Ravi Zacharias recovering 'well' after undergoing emergency spinal surgery
Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias is recovering “well” after undergoing “emergency” spinal repair surgery on Thursday, his wife has revealed.
“On behalf of Ravi and our family and team, we are truly overwhelmed and deeply grateful for your outpouring of concern, encouragement, and especially your prayers for Ravi’s spinal surgery today,” Margie Zacharias wrote on Twitter Thursday evening.
“Ravi is well and he is resting,” she continued. “The doctor anticipates his pain now will be from the surgery itself, and we are praying for relief and comfort as Ravi begins the recovery process. Thank you again for your love and your prayers. It all means so much. I know the Lord has been present in the OR today, and I pray that He will give Ravi the ability to handle what is ahead for the next several weeks.”
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On Wednesday, the 73-year-old head of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries revealed on his website that he has a history of serious back issues and to date has had two surgeries, the first of which resulted in 18 “good years” in which he said the Lord brought him comfort and strength.
“But over the last year, I have battled several flare-ups, and after my last trip to the Philippines and Sri Lanka, it’s a miracle I got home on my own two feet,” Zacharias wrote, adding that a recent CAT scan and MRI “showed no option but to go into a surgery immediately.”
“It’s time for a serious repair job that will take me off the road for close to eight weeks,” he shared. “The surgeon has said he will have to remove two of the screws that are loose and anchor my fractured sacrum in two places to the pelvis. That’s in lay language, but I have the best of doctors and surgeons who have loved this ministry and want to see me positioned for the distance.”
“The doctor has described it as an emergency, but he is equally confident of success,” he added.
The speaker and author said he will be recovering until the beginning of April and anticipates “some days of pain and struggle.”
“Ezekiel asks the question, ‘Can these dead bones live?’ The answer is a resounding ‘Yes’ as God breathes new life into them,” he concluded. “The Lord has never forsaken me and He is by my side. I am a blessed man. As I recover, I will pray, read, and write.”
On social media, a number of ministry leaders offered prayers and well-wishes for Zacharias, including Louie Giglio and Franklin Graham.
"Would you join me in prayer for our friend @RaviZacharias as he undergoes emergency spinal repair surgery tomorrow? I know he & his family would appreciate it," Graham tweeted.
Would you join me in prayer for our friend @RaviZacharias as he undergoes emergency spinal repair surgery tomorrow? I know he & his family would appreciate it. https://t.co/btFCNvIq6n
— Franklin Graham (@Franklin_Graham) February 19, 2020
Zacharias was scheduled to speak on Feb. 25 at the NRB 2020 Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. Taking his place that evening will be Abdu Murray, senior vice president of RZIM and host of the RZIM podcast The Defense Rests, and Jonathan Evans, managing director at The Urban Alternative and son of Dr. Tony Evans and the late Dr. Lois Evans.
“We will be in prayer for Ravi — before, during, and after the surgery — and we encourage others to do the same,” said Troy Miller, interim CEO of NRB.
