On another occasion at the same non-denominational service, I saw a young family. Father, mother, toddler playing on the floor and a tiny newborn asleep in the carrier by the toddler.
The parents were standing waiting for someone to pray for them. Without a clue as to why they wanted prayer, and bolder this time, I walked up to them and asked. They simply asked for a prophetic word. Giving prophetic words was not something I excelled in and there were a few rules: no mates, no dates, no babies. All somewhat sensitive and potentially heart-rending subjects.
But this couple were already married and quite fertile, apparently. So, nothing to worry about, right?
So, I quieted my mind and spirit and asked the Lord for something. Anything!
The only thing I got was Number three. I prayed for clarity, what did ‘Number three’ mean?
Nothing! I got nothing. The only sense I had was that there was something about their third baby. I asked for more clarity. Again, nothing!
So that’s what I shared. “There’s something about number three, your third baby, but I don’t know what it is.”
I felt as if I hadn’t completed my task, but I didn’t get anything else.
They thanked me and I left, putting the incident out of my mind.
About a year or two later, I went to the baby shower of a girlfriend about 15 years younger than me. I was older and I had no children. All her other friends, however, were young like she was, and either were pregnant, had babies or both. Feeling quite out of place, I awkwardly walked past mothers with big round bellies and stepped over their little ones playing on the floor.
As I passed the dessert table, eyeing the blue and pink cupcakes, a young mom stopped me and asked if I remembered her. My husband was a leader in this community and was well-known, so I frequently had people I didn’t recognize greet me.
She started to explain that I had prayed for her and her husband. Instantly I recalled the exact circumstance.
She continued by telling me that with the complications from the birth of her second child, the newborn who was now the little one she was holding in one arm, the doctors told her she would probably never have anymore children.
Recalling what I had told them, I felt the blood drain from my face.
Then she put her hand on her bulging belly. Smiling she said, “This is number three.”
