Be warned, this is not my most polished writing (not like it is ever really polished). I am having to condense big stories into small paragraphs. Every one of these stories could be a chapter in a book. They involve real people, with real lives and backgrounds and struggles and hopes and fears. I wanted to write a blog where you can read the stories quickly without every question answered but maybe enough detail that you become hungry for more. Because with God, there is always more.
There was an unwed, pregnant teenager that was going to come to a Faith Church Sunday morning gathering. The first thing I thought when I heard that she was coming was that I was encouraged that she would feel safe coming to our church. I want Faith to be a place that does not shoot injured sheep, but restores sheep to the Father. I also knew the baby in her womb was in some trouble. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and the doctors were recommending either abortion or in-utero surgery. The former was unacceptable to the mother and the latter was dangerous to the baby. With only those two options, the surgery was scheduled for a week and a half later.
She asked me to pray for her baby. I did not know exactly what spina bifida is, so I googled it really quick before I started to pray. Google told me it was when the base of the spine was exposed, with no skin growing over it. I asked the mother to put her hand on her stomach and I put my hand over hers and I prayed. As I prayed one other person stood in agreement with my prayer for skin to grow over the base of the spine.
A week and a half the young woman went into prep for the in-utero surgery. They were getting the drip ready while they checked on the baby one last time. The ultrasound tech stopped her ultrasound and had to go grab the doctor. The two consulted and ultimately told the young woman that in-utero surgery was no longer necessary because the baby was no longer a candidate for it. The spine was no longer exposed, skin had grown over the area.
It is just like God to move on behalf of a young woman who may feel rejected and far from Him and bring her close with His love.
I had a couple approach me for prayer for their daughter. She had been having seizures for months. Some big, some smaller, and some even during our church gatherings. The doctors wanted to put her on anti-seizure medication and they would have to keep close tabs on her. Her parents joined me in prayer as I asked some questions of the girl and believed that God led my mind to a spiritual root. One Sunday morning after the service was over we prayed that seizures would stop and that God would completely heal her. The parents told me later that week that she had had more seizures. Undeterred I said that we would pray again the next Sunday. The next Sunday we prayed and prayed against the spiritual root and spoke healing over the young girl. Later that week other people in the church gave the parents of the girl some “words of knowledge” that lined up with what God had spoken to me (I had not talked to the other people). There was more prayer for this girl. Long story short, the young girl did not have to go on anti-seizure medication and has not had a seizure since.
About a month ago a woman in our church was going in for some diagnostic tests because the doctors believed she may have had a serious blood condition, and further tests to confirm the diagnosis. She asked me to pray against the blood condition. Without thinking about it too much, I asked her to put her hand on her stomach and I put my hand on her hand and my other hand on her back. I prayed against the blood condition and spoke healing over her. Unfortunately, that next week she told me that the blood condition was confirmed by the diagnostic tests. I am still partnering with her in prayer against this blood condition.
But then, last Sunday, at our Focus gathering where we looked at what the Bible taught on wholeness and healing, she wanted to give a testimony. She said that for weeks she been suffering, daily, from extreme acid reflux. There was extreme pain and burning in her esophagus. To her, and my surprise, ever since I prayed for the blood condition the acid reflux was gone. The acid reflux had been especially painful where I placed my hands during prayer when I prayed against the blood condition.
I really cannot explain that one!
I do not write this pump myself up, proclaim that I have a grand gift of healing, or make myself seem super spiritual. It is not just me. Others in our church have prayed and seen deaf ears opened, goiters disappear, edema swelling go down, and more. But those are their stories to tell. I only have my stories of God’s power and goodness.
You can have your stories. Just bring a mustard seed.
God shows up. God moves. God does the heavy lifting.
He is Jehovah Rapha.
He does this because He has compassion on His children. He does this because He responds to our faith. He does this because He wants us to know, through healing, that the Kingdom of God comes near to us even today.
This Sunday, March 21st at 6 PM I will be teaching on healing again at Faith Church. If you want to be prayed for for healing come. We will pray for anything from stubbed toes to cancer. Also, on Sunday there will be practical application, so if you do not need prayer at this time come if you want to learn how Jesus and his followers prayed for healing, how you can pray for healing, and how, maybe in a month or a year, you can write a blog like this one.
And if you see me at church, in Walmart, in a coffee shop, or if you have my number and text me, if you ask for prayer I will never say no.