Perseverance in Prayer

by Deacon Alex and Sis Reina

We are married 47 years and have 3 sons, 5 grandsons, 3 granddaughters, and one great-granddaughter. In 1995, we wanted to know more about God. To learn more of God. And so we started looking and met people on our way/ journey. They invited us to go to a prayer meeting. We attended a non-Catholic service with the family. At the end of the service, one of our kids asked why they didn't receive bread. Here is where we noticed it and decided that we were looking for God in the wrong places and that this would only confuse our children more.

In 1996, Alex got another invitation to go to a prayer group. There, I asked right away if this was a Catholic group, and it was. Afterward, we concluded that it was God Himself calling us. Because this day was the birthdate of my youngest son. Usually we always do something special for their birthday. So we had a small celebration before we attended Mass as a complete family. That's the way our road/journey to form a profound relationship with God started. During this period, we attended seminars, local conferences, study courses, and more, just to learn more information and formation. Before our eldest son left to study in Holland, he was part of a musical ministry as the pianist.The youngest son, also a musician, was also a choir leader in Holland. They perform in different provinces during Mass until today. Reina is actually the Cantor of the musical ministry. She helps with taping or recording of the Holy Mass in the Parish. Reina helps Centro Pastoral and is the prayer group leader. I, Alex, started taping a 5 minute a week program for TV. The television ministry Paloma pictures. This got extended into a half-hour, which I taped at home. During the Pentecostal celebration, Paloma pictures organized several years at a Pentecoste conference. Afterward, I started taping the Sunday Homily at several parishes.

In 2010, Father Juancho invited me to study to become a permanent Deacon. I started the sessions but wanted to stop assisting because it seemed too difficult for me. My study group insisted I persevere. So, I decided to continue studying. Thanks to God, I got to the end of the study with a spiritual retreat at Los Cejas, Medellin in 2017. Meanwhile, we remained persevering in prayer, asking the Lord that I didn't have to operate. Because God has the last word. Very late that evening, we received a phone call that we had to show up early in the morning at the clinic. As soon as we arrived, the doctor told us he had two results, a good one and a bad one. I told him to tell me the bad result first. It was that they couldn't perform open heart surgery anymore due to the fact that the spirometri test came out negative/ very bad, and if they put me under anesthesia, I might not come out of it. I jumped up high and said loudly: "Glory be to God." The doctor was astonished. He said the good result was: that the only option was to do the catheterization and put in a stent/ bypass. So, they started preparing me for that. I entered the operation room at 9.30 am. Reina went alone in the chapel at the clinic to pray. I was prepped, sterilized, and had to wait on the doctor. After laying there for an hour with both arms stretched out like I was nailed on a cross, I asked what was wrong and when the procedure was starting. Why haven't they started yet? They told me to have patience.

Meanwhile, I persevered praying, and Reina alone in the chapel didn't know what was happening. After two hours of waiting, I became very tired praying and didn't know what else to pray and how to continue.I remembered the advice of a brother of the Charismatic group: if you don't know how to pray anymore just say repeatedly: the name of Jesus. He has the power. So I kept repeating HIS name, nonstop. Every 20 minutes, a staff member came by until it was 9.30 pm. I persisted, persevered, mentioning the name of Jesus. When the doctor heard me mentioning Jesus, he asked me to pray for him that Jesus may help him during that catheterization. And so I did that.

The doctors placed 7 stents in my heart. To me, number 7 means completely. Reina, hearing nothing, was very worried. I felt like I was in a desert without water, food, and no communication, only my perseverance in praying. The catheterization was successful. It's been 8 years ago, Glory be to God. Then, the ordeals and trials continued. In 2023, I had a TIA attack( transient ischaemic attack), but I remained praying. I also survived this trial, glory to God. This is why I've got advice to all who's passing through any ordeal: it could be sickness, problems, or any difficulties to persevere in prayer because it has power.

In Hebrews 10: 36, we can read: the following: you need to keep on patiently doing God's will if you want Him to do for you all that he has promised.