I first met Cathy some 20 years ago. She was recovering from a divorce and trying to set her life right with the Lord. Soon after we met, Cathy told me about her profoundly retarded son, Nicholas. He was in a nearby home, and she visited him every week.

When Nicholas was 8 or 9 years old, Cathy came to me and asked if the elders of our church would anoint and pray for Nicholas, in keeping with James 5:14-16. Cathy didn't think God would heal Nicholas; she simply felt God wanted her to have the leaders pray for him. So one Sunday she brought him to church in a wheelchair, and after the service we anointed him with oil and prayed for him.

Now Nicholas is 25 years old. Every week for 25 years Cathy has visited him. In all those visits Nicholas never communicated with her, except for laughing sometimes as she entered the room. It seemed that nothing ever changed.

Recently, Cathy had her annual consultation with the team of professionals who care for Nicholas. In the course of that meeting, the speech therapist said, "I think Nicholas is making some progress. We've been using green and red cards for yes and no. He is learning to point at the right card in answer to some questions. Would you like to see?"

"Of course," Cathy replied. So they went to Nicholas's room.

The therapist held up the green and red cards, and asked, "Nicholas, is your mom with us today?" And Nicholas pointed at the green card. Other questions convinced Cathy it wasn't an accident; he really understood.

In tears she called to tell me her good news. "All these years I'd visited him," she said, "and I never knew if he even knew who I was. And now I know. He knows I'm his mother. And he is excited to see me."

Cathy is convinced this breakthrough is an answer to the prayers of those elders so many years before.