Trusting in the Name Above All Names

"Bed rest," Dr. Omar declares. "The bleeding is caused by placenta previa — a condition where the placenta is located too close to the uterus' opening. Unless this is reversed it is likely that you'll lose this baby."

You don't always receive the words of your doctor -- sometimes not at all. But they must be considered. Yes, they are often like the taunting from a giant across the field of battle. "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the field." 1 Samuel 17:44

But you know who you are. You are part of the army of God — the one true God who created the universe.

How can this uncircumcised Philistine dare to say the things he is saying about your God? When he taunts you, he is coming against the Holy One of Israel — because you are His child, and the apple of His eye.

Yes, you know who you are — but the words must be considered.

While the threats try to fill your mind, other words are ignited in your conscience; familiar words of life that crowd out the words of death.

"He will live and not die, and declare the glory of the Lord."

"No weapon formed against us shall prosper."

"If God is for us who can be against us."

Fight, we will. Yes, we will consider these words, and we will talk back with more powerful oratory — "The Name that is above all names."

And so, bed rest it is. For while our weapons of warfare are not carnal, we will not put our God to a foolish test. Yes, we trust that God is well able to heal — through the hands of a physician, or any way He chooses.

After two days in bed, the bleeding persists. Three, four, five days and no change. We miss church on the sixth day, and the brethren are asked to pray.

The seventh day comes and still no change. Then the telephone rings. "We have been seeking God for a healing in our own lives," the brother tells us. "We've been reading a book that talks about the bathing prayer."

"Bathing prayer?" It sounds familiar, but I'm not quite sure what it is.

"The book was written by Francis MacNutt. In the bathing prayer, you play worship music and just pray until you don't feel like praying anymore."

Praying through — I remember the concept from church. "Sure, come on over."

Worship tapes come in the mail every other month from Integrity music. They are soothing and inspiring. They usher you into the presence of God. We decide to play one of those while we bathe the baby in prayer.

The brother and sister come to the door. We live in an upstairs apartment so I go down to greet them. Mother is already in the 'hot seat' when we come into the room. That's was what we call it at cell group — 'the hot seat' — the chair in the middle of the room that people sit in when it's their turn to receive prayer. I turn on the worship tape and we start to exalt the Lord.

No matter what the enemy is yelling across the battlefield, our hope is in God. We will go forth in praise to meet our foe.

The battle is the Lord's.

In time, the enemy is engaged. We will not receive the report of the evil one. One by one we pray as the Holy Spirit places the words on our hearts. When one is finished the others worship along with the recorded choir, or pray in tongues — allowing the Spirit of God to pray through us in a heavenly language. And then another prays in English, declaring the promises of God over the baby and Mother.

A half an hour goes by. Then forty-five minutes. Suddenly, a great boldness sweeps over me. The Devil will not have this child. Goliath will not feed our bones to the dogs. I begin to prophesy.

"This child will live and not die, and declare the glory of the Lord. For this child will have the spirit of David. He will be bold. He will not shy away from the lion or the bear. He will not allow the words of the giant to go unmet. He will have a warrior spirit within him. The Spirit of the Living God will be upon him and he will do great exploits in His Name."

"Yes, the Name that is above every other name."

Twenty more minutes go by, and then things grow quiet. We had prayed through. The tape comes to an end and the room is silent, other than a whispered: "Thank you, Jesus."

Suddenly the brother speaks. "I don't normally do this," he says awkwardly, "but as you were giving the word of the Lord, I felt like God said this baby would be a boy."

Mother nods her head, smiling. "Yes," she agrees, "and the Lord said that we were to name him David."

It is a moment. Each person in the room is confident that we have met God. Tears fill the eyes of the sister and she squeezes both of our hands tightly.

Two more days go by and it is time to visit Doctor Omar again. Would the giant have any more words?

"I don't know what to say," he exclaims, smiling and shaking his head. "The placenta is no longer compromised and the bleeding has all but stopped."

We smile with him and give glory to the Name that is above all names.

David is in third grade now. He should be in second, but he finished Kindergarten in less than half a year, and first grade in the other half. His teacher tells us that he races through his lessons in school and has to wait for everyone else to finish. "If it weren't for the trouble with his handwriting, I wouldn't have any difficulty with him at all," she tells us.

Whose report will we believe? The report of the warrior who says, "The battle is the Lord's."