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AUGUST, 2009
REFLECTIONS FROM A
HOSPITAL BED
This newsletter is somewhat
different. Instead of the normal
articles, it I am devoting it to
some person thoughts which I
pray will be beneficial to
you.The second time I was in the
hospital, in July, the Lord gave
me some insights which I would
like to share with you (lest you
think I was being totally
spiritual, I also read a novel on
the Loch Ness monster):
1) My room was considered the
best room in the hospital because
it had two large windows instead
of one. One faced west across
National Avenue and the other
north along National toward
downtown Springfield. I even
got to see fireworks one night
after a Springfield Cardinals
game. My north window was
adjacent to the helipad. It was
interesting at first to watch the
helicopters come in and go out,
but then the Lord nudged me.
He told me that I was in that
specific room at that specific
time to be a “watchman on the
wall,” which is a great
description of an intercessor.
Isaiah 62:6, Jeremiah 6:17 and
Ezekiel 3:17 and following give
us a Scriptural definition of a
watchman. Basically, a spiritual
watchman is someone charged
by God to protect the Church by
being on the outlook for the
enemy and for the needs of
people. So, I stopped looking at
helicopters for the most part;
when I heard the engine,
incoming and outgoing, it was a
call to pray for the
patient/victim, for family and
friends and for health care
providers in the helicopters and
in the hospital. Then the Lord
also called my attention to the
fact that I was very close the ER,
so when I heard the sirens,
incoming or outgoing, it was also
a call to prayer – brief prayer,
but highly significant because it
was prayer according to God’s
will. That, in reality, is what
every Christian is called to do

and to be – spiritual watchmen
on the wall. Our prayer, when
done in accordance with God’s
will, is highly potent and is why
the UP Team is one example of
Christians praying for the
banishment of the enemy and for
spiritual transformation here
and throughout our nation.
Also, as Christians we are called
to be ultra-sensitive to the needs
of others. Every siren should
lead us to prayer, news on TV
should lead us to prayer, and
whenever the name or image of
someone pops into our heads
randomly, it is not random but a
nudging by the Holy Spirit to
pray for that person.
2) This led to another important
insight: We cannot pray
effectively without having true
empathy for the other person or
the situation. My illness has
brought this home to me, as I am
now experiencing what it means
to have a life-threatening illness:
It is not pleasant. We can so
easily fall into the habit of
praying without “feeling with”
the person’s needs. The more we
grasp the suffering or any other
need, the more powerful our
prayer becomes. It also came
home to me that this is the way
God is. He is Living Love, and
so He understands and deeply
empathizes with every need,
every suffering of every single
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one of the six billion plus people
on earth. It is easy to throw out
a prayer for someone; but
prayer takes on real meaning
and greater power when we
groan with the person, or the
nation or the world.
3) The Spirit also guided my
mind and heart to reflect further
on a
Biblical theme that I have
referred to many times: The
remnant of the Church. In
Israel there was always a group
of people who remained faithful
to the Covenant, and so God,
though he punished the people
for their corporate sins, always
relented and spared the Chosen
People because of the faithful
remnant from whom would
eventually come the Messiah.
Well, it is the same today. Jesus
promised that the gates of hell
would never prevail against the
Church; that means that there
will always be a faithful
remnant. So, I asked, what
constitutes the remnant of the
Church: For these people Jesus
is a real Person in their lives, not
just an historical figure or an
intellectual concept. The same is
true with regard to their
relationship with the Father and
the Holy Spirit. It means never
going to church because of a
sense of religious obligation but
because we passionately seek to

worship God along with fellow
believers. The remnant has their
priorities straight: The spiritual
life is always more important
than the material one. The
remnant take the Good News to
people around them, through
prayer and service, and thus
become role models of living
grace. The remnant are devoted
to prayer on a daily basis:
Giving each day to God,
interceding, repentance for self
and others, giving thanks to God
for our many blessings, worship
and adoration of God, and
reading the Bible daily – not to
achieve a “goal” but to use the
Bible as God intended, namely,
to learn about His Love and His
Will and receive strength to
carry out that Will. This means
that meditation is also part of
the daily life of the true remnant,
for without reflection on what
we read we will not grasp the
truths there for us.
4) Of great interest and value to
me was the living experience of
having the opportunity to offer
real suffering to the Lord for the
salvation of souls. It personally
confirmed what I have been
saying for a long time: To deny
and not embrace suffering as a
gift from God is not an act of
faith but a subtle form of self-
service. I could have spent my
time, and could be spending it
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now, in laying claim to my
healing, in banishing Satan, and
in with great confidence stating
that I am healed, it just has not
manifested itself yet. I believe
that would have been a misuse of
an opportunity and would have
contributed to a movement that
is contrary to the long history of
the Church – the value of
suffering as a missionary work.
That does not at all mean giving
up; I know that God can heal,
and I am praying that He does,
primarily for the sake of my
wife, Barbara. But it does mean,
only possible by the grace of
God, that suffering of any kind
can be sanctified and returned to
the Lord for His glory and the
salvation of many.
5) There is a Scripture, 2
Corinthians 1: 15-23, about the
use of “yes” and “no.” For the
first time I understood it. Paul
was writing to very young
Christians facing serious
temptations and persecution. He
was encouraging them to say
“Yes!” to the Gospel, to keep
their minds firmly fixed on
God’s revelation, and to avoid
any wavering about matters of
faith. So it is to be with us: We
must understand the doctrines of
our faith and stand on them, no
matter what the pressure might
be from society to water them
down. I just recently heard –

unconfirmed – that a major
Anglican Church in Europe
voted to deny belief in the
Trinity, because it was offensive
to their Islamic brethren. True
or not, it makes the point. Every
real Christian knows the faith,
grows in knowledge of the faith
and proclaims the faith
whenever called to do so by the
Holy Spirit.
6) I received a communication
from a lady: She said not to sell
myself short; we can do
whatever we called to do
regardless of barriers, when we
are in God’s grace and God’s
will. Also, failure can be success,
depending on how we handle it.
I strongly believe that what I am
called to do now is to transform
my suffering, however slight,
into prayer for others
7) I received an insight into the
economy. When one thinks
about it, our economic trials can
be summarized in two words:
Greed and power. This is a
particularly virulent attack by
Satan in society. The more
people grasp for riches, the more
insensitive they become to the
needs of others. And the desire
for power is a very intoxicating
allure. Look at the causes of our
economic decline, and greed and
power are at the forefront.
Hence the dilemma: We are by
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nature a capitalistic society, but
capitalism run amok leads to all
kinds of greed and power
problems. On the other hand,
the answer is not socialism or an
oligarchy, because then the
greed and power can overtake
our government leaders. I
believe that the key is to pray
that servant hearts replace self-
serving ones – a true and
genuine desire that all of our
leaders in corporations and
government be moved by the
Holy Spirit to have the serving
and loving heart of Jesus.
Thank God for those who do
indeed live this way. This is all
another way to look at spiritual
transformation, which is the
mission of the UP Team.
8) “Glory be to the Father, and
to the Son and to the Holy
Spirit:” If we think about it,
God already has all the glory, all
of it, so we can’t give Him
anymore. But what we are
called to do, now and for all
eternity, to acknowledge that
glory and give Him praise,
worship, adoration and
thanksgiving for that great glory
shared with us, even to the point
of our entering His Divine life.
9) I heard an interesting insight
into Mary Magdalene. Other
women and apostles pooped out
and went home. Mary was just

beginning, and this is why,
through her great love and
perseverance, she was chosen to
be the first to see Jesus raised
from the dead. Quiet time with
Him is so important!
10) I read Psalm 33, and its
meaning hit home. “As for man,
his days are like grass; he flower
like the flower of the field; the
wind blows and he is gone and
his place never sees him again…
But, the love of the Lord is
everlasting.” It’s a shame that
so many of us do not grasp the
fleeting nature of life until we
are deathly ill. The fact is not a
one of us know what tomorrow
will bring, and as Christians we
are called to live as pilgrims and
sojourners in a foreign land,
living each day as if it were our
last.
11) 2 Corinthians 2-3: Paul sort
of lays down the gauntlet here.
Are we as we live our Christian
lives, a living aroma to other
people, revealing to them our
deep relationship with Jesus?
Are we a living letter, showing
by our words and action the love
and the glory of God? These are
not just nice words, they are
from the Holy Spirit and
describe the genuine Christian
life—the life of the remnant of
the Church.
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12) Try something. Go to Psalm
94 and apply it to both the USA
and the remnant.
13) 2 Corinthians 4: “We do not
fix our gaze upon what is seen
but what is unseen. What is seen
is transitory, what is unseen lasts
forever.” This is a marvelous
summary of how we are to live
as Christians, not being so
absorbed in this life that we lose
sight of our goal, our destiny.
When we focus on God and
eternal life, God’s grace can flow
freely through us, strengthening
us and making us channels of his
grace to others.
14) As a Catholic, I believe the
the Real Presence in the
Eucharist, that Jesus is present
unlike any other way – Body,
Blood, Soul and Divinity. This is
the core of our faith. People
brought me Communion almost
every day that I was there. It
meant to much to me. Plus,
there is a TV channel that
simply focuses on the altar and
the tabernacle, which contains
Consecrated Hosts. I could not
have done this by myself; it is
another way that God reaches
out to dependant hearts.
15) Finally: I have learned a lot
about dependence upon God. I
have spent much of my life
mouthing dependence but really
operating is a self-sufficient. I
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have also rationalized many of fact; rejoicing in it is what He

my action, with love and service seeks for us.
on the outside (all genuine) but
with ulterior motives. When I Scripture
realized in this illness that I
On one of the meal trays there
could do nothing to “fix it”,
was the following: “We say it’s
including claiming healing, but
impossible; God says, all things
that I was absolutely called to
are possible (Luke 18:27). We
turn over everything to Him, to
say I’m too tried; God says I will
yield to Him, it is very humbling
give you rest (Matthew 11:38-40.
but with a sublime sense of
We say nobody loves me; God
spiritual purpose. It was
says, I love you (John 3:16 and
humbling to fall twice and not be
3:34. We say I can’t go on; God
able to get up, once at home and
says, My grace is sufficient (2
once in the hospital. It was
Corinthians 12:9. We say, I
humbling to allow nurses to strip
can’t figure it out; God says, I
me and clean me up when I fell
will direct your steps. We say, I
and also the night I arrived for
am not smart enough; God says
this third time in the hospital.
I will give you wisdom. We say, I
There is a great freedom and a
can’t forgive myself; God says, I
great joy in yielding to God and
forgive you (1 John 1:9, Romans
His perfect will. Graces flow,
8:1). We say, I’m afraid; God
into us and into others through
says, I have not given you a
us. I refused to complain in the
spirit of fear (2 Timothy 1:7).
hospital, and the staff noticed it.
We say, I’m worried; God says,
This is not about me; it is about
cast all your cares on me (1
making a total act of dependence
Peter 5:7. We say, I fell all
on God, not jus when we are
alone; God says, I will never
sick, but now. If we think about
leave or forsake you. (Hebrews
it, we are truly dependent on
13: 5)
God for everything; it is a matter
of acknowledging it. He created Thank you so much for your
the universe, He created our prayers for Barb and me and for
individual eternal spirits, He the many cards. Please keep
redeemed us, He lives on as the praying. You are very special
Great High Priest, He brought people.
us through any serious sin before
allowing our death prior to our Peace and love,
repentance. Dependency is a
Bob Burton