Today is Day 12 of our 30 days of prayer for Silas. We are asking people to join us in prayer for
complete healing on Silas’s body.
Following is an update from Anna.
J
First of all, praying in faith poses a small but constant
theology debate in my head. I absolutely
believe that God is MORE THAN ABLE to heal Silas. I personally believe that someday Silas will
have total healing with his skin issues, but I’m not really sure of WHEN. We have been praying daily, usually multiple
times a day for 3 years, and so far God has been saying ‘Not yet’. Now we are asking others to join us in
prayer, and I mostly believe that
this is the time when Silas will receive healing. For the most part, I pray in faith, believing
that at the end of these 30 days we will see miraculous changes and
recovery. I pray and believe. I can quote verses about God caring so much
for us and God wanting to answer our prayers.
Silas’s story can be a great witness to many of God’s amazing power!
However, I certainly do not claim to know the mind or will
of God. My own mind often wonders, ‘but
what if God is still saying not yet?’ I
realize that God often has a bigger plan of which we are completely unaware. Am I trying to force my own will on God by
praying for healing now? We certainly
pray for God’s will for both of our children, but only praying for God’s will
seems too generic. Is praying for
specific things testing God? Or is NOT
praying for specific things showing a lack of faith? And then, what role do I play in helping
Silas to heal? Should I keep trying new
medications and diet changes or does that seem like I’m trying to ‘help God
along’? Is it better to let God take all
the credit by not doing anything ourselves?
These questions bounce around in my head daily.
Speaking of medications and diet changes, here’s our latest
theory. [Disclaimer: we have had lots of
theories and tried many, many things to help Silas. Thus far, none have seemed very helpful, so I
have no idea if this current theory will end up helping or not.] We believe that Silas’s main problem is a digestion issue/leaky gut. Basically, his body is detoxing through his
skin. The main way to heal leaky gut is
through major diet changes: no regular
dairy, very few grains, no sugars or junk food, no processed food or
conventionally raised meat. To be fully
committed to this, takes a LOT of discipline and commitment from everyone in
the family! We started eating this way
around the beginning of July, and seemed to see some improvements. Then we started our big driving trip down to
Sicily, Italy. We just spent 1 week ‘on
the road’, and while we tried to eat somewhat healthy, some days it was just
way too hard. A few other factors working
against us were the extreme heat and a sort of stressful daily environment
(Silas doesn’t do well with changes, which would include traveling and crowded
sight-seeing) which seemed to really irritate Silas’s skin again. He was starting to look much WORSE again and
I was feeling SO discouraged. I was
questioning this whole trip and wondering if Silas would ever get better. We were both praying constantly for Silas,
laying our hands on him and begging God for healing.
Last night we arrived in Sicily. Now, we get to stay in the same place for
almost three weeks, which will help with stress level, sleeping habits and
especially eating habits. Also, we are
near the coast, so hopefully the salty air environment will help Silas’s
skin. Again, we acknowledge that
ultimately healing will only come from God’s grace and power.
Interestingly, when Silas woke up this morning his knees
(which were by far the worst thing this past week) looked MUCH better! I was so happy I almost cried! We are hoping and praying that his knees will
continue to heal and not flare up again.
I have so many theories as to why it got worse and then better, but only
God knows!
Thanks again for your prayers, encouragement, and reading
this long update! We are so thankful for
each of you!
