“But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’” (Acts 3:6, ESV).

On my first day of an elective rotation in residency, a particular patient, whom I will call Jane, was brought to our attention by the attending psychiatrist. This patient had been hospitalized for months in the psychiatry ward. She stayed in her room crying and screaming, had auditory hallucinations and barely took part in any activities. Residents who had taken care of the patient during her lengthy inpatient stay informed me there was nothing that could be done for her. I had recently read Touching Heaven by Dr. Chauncey Crandall, a cardiologist in Florida, who narrates his experience in praying for patients. The Lord impressed upon my heart to pray for Jane and with her. I felt for certain that in her case, there was spiritual darkness involved, causing her to hear voices that reminded her of terrible things and instructing her to kill herself. It was an uncomfortable situation because she was in a video monitored room with a sitter. But I remembered the words of Rev. Charles Stanley, “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him,” and so I went. I prayed with her, “Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for Jane, that you would heal her, that in the name of Jesus Christ the enemy would leave her, and she would be healed.” I left with her a devotional from a local Baptist church. The next morning, nursing staff reported, “Jane is having breakfast this morning.” Some were surprised. One staff wondered if she was just waxing and waning. A few days passed and a physician assistant commented, “We didn’t change her medication, but she has been improving. What happened?” I waited until everyone had spoken and then said, “Prayer.” No one said a word. The patient was discharged before I completed that rotation. ECT that had been pre-planned for Jane was not done at her sister’s request because she had noticed such improvement.

—Marjorie Ho, MD

As a Christian physician, I feel it is my duty to pray for patients and share the gospel as the Lord has commanded us. It was not easy to pray for this patient, given the pressures around me, but God provided the courage I needed. I was so blessed to see God actually step down and change a life as I went to Him in prayer.

I should not be surprised. As He commanded us to “Go,” He promised to show up in power when we obeyed.

“And he said to them, ‘Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover’…and they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs” (Mark 16:15-20, ESV).

Dear Heavenly Father,

May we be witnesses for you and have faith to pray for our patients. Give us courage to do so and forgive us when we do not have enough courage.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen