For Hazel, prayer was a powerful tool as she and her husband faced daunting major spinal surgery - but when God answered her prayer, much to the surgeon's amazement, it became a story of spreading the Good News too.

Hazel and her husband live in Featherston, and attend St John's Anglican Church just around the corner from their house. Her husband suffers from a back complaint but until he underwent surgery, it was much worse. "He had a crushed nerve in the back. Eventually he went in for surgery but just as he went into the surgery, I was told that one little slip and he would be either paralysed or dead."

While it certainly wasn't the most ideal time to be told such devastating news, Hazel set to prayer and asked God to control the surgeon's hands, enabling him to do the surgery safely. "Following the surgery, the surgeon said 'I don't know what happened, but I was in the surgery and my hands were shaking. I was about to back off thinking I couldn't proceed, but then an incredible calm came over me. My hands stopped shaking and I was able to proceed, and finish the operation.'"

Hazel relayed to him that she had been praying throughout, and that she had trusted God to be in control of the situation. The surgeon was amazed by her faith, and later told her that he continues to pray over himself before each operation.

Do you have a story of answered prayer? Share it with us by emailing communications@anglicanmovement.nz.

Let's pray for help, where we need it, to trust in God's ability to do miracles in the seemingly most impossible situations.