At Care Group tonight, I believe that God gave me a new prayer. I know that my sinful, selfish heart will often tell me that these things aren’t true. But as I learn to focus on truth, I pray that this will be a prayer of mine, and your, hearts.
Heavenly Father, Thank you that you’ve spared Ian’s life. Thank you that you have sustained him for the last two and a half weeks. Thank you that you met us in our darkest hour and brought Ian back to life. Thank you that his organs are working perfectly. Thank you for preserving his body. Thank you that you put him in the hospital that you did, so that his family could constantly be near him, praying for and talking to him.
God, thank you that you specifically chose Ian to be your instrument in our lives. Thank you that you allowed him to sacrifice this time of his life so that we, sinners, can be drawn nearer to you. Thank you that you are using the wounds on his body to teach us how to pray. Thank you that you are using his broken vertebrae and his injured knee prove to us that miracles are real. Thank you that you are using his bruised brain to turn hearts to you.
Thank you for the honor that our brother, friend, son and boyfriend was chosen to teach your children about the body of Christ and the power of prayer. Thank you that you created him to be such a memorable person, a gift that you have used to stir so many hearts to pray. Thank you that this accident was ordained by you, therefore making it no accident at all. Thank you that you chose Ian to remind us of your truths and your constant goodness.
Father, we come before you, each time we pray, with nothing to offer. But we believe that by your grace, you will once again meet us in our darkest hour and will restore Ian completely. We don’t know your will, but we believe that you want us to ask for the astonishing. Please wake Ian up in your time.
Above all, thank you that in life or in death, Ian’s life will glorify your name. Thank you that our prayers do not fall on deaf ears and that your name will be glorified. We will continue to knock and wait for your will to be done.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11
Andrew Murray says this about the above passage:
“It is as if he would tell us that we are not to rest without an answer, because it is the will of God, the rule in the Father’s family: every childlike believing petition is granted. If no answer comes, we are not to sit down in the sloth that calls itself resignation, and suppose that it is not God’s will to give an answer.”
God intends that every prayer have an answer! Let us continue to fervently pray and appeal to God until we receive His answer. Fight against the weariness and sluggishness that so often comes when our prayers are not immediately answered. We have a Father who loves to give good gifts. Let’s pray specifically that Jesus, the One who conquered death itself, would wake Ian. Thanks.
I finally got information about the surgery on Ian’s knee. One of the surgeons said that they went into the surgery expecting to clean out the wound and repair the main ligament in the front of the knee that allows Ian to extend his knee. I had wondered why they didn’t do the repair in the surgery. They didn’t do the second part because when they got in there they discovered that the ligament wasn’t damaged! God is good.
They put him in a chair today for about two hours, because you can breathe better sitting up. In that position, they tried putting him on a machine that only helps you breathe if you breathe first; it sort of pushes you across the finish line for each breath. He didn’t pass the test, so they put him back on the ventilator. In other words, he couldn’t quite breathe on his own, yet. They’re going to try that again tomorrow.
The neurotrauma people have said that they can’t do anything more for him. There are many more minor surgeries Ian faces, but he just needs to wake up now. To be honest, it’s very hard to be around the medical people now, because everything I hear is grim. He’s not made any progress. Most patients who pull through leave this ICU responding to commands (e.g. move your fingers, toes, etc.), but Ian hasn’t even come close to doing that. The sadness can be overwhelming. I have to remind myself that we serve God who is bigger than comas.
Watching my son go through this is incredibly difficult, but each time I visit I’m reassured to know that He feels none of the pain from his injuries. To think that the Father purposely crushed and tortured His Son for me, and there was no coma for Jesus to avoid the pain.
Please pray that Ian would begin to respond to commands. Pray that he would come back to us. If you visit him (which we hope you will), tell him to wake up. Talk to him. Touch him. Annoy him.
This is for you and Ian from our friend, Zziwa John. I know that you love his prayers.
Hullo mr. lan murphy.
lts so sorrowful for the pain and sickness you are going through with your family and friends we dedicate our prayers to the lord that all the operations you are going through would be successful and the lord would restore you back to normal.
He never lets us to suffer.He suffered for us so as we could have life and joy and thats why He cured peoples in mathew 8:14-17, luke 6:17-19 and again in mathew 4:24-25 the lord is the source of life.He hears our prayers and He will put his hand of healing on your life and there would be grate changes in your life.The weakness and pain you are feeling right now is going to be taken away and you are going to be stronger and stronger in the name of the lord.
I have very little information about Ian’s surgery today except that it went well. They didn’t do all that I thought they would do (e.g. reconnecting ligaments, etc.); they just cleaned out his leg and made some adjustments. I’m trying to connect with the doctor for more information and to ask why they didn’t proceed with some of the things I expected them to do.
When I visited Ian today, I noticed that his pulse and blood pressure were down to a level I hadn’t seen in quite a while; he’s been running high in both because of the fever. I asked about his temperature which was also down. They record body temperature in Celsius, so I had to ask whether it was normal. The nurse told me that his temperature was exactly where it should be, and that would explain why his pulse and blood pressure were down to where they should be. The Lord has kindly given us what we requested! His fever is not there at the moment. Please pray it continues…
After my visit today and my conversation with Ian’s nurse (a new one for Ian), I wanted to get a clearer perspective on what we have been noticing. The medical staff is understandably reluctant to commit to any conclusions that are either positive or negative when neurotrauma is such an unpredictable world. So, I called Patty Wallwork (Patty is a no-nonsense ER nurse in our church) who I knew would tell me straight what was happening. She listened to me recount all the signs I had noticed over the past few days, and she was excited about what she heard. For example, he reacts in a reflex kind of way to painful stimuli; this is somehow different than the pain he would be feeling from his injuries if he weren’t in a coma. He reacts to auditory stimuli, like someone yelling his name. He makes movements when he’s touched, especially when Larissa touches him on the foot or face. He reacts to familiar smells by turning his head. He’s being fed and hydrated intravenously, and his digestive system processes both the nutrients and the liquids almost perfectly.
I believe the Lord is preserving Ian; all the signs point that way. Please pray for a new sign: that he would respond to verbal commands (e.g. move your foot or your fingers, turn your head, etc.). It’s what the doctors have been looking for all along.
I can’t tell you how grateful we are for your prayers. So many are praying. Thank you.
Ian’s surgery got bumped to tomorrow morning. I guess there were emergency cases that took precedence. His neuro condition is the same. He continues to move fingers and toes, to blink and to respond various stimuli. He does not respond to commands.
Mary Murphy just called me and gave me the latest on Ian. Yesterday they took a sample of spinal fluid, in another attempt to discover the source of Ian’s fever. It took them a long time to get enough fluid, because his fluid pressure has not been very good.
Today Ian is scheduled to have another surgery on his right knee. The doctor wants to clean it further and try to repair any ligaments that he can. Mary said that Dr. Ivan Tarkin, his surgeon said that he is treating Ian very aggressively, in the same way he would treat his own brother and desires to give Ian the best use of his leg. Isn’t God good to give Ian a doctor who has such a wonderful attitude! The surgery is very complicated, so let’s pray that God would give Dr. Tarkin wisdom. I would love to see Dr. Tarkin go in there and find the knee completely healed – that’s what I just prayed. But most of all, we should pray that God will do whatever will most glorify himself.
Let us also pray that God will heal Ian’s fever.
A side note: Yesterday Mary talked with one Ian’s nurses, Traci, who stopped by on off hours to see Ian. She is a Christian and has been praying for Ian. Traci said that she and her husband were going to be having a block party, because her husband is trying to start a church in their area. May God bless their efforts and give them a miracle to tell unbelievers about as they launch their church!
This morning I read this passage:
Mark 7:25-30 (ESV) 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.
This woman knew how inexhaustible Jesus’ power was. She knew that even after meeting all the needs of the Jews (the children), that even the leftover “crumbs” of Jesus’ power would be enough to heal her daughter. All we need is a “crumb” of Jesus’ infinite power to accomplish miracles. All we need is one little word, one little touch. All we need to do is touch Jesus’ hem with our finger. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed.
This woman also knew that Jesus was compassionate, merciful and generous. And she was also convinced that he would respond to bold, persistent requesting. This woman demonstrated that God is a rewarder of those who seek him.
“Some mercies are not given to us except in answer to importunate (bold, persistent) prayer.There are blessings which, like ripe fruit, drop into your hand the moment you touch the bough.But there are others which require you to shake the tree again and again, until you make it rock with the vehemence of your exercise, for only then will the fruit fall down.”— Spurgeon
So let’s ask God for fresh strength to continue to persevere in asking, seeking and knocking.
Let’s keep shaking the tree till the fruit falls down!
“And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
This is a sweet promise from scripture and kindling to set our prayers ablaze. God promises to reward those who seek Him. The One who owns all things promises that if we diligently seek Him, He will reward us. God is not stingy. Prayer is not simply putting God into a supernatural headlock and forcing Him to say ‘uncle’. No, He is eager to give us good gifts! He is eager to reward our diligent prayers. Scripture describes God as being the Fountain of Living Water. He’s not a shopping mall fountain that squirts tiny streams of water and is filled with pennies. No, God is a gushing, overflowing, life-giving fountain of grace! When we pray, we are coming to a God that is simply itching to reward us. How do we know this? Because He has already given us the greatest gift. He has already given us the most precious gift of His son. Therefore we can be certain that God will reward us when we seek Him. If He readily gave up Christ, who is of infinite value, won’t He give us lesser things as well?
Let this truth set your prayers for Ian ablaze. Let us ask great things of God! He is eager to reward us when we seek Him. Let us ask Him to touch Ian in a miraculous and astonishing way. Let us ask Him to do what seems absolutely impossible. He is a fountain of grace, and He is eager to overflow.
A few days ago the doctors “dialed down” Ian’s ventilator. Today, they dialed it down further, so I think that means he’s breathing better, which is a good thing. The chest x-ray of his lungs looked nice and clear today, which is an improvement. They have him on an ice sheet of sorts to control his fever; he even had goose bumps! Mostly, he’s just sleeping and healing.
Thanks for your continued faith-filled prayers for Ian.
Steve Murphy
“I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the Lord sustained me…your blessing be on your people! Selah” (Psalm 3:5, 8)
The waiting rooms of the neurological ICU’s and the halls that connect them have been a classroom for the last 2 weeks. I wish that every Christian could have been in this class. I thank God that I was.
From the very start Steve, Mary and Ben have been our instructors. From the first moments of the trauma, when Steve said, “I’m just glad to know that there is a good God is in control of all of this.” we learned that this truth was rock solid to stand on when their world was turning upside down and falling on their heads. He continued this confession through the darkest hours of the trial, when it seemed that Ian was sure to die. We saw the peace and comfort of the Lord in the tempest. He continues to rest in God’s goodness, love and sovereignty and he instructs the hearts of everyone he speaks with. He gave a message at our church some time ago and said that the promises of God are like ice in a Minnesota winter. It’s so thick that you can jump and jump and it and you won’t fall through. He proving that to us now.
Mary’s first words to me were, “I feel so bad for Larissa.” How does a mother care about anyone when her son is hanging between life and death. Here was living proof that His grace and strength are sufficient in the worst situation imaginable. Mary didn’t just care about Larissa. She cared about everyone, her family, her friends, Ian’s friends, and the other families. She was a comfort to all who came. She wasn’t looking for care from anyone. It was obvious that Someone was caring for her in secret. On the first Monday night, she wanted Ian’s friends to come and see him, so that they could see the brevity of life. Then we prayed, and she began thanking God that Ian had finished his short race well. She thanked Him that He had brought him such happiness in life as well as bringing Ian the love of his life. She didn’t utter any of these things, because they were the “right” things to say. Her prayers were sincere and true. Her invisible Strength is obvious to the other mothers up on that floor. One mom remarked several times about her strength. Another called her remarkable. She’s having a very powerful influence for the Lord.
What can I say about Ben? I really want to be like him. It was as if he couldn’t thank the Lord too much or say to much about Him to anyone nearby. He worshipped; he prayed; he shared the Gospel and then did it over and over again. His confidence in the Lord was and is astounding. It was so encouraging. He was talking with an unbeliever and said, “It’s my brother who’s dying back there…” and then went on to tell the man about Jesus. During one wonderful time of prayer, he kept reading Scriptures about His faithfulness to answer prayer and then prayed that even if Ian died God that would make the rest of us able to continue what Ian had started and be faithful the way that Ian had been.
For those watching them from the outside, we saw and continue to see the most incredible display of sorrow and joy mingled together in the Murphys and it’s beautiful. They all are doing the most beautiful things for Jesus in their dark trial and it’s been an honor to watch and wait with them the little that I was able. I love Jesus more because of them.