1. Saint Paul Ministries
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The Faith of Stanley Reimer
Look out fear! Here come faith!
Adapted from: Chicken Soup for the Christian Family Soul
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2. Every Sunday
• Every Sunday morning I • That was a
see a very special person considerable
sitting about ten rows back amount of
on the right side of the time when
church. oxygen did
• His name is Stanley not reach
Reimer, and he‟s an elder the brain.
on our church board. I‟ll And if Stan survived, he
never forget the day when would probably be a
I received the tragic news vegetable all of his life.
that Stanley had had a • They managed to get him
heart attack. breathing again, but he
• Stan was a chemist with a was in a death coma. He
large company, and the was placed in the intensive
news was that he had a 22 care unit, but remained in
minute cardiac arrest. a coma.

3. Neurosurgeon
• There was no sign of life
other than the breathing.
• The neurosurgeon told
Stan‟s wife that there was
no hope. “If he keeps
breathing, he‟ll be a
vegetable all his life.
• He‟ll never even close his
eyes. They‟ll be open in a
death stare as you see him
now. Totally, a vegetable.

4. What Will I Say?
• I rushed to the hospital as • that no response is
soon as I could, praying the indicated, talk life! He
whole time. “God, what will may lack the power to
I say? What will I say to his move his lips or manifest a
wife?” And then I physical indication that he
remembered what I was is hearing, but his
taught in the theological subconscious may hear!
seminary: And you must not place a
• Someday, as a pastor, you negative thought in his
may be talking to someone in mind!
a death coma. When that
happens, only think life!
Only talk life! If you’re ever
at the bedside of a
presumably dying
patient, and he’s in a coma

5. Intensive- Care Unit
• Tears were streaming
down her face. Stan, my
once outgoing friend
looked like a statue.
• He couldn‟t move – dead
from all practical
appearances – but he was
breathing. His eyes were
wide open. I put my arm
• I went into the intensive- around Billie and prayed
care unit where he was with her.
lying, and there was
Billie, his wife.

6. News
• Then I took hold of his
hand and softly
said, “Stanley, I know you
can‟t talk. I know you
can‟t respond, but I know
that deep down within
you, you can hear me.
• I‟m pastor Bob. I‟ve just
come from church where • You are going to live, and
everyone is praying for it‟s going to be a long
you. battle. It‟s going to be
• And Stanley, I‟ve got hard, but you‟re going to
news for you. You had a make it!
bad heart attack, but you
are going to recover.

7. Understanding
• And at that point I had one
of the most moving
experiences of my life. A
tear rolled out of my
friend‟s eye.
• He understood! No smile,
no quiver of a lip, but a
tear rolled out of his eye.
The doctors couldn‟t
believe it! • faculties are becoming
• That was over a year ago normalized. A miracle?
and today Stanley is able • Do you remember what
to speak in full sentences, Matthew said in Chapter
he can hear and his 19?

8. Faith
• Mt. 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to
them, “With men this is impossible, but with God
all things are possible.”
• Mt. 17:20 For truly, I say to you, if you have faith
as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this
mountain, „Move from here to there,‟ and it will
move; and nothing will be impossible for you.”
• Bartimaeus‟ had this kind of faith.
• Mk. 10:52 And Jesus said to him,
“Go your way; your faith has
made you well.” And immediately
he received his sight and followed him on the way.

9. Saint Paul Ministries
www.saintpaulministries.net
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