Lucille Rhoads | Courtesy Clayton Loney
As a child growing up on the island of Jamaica, my parents were strong prayer warriors. Early mornings and late afternoons began and ended with long prayer sessions. I have occasionally tried to practice this with my children but they were not always very receptive.
In the fall of 2015, while serving on the LUC Executive Committee, President Don Livesay asked me to serve on the NAD Church Governance Committee. During these sessions, prayer was the primary feature in all our deliberations, discussions and debates. In those three years, I made great friends and renewed old acquaintances.
In the fall of 2016, I received a call from one of these friends, Dennis Williams from Seattle, Washington, asking me to visit and pray with a lady, Lucille Rhoads, in Indianapolis. She desperately wanted prayer and a visit from an Adventist church member. I quickly responded with food supplies and much intercessory prayer. Her only son was incarcerated in New Castle, Indiana, which brought her great sorrow and heartache. Our prayer was not only for the healing of Lucille, but for the early release of her son.
Weeks went by. Then one day we received a call that her son had been released. We celebrated with joy and thanksgiving. Our visits and prayers with food baskets continued until a few months ago when we received a call from her son that Lucille had taken a turn for the worse, transferred to hospice care and given only three days to live. My wife and I quickly rushed to the house and offered prayers for Divine intervention. The following Sabbath, immediately after the worship service, Kevin Rogers (our pastor), my wife and I ,rushed over to the house, anointed and prayed for her, and again sought heaven’s interposition. With only days to live, funeral arrangements also were discussed. We left with the expectation of funeral services later that week.
Weeks went by with no call from Lucille’s son. Then one Sabbath, I revisited the house. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. I began thinking that Lucille had died and been buried, but no one had informed us. Suddenly, her son drove up and, in the front seat next to him, was a smiling Lucille. After big hugs, laughter and tears of joy, Lucille informed us that from the moment we had anointed and prayed for her, she was healed. Her energy returned and her organs revived. She threw off her breathing tubes, stopped taking her medicines, discontinued hospice care, sat up and began a new life. God had answered our prayers in a marvelous way.
Today, we continue to give God the praise for His marvelous intervention in the lives of Lucille and her son, and look forward with great anticipation to seeing them in church and becoming members.
