Prayer is a practice in my life and a topic dear to my heart. I believe in the power of prayer, the comfort of prayer. I’m so excited…and it’s my privilege to showcase Ada Nicholson Brownell’s work WHAT PRAYER CAN DO. Ada is one of those dear people, I’d love to reach out to through the internet and hug. (((hug)))

WHAT PRAYER CAN DO

A Collection of articles and testimonies written by Ada Nicholson Brownell, published by The Pentecostal Evangel.

MOTHER’S SEARCH

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

An excerpt from What Prayer Can Do

Irene Hoselton suddenly awoke and sat up in her bed, cloaked by terror. Hot panic shot down her neck.

“My children! My children!” she cried in anguish. “O God, help me find my children.”

This was not an isolated experience for Irene, an acquaintance of mine. She was age 30 when her husband took the children to their grandparents’ house for the weekend—and never returned. He and his parents packed their belongings and moved to another state where Irene couldn’t find them.

Weeks, months, and years passed with no trace of her missing children. Although she searched throughout the western states, even with help from authorities, they seemed lost forever.

But the mother never gave up. Often she awoke in the night as anguish nearly ripped her emotions apart. She worried about her two boys, Waldo and Wendell who were 11 and 7 years of age when they disappeared, and her little daughter, Jessie, age 9.

She prayed. She asked God to take care of them. She prayed she would find them.

False hope would be raised at times, only to be dashed and to deepen her anguish. She became so emotional she couldn’t work or do anything but sit and brood.

Only a mother can understand how she felt. To think one might never see her children again is a distressing thought.

Only bereavement itself could be worse. Being separated from loved ones when one knows it is final is perhaps the most terrible earthly experience.

But some day a worse terror will come when those who have rejected Christ as Savior will be separated eternally from God! They will never again taste His joy, peace, and love (Revelation 20:12-15).

Fortunately Irene Hoselton’s story had a happier ending. She was miraculously united with her children in May 1972, after searching for them 38 years.

A phone call did it. After Irene’s children were old enough to have homes of their own, she would call long distance to cities all over the U.S., asking the operator if her boys’ names were listed. The calls were fruitless until one day, after a particularly fervent prayer session, she seemed to hear a voice say, “Call Kansas City, Kansas.”

With trembling fingers she dialed Kansas City, Kansas, and asked if a number were listed for Waldo. In a few minutes she was talking to Waldo’s wife! They were shocked to find their mother was still living, as her husband told the children their mother was dead.

In only a few weeks she saw all her children and grandchildren. What joy to be in each other’s arms again! Now her home is filled with pictures of her family, and her heart is bursting with joy.

The separation of 38 years was a painful ordeal—but what if the separation were eternal? How tragic when families not united in Christ are divided between heaven and hell. That final separation will be the most awful of all.

If you are one of God’s lost children, He is seeking you. Like the mother who sought her children, the Lord will never give up the search while life remains.

Jesus indicated this when He told about the search for the lost coin, and the prodigal son. He summed it by saying, “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth (Luke15:10).

Repent and follow Christ now so that you will not be lost. Call on the Lord and let Him save you today.

THE PENTECOSTAL EVANGEL, August 11, 1974.

Testimonial:

WHAT PRAYER CAN DO

By Ada Nicholson Brownell

One family’s baby, born with hydrocephalus where the child’s head grows faster than the body, was said to not have a fully developed brain until she was prayed for by their pastor. A few weeks later, the parents received a call from the special center where the child was kept.

“Your child is completely normal. Come and get her.

New X-rays showed the brain fully developed, and this amazing woman has lived a normal life for nearly sixty years.

The doctor wrote “Absolute miracle” across her records.

Hebrews 11:26 says to please God we must believe that He exists and that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

What Prayer Can Do has true testimonies from people the author knows that God rewarded.

Bio:

Ada Brownell has been writing for Christian publications since age 15 and spent much of her life as a daily newspaper reporter. She has a B.S. degree in Mass Communications and worked most of her career at The Pueblo Chieftain in Colorado where she spent the last seven years as a medical writer. After moving to Springfield, MO in her retirement, she continues to freelance for Christian publications and write non-fiction and fiction books. She occasionally writes op-ed pieces for newspapers.

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