I love the choleric tendancies God programmed me with. While they have caused their share of confusion in the past (like contributing to my doubts about my salvation when I was a kid) they are handy to have in a crisis.

Example: When Becky was hospitalized for a concussion I was the one that was calm and in control on the way to the ER. Never mind she quit breathing on the way. I knew what to do and handled it. My composure was a different story when she was out of danger, but during the crises, God gave me the grace to handle it.

That being said, I've had many after thoughts since my little brush with death. One of the main things I've been hit with is that I'm probably still here because of prayer. So who prays for me on a regular basis? My family and pastor for sure. Beyond that I can't say for sure, for sure. I hate to admit that a lot of times we pray for people when we know there's a need, but not necessarily routinely.

Nobody knew I was sick. So how could they have prayed for that need? Short of the Spirit's prompting, it was impossible.

Lessons learned:

Pray whether you know there's a need or not. There probably is one even if you aren't aware of it and it's probably more serious than you realize.

Prayers from unexpected, unregarded or "other" sources are priceless. Case in point. I get a lesson from DC who is in prison about every 10 days. DC always writes and tells me she's praying for me. Is she? I like to think so. It's possible her prayers are the ones that kept my heart going. I don't know, but I sure plan to ask about it in eternity.

Pray when God brings someone to mind. This can be every time you open your email!! That's not a bad thing. God has a reason for letting you think of that high school friend, or the class bum as the case may be.

Pray through when something or someone is heavy on your heart. There's an old timey thing (I don't know if it's a doctrine or what - I need to study it out) about "praying through." As best I understand it you grab hold of the horns of the altar and don't let go till God gives you peace He's heard your prayers and will handle your request.

Once in a great while God lets you see the result of your prayers in this life. My Mom is pretty much a shut in due to circumstances beyond her control, yet her prayers for others is legendary. She prayed for a young mother she'd met briefly years ago. She had no way of knowing her baby had just been kidnapped. That baby is now a fine man planning his wedding. Back in the 50's she prayed for a baby girl she heard about in the news who was injured and orphaned in a house fire several states away. Years later God saw fit to connect the two of them. Mom's prayers for her to be raised by a loving Christian family had been answered and now that lady has a wonderful family of her own.

I suspect one of the blessings of eternity will be finding such connections and learning the results of our prayers. I love my mom's stories and want my own prayers to be such a blessing to others. It doesn't matter if I don't learn what happens here. The important thing is to PRAY.