released from the hospital after 4 weeks.  After many ups and downs, I woke up from my coma and had 2 additional surgeries where a metal plate was put into my arm and my heel was reconstructed.  I also had a broken ankle.  After 4 weeks, I too was released from the hospital and went home.

Was this an easy time in our family’s life?  I can emphatically say no.  Did we experience God’s hand and see the power of prayer more than ever before?  I can emphatically say yes.  No, we couldn’t pray for ourselves, but others could.  And I firmly believe their payers had the power to change things and make a difference in our lives.