The remarkable true life story of Peter Newman (Part 16)

"Son," I said, "your Dad's all prayed out; I don't even know what to pray for."

He looked at me and said, "Dad, give me a drink of water."

I was under instructions to give him the tiniest drop of water every hour.

He had already had his quota for that hour and had forty-five more minutes to wait before the next drop was allowed. I panicked and decided I couldn't stay with him. I couldn't bear to see him suffer. My mind said, "Run, leave him to the nurses." But the Holy Spirit said, "Pray."

There by that hospital bed I called on the name of the Lord. I said, "God, help me; I don't know how to handle this situation. This is my only son and I love him but I can do nothing for him."

Then God spoke. He said, "Peter, now you know and feel My love. I too had a Son hanging on a cross. When He cried to Me I hid My face. Because I loved the world I gave My Son."

I can only say that at that moment everything changed. The holy love of God, and His peace came into that room. What had seemed an unclimbable mountain suddenly became a molehill. More than that, God told me to give Jonathan a wet cloth to suck, and he went to sleep.

Two years later my son Jonathan left hospital again, after another operation. When we were in the car he said, "Dad, God is good to me!"

Now as he sat there all I could see with my natural eye was a young boy chained to a life line which would restrict him from living a life that many other young boys enjoy. So my reply to him was, "Son, how is God good to you?"

"Well, Dad, it's like this: one, I'm going to have a meal at the Little Chef. Two, there are lots of children left in hospital, and they don't have mums and dads that know the Lord and many of them are sicker than I am. That's why God is good to me, Dad."

There are many unanswered questions, and there always will be this side of heaven, but we are not aiming to spend eternity down here; we look for a city whose builder and maker is God.