A family in California had their lives changed forever when their two-year-old daughter suddenly stop breathing and died in her sleep. Now, they’re enlisting “prayer warriors” to, in their own words, “resurrect” their daughter.
Andrew and Kalley Heiligenthal’s daughter, Olive Alayne, died in their home in Redding, California, and their community has since rallied around them with support.
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Parents enlist “prayer warriors” to “resurrect” their daughter, who died suddenly.
Kailey and her family recently captured attention outside of their local community as well when they posted a message on Instagram calling on “prayer warriors” and asking followers to pray for Olive to come back to life.
“We’re asking for prayer. We believe in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave, holding the keys to resurrection power. We need it for our little Olive Alayne, who stopped breathing yesterday and has been pronounced dead by doctors,” they wrote.
“We are asking for bold, unified prayers from the global church to stand with us in belief that He will raise this little girl back to life. Her time here is not done, and it is our time to believe boldly, and with confidence wield what King Jesus paid for. It’s time for her to come to life.”
The family belongs to Bethel Church which believes that many miracles written about in the Bible “are possible today.” The church has also led group prayers since Olive passed away.
Kailey, who has a large following on Instagram, received many supportive comments on her post.
“We are overwhelmed with gratitude by your outpouring of love for us and faith for Olive. Jesus is Faithful and True and He’s riding in with the victory He bought for Olive. Olive Alayne means “victorious awakening”. We call on the mighty all-sufficient name of Jesus and we call you back by name, sweet girl,” Kailey wrote the day after the original post.
There were others on Instagram, though, who felt that Kailey’s post was “irresponsible.”
“If he called Olive to his side, then that’s that. I’m sorry for the loss her family is experiencing, but they’ll see her again when God calls them home. It’s past the time to pray for Olive, and time to pray for those she leaves behind,” said one commenter.
A representative from Bethel spoke with USA Today, telling the outlet, “There are references to resurrection in the Bible, and we believe that with God, nothing is impossible, even things like resurrection. Although at Bethel, this is the first public gathering of prayer for resurrection that I have seen in the over 10 years I’ve attended the church.”