How Our Daughter Was Raised from the Dead

In 2013, we went to the hospital to give birth to our second child, Alexandra. What should have been a routine birth nearly ended in tragedy. But it ended up being a testimony to the healing power of Jesus Christ.

As we prepared to welcome our little girl into the world, Rachael and I wanted to make sure we were prepared physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually for our family’s big day. We had been studying scriptures about healthy pregnancy and childbirth. We knew the power that God’s Word had to give us peace (Isaiah 26:3) and wanted to be able to rest in Him.

When we entered the hospital, everything seemed to be normal. Rachael began to labor and we anticipated giving birth within just a few hours. I continued reading those same scriptures to her out loud, and the room filled with the peaceful presence of God.

As time went on, though, our baby began to struggle. There were no complications throughout the pregnancy and Rachael was perfectly healthy. But as she labored, the baby’s heart rate slowed down. At some point, her little heart stopped beating and—for all intents and purposes—she was dead. We were at risk of losing our little girl to a stillbirth.

Obviously, the nurses became concerned and doctors were called. The baby’s heart stopped a few more times, and we were told that Rachael would have to be rushed into surgery for a Caesarian section. Our midwife told us that if Rachael kept laboring, our baby would be born within thirty mintues. "But she doesn't have thirty minutes," the midwife said.

Even though everyone else was panicked, Rachael and I knew that our baby would survive, the surgery would go well, and our family would leave the hospital whole—with nothing missing or broken.

The surgery went quickly and the baby was removed—but she did not cry. After a few moments of uncertainty, the doctor assured us that Alexandra was alive, but barely. As they stitched Rachael back together, I was sent with the baby.

When I first saw Alexandra, she was weak and ashen colored. Her breathing was shallow and heart rate slow. She looked exhausted. Her little feet were curled under, like the petals of a withered flower. In the physical, things didn’t look good for her.

The nurses encouraged me to take photos of her right after the birth, but I told them there would be plenty of time for pictures later on. Two of them gave each other a knowing glance, as if to say, “Does this guy know how serious the situation is? There might not be a later!”

They whisked Alexandra out of the room, and I followed. She was the only baby in an intensive care unit that evening, and one doctor was assigned to watch her vital signals. I could not hold or comfort our baby.

All I could do was sit next to her bassinet and confess more scriptures—this time, about how she would live a long life and declare the work of the Lord (Psalm 118:17). I also thanked our Father for His gift of a healthy child.

Alexandra’s condition improved slowly but steadily over several hours. Later that night, she was released to a room with her mother in the maternity ward, with every other family that had a routine birth. To the shock of her doctors, Alexandra had gone from death to life!

While we appreciated their fast actions and cooperation to aid our baby’s birth, we knew she would not have survived without God’s miraculous healing intervention. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead (Eph. 1:18-20) was working in Rachael's body—and in the body of our little girl.

Not only did we have peace through the entire ordeal, we gave God access and permission to work through us by standing on His Word—the Bible. When doctors tried to warn us of the worst-case scenario—that our baby would die—we had comfort that God would see her through and, if necessary, raise her from the dead.

We just calmly thanked them and told them we were ready for her to be born. They took care of their business while we took care of ours—we thanked God for His goodness, refused to reject His promises, and prayed our way through the surgery and recovery.

All these years later, Alexandra is a beautiful young lady who is full of life and loves the Lord. We believe that without God’s Word, none of this would have been possible. What the enemy meant for evil, God has used for good!

And God is no respecter of persons (Romans 2:11). What He did for us, He will do for you! All you have to do is receive Jesus as Lord and put God’s Word to work in your own life.