The verse that means the most to me is Romans 8.28

My Bible: reasons to believe in the power of the Bible

'The verse that means the most to me is Romans 8.28. It says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose”. I see it as a special promise that God will work for good through the obviously good things and also through the bad things.

It’s a verse I always turn to when things go badly. In the 1980s, my mother was diagnosed with cancer aged 64. I began to claim this verse and say to God, “She’s my mother and you have promised to work for good through all things, so I’m counting on you to work for good through this.” I must have prayed this on a daily basis. I’d always known her as an atheist. Then, out of the blue, she asked if she could come to evensong.

She came whenever she could. Eventually, she died after six years of cancer. She died at 6.30pm on a Sunday night, the same time that she would have been worshipping at evensong, only she was worshipping more closely now.

It still makes me emotional to think about it. She came to a loving faith and had a peace that she had never had in the previous 64 years. She wasn’t sucking up to God before she died. It was a God-given peace. That verse gave me a sense that God was in control.'

Do you have a story to share? Email [email protected]