Saved Through Prayer

Adriel especially enjoys playing his clarinet. He also likes telling others about Jesus and how Jesus saved his life.

Adriel, 9, and his twin sister come from a big family. They have two more sisters, plus two brothers who are also twins. Their family is very musical, and the father and several of the children play in their Adventist church’s brass and woodwind band. Adriel especially enjoys playing his clarinet. He also likes telling others about Jesus and how Jesus saved his life.

One day when Adriel was at home he didn’t feel well. He told his mother that he had a bad headache. She took him to the doctor, who examined him and gave him an injection. But Adriel didn’t feel any better. Before long his feet started to hurt, then his hands, too. He was taken to the hospital. The doctors there said that he had a disease called juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, which can be very painful.

More Problems and More Prayers

Finally, after two weeks of being in the hospital, Adriel was allowed to go home. Two days later he was so happy to be playing his clarinet in the church band again. But when he woke up on Sabbath morning, the pain came back, and this time it was even worse! His mother quickly took him back to the hospital. While they were waiting to see the doctor, Adriel had a seizure and then slipped into a coma.

Adriel’s mother called people at their church, and they started praying for him. Then she called friends at another Adventist church where a big meeting with people from all over Belize was taking place. “They announced it in the meeting,” said Mrs. Baptist, Adriel’s mother. “Everybody just stopped and prayed for him. Then the pastors came to the hospital and prayed for him. While they were having a special prayer and anointing him, Adriel had another seizure. The doctors didn’t know what else to do for him.”

Everyone kept praying for Adriel, and that night he came out of his coma. They were so happy! But the doctors were still worried because they thought Adriel’s brain might have been damaged from the seizures that he’d had while he was in the coma.

A Special Test

They wanted to do a special test, called an MRI scan, so they could see if Adriel’s brain had been damaged. It costs a lot of money to have an MRI scan, so all of the people at the Adventist churches helped the family by giving money so that Adriel could have the test. And they all kept praying for him.

The time came for the important test. They carefully put Adriel on a little bed that could move when they pushed a button. Once they pushed the button, the little bed moved into the opening of the MRI machine. The test didn’t hurt at all, and Adriel stayed very still while the machine took lots of special pictures that showed the inside of his head.

Answered Prayers

After the test was over the doctors looked at the special pictures of Adriel’s brain and could see that there was no damage—his brain was healthy. Everyone was so happy to hear this wonderful news! And they prayed again—this time to thank Jesus for healing Adriel.

Since that time Adriel has not had any more pain or seizures, and he is happy that he can go back to his church and play his clarinet in the band again. “I tell other people that Jesus loves them,” Adriel says, “and I tell Jesus that I love Him!”

Ariel’s mother says that because of her son’s experience, she really sees “the power of intercessory prayer. I think that’s the reason why he’s here today.”