Two waitresses charged through the door and said, “There’s a man upstairs who has had a massive stroke and we think he is dead!”

Minutes before this a friend, who attends the church in Fintona, and has been experiencing the Holy Spirit’s touch on his life recently through the preaching of God’s Word, found himself meandering down the street, and was greeted by one of the owners of a new restaurant nearby. Invited in for a chat he was led downstairs to the cellar as the establishment upstairs was buzzing with Sunday lunch customers.

Together with the owner, after hearing the news of the stroke, he headed up into the main dining-room and saw customers fleeing from the restaurant, without anyone caring for the victim and his family.

Over at one table a family of four was sitting—with the stroke victim’s daughter on the phone and an old man slumped in a chair, very white and looking lifeless.

While the restaurant was emptying, instructions were being given over the phone to lay the old man on the floor in a recovery position and to give him CPR (since there was no evidence of a pulse). The man’s bladder was releasing onto the floor and foam was around his mouth so no one wanted to give CPR.

As a background discussion was going on about what to do, our friend from the Fintona church took the initiative and helped get him on the ground, while the old man’s daughter was agitated at the ambulance men for their delay in coming to take him away.

Asking for his name and the old man’s age, our friend was told that he was “83”, the same year our friend was born, a fact which seemed to inspire confidence in him. When he heard the old man’s name something also told him it was not the time for this man to go.

While they waited for the ambulance to come there was silence in the room and everyone was resigned that he was “gone”. No panic. Just sitting round quietly waiting for the ambulance to arrive.

The son-in-law was by the old man’s head and began to pull his coat over and around the stroke victim’s head.

Our friend, meanwhile, opened the top two buttons of his shirt, placed his left hand on his bare chest and his right hand on the old man’s leg, and began to pray silently, saying to the LORD how it was not time for this man to go, that he needed to come back to his family, enjoy Christmas with them, and again, it was ‘not his time to go’.

It was short prayer and before he could even say ‘Amen!’, suddenly the old man’s hands shot straight up in the air, he sat up erect and was staring with his eyes fixed on our Fintona friend, without looking around at all nor at his surroundings. Next he went into absolute hysterics, laughing out loud!

Moments later our friend took his leave, joking with the old man and saying something to the equivalent of “It’s good to see you back”, and, “We must have a drink or something next time we meet!”.

The family were all excitedly saying, “He’s back!” and helping him up and, as our friend walked up the street and home, and although he did not question what he found himself doing before the prostrate old man, it suddenly dawned on him what had just happened, and that his '“prayer worked”!

Praise the LORD!