“More Yours Than Mine”—Two2Grow, Tuesday, September 8
“More Yours Than Mine”—Two2Grow, Tuesday, September 8
“Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me” Acts 27:23 NIV
Emelie and I have a mentor couple who have served God as missionaries in Africa for over 40 years and pioneered an amazing ministry there. One time, the wife, Gunnel, gave birth to their second child by cesarean section in a very remote place, but the bleeding never stopped. Finally, she was about to die, and her husband, Fred, prayed over her and anointed her with oil.
I recall him telling us the story. He prayed something like, “This is my wife, Gunnel, whom I love, and I want her to live. But she is more yours than mine.” After that, he left the house because he couldn’t stand being there to see her suffer. To get his mind off things, he went and did some manual work at a church structure they were building.
A little while later, someone came running to him and said that he had to come immediately. He thought that his wife had died, but what he saw blew him away. In the doorway stood his wife with a surgical cloth that had been forgotten inside her but had just come out naturally. She recovered and is still alive, still going strong in her 90s.
This phrase, “more yours than mine,” has helped Emelie and me pray for our kids and ourselves. When we really commit our loved ones into the hands of the One who loves and cares for them even more than we do, there is an amazing peace that comes.
Even praying it for our own lives is powerful. Once, on a flight to Africa, when we were about to land, the plane was hit by a very strong crosswind. Everything in the plane started shaking. Some people began to shout in fear. I got scared too, but I was able to pray:
Jesus, I am going to Africa to serve you. I want to live. But my life is more yours than mine.
I barely finished that prayer before the Holy Spirit filled me with the deepest sense of peace. I knew that I knew that whatever happens, my life is in God’s hands. Perhaps I don’t need to state the obvious—we landed safely in the end.
Father, help me to realize that you love me and my loved ones even more than I do. Help me to release them into your loving hands and trust that you are looking out for their eternal welfare—they are more yours than mine. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD
Emelie and I have a mentor couple who have served God as missionaries in Africa for over 40 years and pioneered an amazing ministry there. One time, the wife, Gunnel, gave birth to their second child by cesarean section in a very remote place, but the bleeding never stopped. Finally, she was about to die, and her husband, Fred, prayed over her and anointed her with oil.
I recall him telling us the story. He prayed something like, “This is my wife, Gunnel, whom I love, and I want her to live. But she is more yours than mine.” After that, he left the house because he couldn’t stand being there to see her suffer. To get his mind off things, he went and did some manual work at a church structure they were building.
A little while later, someone came running to him and said that he had to come immediately. He thought that his wife had died, but what he saw blew him away. In the doorway stood his wife with a surgical cloth that had been forgotten inside her but had just come out naturally. She recovered and is still alive, still going strong in her 90s.
This phrase, “more yours than mine,” has helped Emelie and me pray for our kids and ourselves. When we really commit our loved ones into the hands of the One who loves and cares for them even more than we do, there is an amazing peace that comes.
Even praying it for our own lives is powerful. Once, on a flight to Africa, when we were about to land, the plane was hit by a very strong crosswind. Everything in the plane started shaking. Some people began to shout in fear. I got scared too, but I was able to pray:
Jesus, I am going to Africa to serve you. I want to live. But my life is more yours than mine.
I barely finished that prayer before the Holy Spirit filled me with the deepest sense of peace. I knew that I knew that whatever happens, my life is in God’s hands. Perhaps I don’t need to state the obvious—we landed safely in the end.
Father, help me to realize that you love me and my loved ones even more than I do. Help me to release them into your loving hands and trust that you are looking out for their eternal welfare—they are more yours than mine. Amen.
Pastor Mikael Stenhammar, PhD