Don’t Panic
When I feel inspired to write, I try to make the most of the opportunity, which is why I’m almost never without my laptop computer. Between calls, I can usually be found in the quietest part of the building, pecking away at a blog post or the chapter of a book. A few days ago, I pulled my laptop from its case, plugged it into a wall outlet in a hospital waiting room, and hit the power switch.
Nothing happened.
All the little green and red diodes on the front panel remained dark. It took my mind about five hundredths of a second to process all the possible explanations. And for a moment, I was overcome with a sense of panic.
Don’t panic, I thought to myself. Maybe the outlet isn’t working. I unplugged the power cord from the wall and plugged it into another outlet nearby.
Nothing.
I found a different room and tried plugging it into several outlets in that room and still there were no illuminated lights. The diodes remained completely dark. This was not good, but I had one more thought. Maybe the power cord itself was bad. I went to my ambulance and found the power cord for the computer we use to chart calls. It happens to use the same voltage as my computer. It was connected to our work laptop and it was working perfectly. I removed the plug from that computer and plugged it into mine.
Nothing.
So it wasn’t a lack of power and it wasn’t a bad cord. There was some internal problem with my laptop that was preventing it from powering up. The sense of panic returned. The laptop I own is a Panasonic Toughbook. These computers are used by the military, law enforcement and EMS because they’re nearly indestructible. I’ve had it for five years, and although it’s suffered its share of abuse, it’s never failed me. It’s the best laptop I’ve ever owned. And now it was deader than dead. I was in the middle of writing a book and the hassle of getting a replacement and transferring the files to another computer was not something I looked forward to. And then another thought came to me.
Why don’t you just pray for it to be resurrected?
Yes, I thought. That’s the ticket. I need to pray for it. But first, I need a little breakfast and a cup of coffee.
I left the laptop in the ambulance and went inside the hospital. I found the cafeteria and ordered a breakfast sandwich and a cup of coffee, then took a seat at a table. I began recalling some of the dead electronic devices and broken cars I’d seen God heal over the last few years. As I thought about these testimonies and the awesomeness of God, the panic I felt earlier was gradually being replaced by faith. God had done it before. Why wouldn’t He do it again?
I finished the sandwich and walked back to the ambulance with my cup of coffee. I opened the side door and placed the dead computer on the floor. I placed my hand on it and began making declarations. I said that the computer would live and not die. It would be resurrected from the dead and it would work as it was supposed to. I felt even more faith (confidence in God) as I prayed, and after a couple of minutes, I felt as though it was done. I plugged the laptop’s power cord into the outlet in the ambulance and the red diode for the battery charge indicator immediately came on. I hit the power switch. The hard drive hummed and the other diodes sprang to life. My beloved laptop had just been raised from the dead.
I took it back to the waiting area where this story began. I plugged it in and it charged without problems off the same outlet I tried without success 30 minutes earlier.
My encouragement for you is to believe that God wants to do miracles for you—even miracles involving electronic devices. All things are possible for those who believe. So the next time something goes haywire, don’t panic. Think about the things God has already done, and by faith—expect Him to do the impossible again. You’ll have one more testimony you can share with the world about the incredible goodness of God.
Boom, and just like that life is restored! It works the same way for people too.
I’ve prayed for monitors at a distance that revived. We’ve prayed for electric car windows. Those are just a couple that come to mind. Either there is a special breed of geeky, mechanically gifted angels, or God just likes us to stretch our faith.
My favorite story to build faith for these miracles when praying for others is in 2nd Kings 6. Elisha throws a stick in a flowing river. I imagine the stick remains floating in the same spot, but what is amazing is that a lost iron axe head floats up to be retrieved at that spot .
Yes, God fixes tools.
I like that….I have been praying over my truck. It needs about 1200 worth of repair. and it was kind of a clunker when I got it. But just yesterday I found myself sitting in it a praying about making it through the Minnesota winter. I had a feeling that I am gonna be just fine, to trust the Holy Spirit is a privilege.
I’ll stand in agreement with you, Joe.
Yep, it’s happened for me too. Computers and electronic equipment have been the most frequent examples. I pray for print cartridges to last longer when replacement isn’t in my budget at the moment. When my last laptop crashed, a geek friend reformatted and reinstalled my software but it crashed 3 more times for him. He told me it was a lost cause and gave up. I prayed for it, then did the formatting and reinstall myself. That laptop worked great for another year, until I was ready to spend money on a new one. Miracles definitely are ours!
I have big faith for these sorts of miracles- I have seen them so many times- love them! I’ve laid hands on PCs and seen amazing results.
My sister had exactly the same thing happen to her new expensive laptop on a plane on the way to a conference and prayed for it to be raised (after a slight panic) and it worked too!
Also- a few years ago my favourite mp3 player broke after it got whacked against a wall. The button was actually structurally damaged and had collapsed inside- (a piece was literally broken). I tried to turn it on with a pen countless times but it was totally dead.
I went online to buy a replacement and after ordering God told me to do the very strangest thing. He told me to throw the broken mp3 player very hard onto the floor.
I actually really enjoyed doing it!
Guess what??! (Yes- you guessed right!)
The broken button was back in place, the mp3 player was totally restored and it has worked fine ever since.
I still cannot believe it- I sometimes wonder if I dreamt it!
Only problem? I now have two of them-lol!
Awesome testimony! 🙂
I’ll be taking that testimony for my car…the electronics are acting up. I had a dream that mechanics angels were fixing my car one time when I was out of town and a horrible noise began. I was able to get home the next day (8+ hour drive) and drove my car around town a bit until the noise returned. I drove it to the shop, and the guys were amazed that I could drive it at all as the gears in the differential were all stripped!
Awesome
Thank you for your post. I have had a similar experience with my laptop. One morning, when I was facing a very tight book deadline, my MacPro would not turn on. I checked everything I could check, but nothing worked. So I laid hands on my laptop and prayed.
As I prayed, the thought came to me to ask the Lord to dispatch His angels of technology to minister to my technology need. Only once had I heard of angels assigned to technology problems, and this from a friend of mine who had had computer problems.
Frankly, the thought of technology angels seemed a bit strange when I first heard it. But I figured that if Holy Spirit gave me the thought as I prayed, then I should follow through. So I did. Within seconds, my computer hummed to life and all was well. Praise to our Heavenly Father Who cares about every detail of our lives!
God is good. A timely reminder. ❤️❤️
I’m applying this idea to a financial situation (long story very short!). Thanks for the posting! 🙂
Perfect timing for us. Driving to Wenatchee yesterday with NO heat on my side. Started thinking about when to take the car in for repair, and then — thanks to your fresh reminder about prayer — laid my hands on the dash, and told the car it was a good car, and commanded the heater to work. I had closed the vents to avoid the cold air. After prayer, I opened the vents and the air was warm! We’ve seen this kind of answer to prayer before, but it’s too easy to live in the natural instead of the supernatural. Thanks and God bless you.
Love the testimony Dave! 🙂
Somewhere on my 3 mile hike last week in the North Chagrin Metropark (Cleveland, Ohio) I lost my Texas driver’s license. Having just moved to Ohio, I knew it would be a pain to get a new license without the old out-of-state one. My sister and I retraced our entire 3 mile hike, praying that the Lord would show us where it was, as the trails were completely covered with fallen leaves. We checked the parking lot, clothing, and all around the car to no avail. We parted ways in the parking lot after an exhausting search. When I turned toward my car, (rental car with Delaware plates!) there it was on the trunk-which was clear just moments before. Lord you are amazing ❤️