What would it be like to be praying for a brother (or even a sister) to come into your family and then finding out your prayers were being answered but it isn't a baby? He is 14, just like you? This is the situation that confronted Prohor, the natural son of Lena and Sergey. Fortunately for the parents and for the son, there was instant love and affection between the two boys.
Prohor had grown up with parents who became believers when he was still a small child, so he learned to experience miracles, as his mother had, in his early life. As a young boy, Prohor was very active and successful in sports. He became interested in oriental boxing. Lena and Sergey were not happy about this interest and knew it was not acceptable to the church because it involved violence and meditation, ie. Eastern religion. So, they told Prohor that they did not approve of this sport. But they had no alternatives to propose to him. They asked the pastor of the church to talk with him. The pastor did speak with the boy and advised the parents to NOT prohibit him from participating in this sport, but to pray for him and for God to show him another way.
Because of his success in this sport, he was invited to Hungary for a competition. Simultaneously, Prohor began to have a serious liver ailment. He had been jaundiced at birth, so there was some predisposition to this very serious problem. Lena took him to a specialist for ultra sound and analysis. The diagnosis was horrendous and very serious. The doctor knew about a particular treatment for this illness but regretted that it was very expensive. He advised that this treatment would take 2 years to work and that they should then come back to him after this period of time. Of course, they could not afford this expensive treatment so the next step was to see their regular pediatrician for other treatment options. This doctor was in shock when she saw the results from the analysis and diagnosis. She wanted to give Lena both a modern treatment and an old wives healing alternative. She began to dictate this remedy (the old wives option) to Lena but Lena began to realize that she already knew another treatment and told this to the doctor. Lena was not specific with the doctor as to this treatment, but she had decided she needed to pray.
Several days later when Prohor was having a particularly bad attack, Lena asked him if he believed in God and that God could heal him. Prohor said yes to both questions and began to sincerely pray that God would heal him. During his prayer, he felt that something had left him as a vapor up to heaven. Lena believes that on that day he was completely healed.
Lena and Sergey now were willing to let him go to the competition in Hungary. But, they would need the doctor’s release in order to have that happen. They went back to the specialist who had given them the diagnosis. They told him what had happened. Immediately, he asked if they had used the expensive remedy that he had previously suggested. But it had only been a couple of weeks, so even the doctor was questioning how this could possibly be true. Lena insisted that Prohor was no longer ill. So the doctor had him lie on the table and proceeded to do another ultra sound. In the process, he stopped in astonishment and began talking to himself, questioning whether this was the same boy or what could have possibly happened in such a short time.
Lena said that they had been praying. The doctor then said, “Of course, you should have told me this in the beginning." He had no problems with the fact that this boy could have been healed through prayer and readily gave the release papers to Lena.
Now they needed a second release from the pediatrician. This doctor, of course, was also astonished. But when Lena said that she had used her own medical treatment – prayer – she wanted Lena to dictate to her the exact words that she had used. She obviously did not understand how prayer works. But, she also gave the release papers to Lena.
Prohor did go to Hungary for the competition. However, while there, he saw how corrupt and unjust the system of judging and organization actually was. As a result, he, by his own choice, decided to quit. Lena and Sergey were not really surprised by his decision since they had taken the Pastor’s advice and could see God’s hand in this whole matter.
(There will be more about Prohor in subsequent chapters of The Borblick Story).
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