I can tell you exactly what happens. Because it happened to me.

On January 4th, 2017, my doctor called before 7am. There was good news and bad news. The good news: no kidney stones. The bad news: a tumor the size of an orange in my bladder, appearing cancerous. Just like that, my world changed. But here is what I want to share with you today — not just the diagnosis, but what God did next. Because when your cancer diagnosis and prayer come together, something happens that you simply cannot explain any other way.

THE EIGHT MONTHS I'D RATHER FORGET

I should have been diagnosed eight months earlier. I want to be honest with you about that, because I think it matters for where you might be right now.

In May 2016, I noticed blood in my urine while traveling in Las Vegas with my wife, Lorrie. It was alarming. However, I quickly found a comfortable explanation — dehydration from flying — and I went with it. Over the following months, the blood came and went. Each time, I found a reason not to worry. Each time, I moved on.

By November 2016, it was clear something needed to be checked. My doctor suspected kidney stones and ordered a CT scan — scheduled for January 3rd, 2017. Eight months after the first warning sign.

So here is what I want you to hear from my experience: DON'T WAIT. If something doesn't feel right, trust yourself and get it checked now. You know your body better than anyone. My cancer diagnosis and prayer journey both could have started much earlier — and looking back, I wish they had. Please don't make the same mistake I made.

WHEN CANCER DIAGNOSIS AND PRAYER COLLIDE - GOD SHOWS UP

After my diagnosis, Lorrie and I wanted to see Dr. Lin at the University of Washington Medical Center — a world-renowned surgeon who had already treated Lorrie's father for prostate cancer. When I called his office, the first available appointment was five months away. That wasn't going to work.

So we prayed. Hard.

Lorrie's parents attended Lakeside Christian Church in Kirkland, Washington — a community with a powerful prayer team. When her dad shared what we were going through, that team immediately began praying for something specific: a way to get me in to see Dr. Lin before May.

Meanwhile, Lorrie and I took a short getaway to Leavenworth — a quiet mountain town about two hours from home — to pray, think, and figure out our next steps. It was there that everything started to shift.

While we were away, a woman from the prayer team called to let me know they were all praying for me. She also mentioned she knew a doctor at another hospital with a connection to UW Medicine in Bellevue, and asked if she could reach out on my behalf. I said yes immediately.

A few days later — on January 17th, driving home from Leavenworth with a surgery scheduled for the following Monday with a doctor we didn't trust — my phone rang. Unknown number. Something told me to answer.

It was a urologist from UW Medicine in Bellevue. He had received my information through the prayer team connection and could see me in two days. Two days. As we drove, I just kept saying WOW. Because that is what happens when your cancer diagnosis and prayer collide — God moves in ways that have nothing to do with your own effort and everything to do with his.

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT SPECIFIC PRAYER

Here is what struck me most about this whole experience. The prayer team wasn't praying in general terms. They were praying for something specific — a way to see Dr. Lin before May. And God answered that specific prayer with a specific miracle: a connection through a doctor nobody knew about, producing an appointment in two days.

That is not coincidence. That is God.

So if you are walking through your own diagnosis right now, I want to encourage you to pray specifically. Don't just ask God to help — tell him exactly what you need, exactly what door you need opened, exactly what you are afraid of. He already knows. But there is something powerful that happens when we bring our specific fears and specific needs directly to God. It builds faith. It builds expectation. And it positions us to recognize the miracle when it finally arrives.

And miracles do arrive. My story is proof of that.

A WORD FOR YOU TODAY

Perhaps you are in the middle of your own diagnosis right now. Perhaps you are waiting on a surgeon, a treatment plan, or a door that seems permanently closed.

Pray specifically. Gather your people. Let them pray with you and for you. Then watch what God does — because he is already working on your behalf, even when you cannot see it yet.

No matter what you are facing on your journey with cancer or in life, remember: you are NEVER ALONE. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always with you and ready to help. All you have to do is ask, then give it all to Jesus and let him go to work.

May God bless you — and thank you for reading.

To hear the full story in my own words, listen to Part 1 of My Story below. There is so much more to come — and as I always say, you haven't heard anything yet.

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST — My Story Part 1: The Diagnosis