I've waited two years to write this story.
My adventure down the rabbit hole began with a book written by a cardiologist who prayed for his patients and saw some miracles. I happened to pick up the book at a Goodwill store.
It challenged everything I believed about God.
Did God still heal people today?
Would He do it through me?
Would I have the guts to ask my patients?
Would they want me to pray for them?
Would He actually heal someone in the ambulance?
Would anyone be crazy enough to believe it really happened?
I've had so many dreams about healing people I've forgotten most of them. I've probably prayed for a thousand patients and haven't heard back from more than one or two. I've seen unexplained changes for the better in critically ill patients that made me wonder if God was healing them. But I can't say that one patient has been healed miraculously in the ambulance yet.
Today would be different.
We responded on what would be a boring call for most of us. A little old lady with the flu.
How exciting.
I suggested that there wasn't anything the hospital could do for her, but my objections were overruled. She was going with us. While loading her in the rig, I got her medical history. She was pretty healthy except for severe scoliosis, arthritis and a torn meniscus in her left knee. It was the torn meniscus got me excited.
About a month earlier, I prayed for a young woman at a grocery store who had the same problem. I saw her in a wheelchair leaving the store and asked if I could pray for her. After a few minutes of prayer she was healed. Having done it once, I believed my little old lady would be healed, too.
I told her about the healing at the store and asked if I could pray for her. She was delighted. She had limited range of motion in her left knee with severe pain when she flexed the joint. I had her relax and placed my hand on her knee and commanded it to be healed. I asked if she felt anything. She said it felt very warm. I didn't have to ask her to flex the knee, she did and her jaw dropped open. All she could say was "how did you do that?" She had full range of motion with no pain. She grabbed my hands and thanked me repeatedly. After a short celebration in the back of the rig, I asked about her back. She told me about the chronic back pain and that she used to be 4 inches taller than she is now. I asked if I could pray and she agreed, so I placed my hand on her back and commanded it to be healed. She felt heat going down her back. She was on the way to having that healed, too. She talked about the goodness of God all the way to the hospital.
About a hour after dropping her off at the emergency room, we responded for another little old lady who tripped and fell.
How exciting.
I instantly linked this woman. She had a beautiful Scottish brogue. I asked where she was from and she said, Glasgow. She gave us a sad history of a misdiagnosed injury to her left leg. She'd developed severe pain in her lower leg and was told she had shin splints. They never bothered to take an x-ray. She began physical therapy and the pain got worse. She had another exam and an x-ray they realized she had a fractured tibia. The pain in her lower leg and ankle was so bad she wouldn't let anyone touch it.
We got her loaded. I got down next to her and explained what happened on the previous transport. She was so glad to have me pray she almost kissed me. I placed my hand on her leg and invited the Holy Spirit to join us.
Her hands went up in the air immediately and she began praising God.
Very loudly...
In the ambulance....
I'm so glad my supervisor wasn't there.
In less than a minute the pain was almost gone. She said it was a 1 out of 10. I kept praying, thinking I could make it leave completely.
She kept praising God, louder and louder.
We dropped her off at the emergency room. I have no idea what she told them. I never want to find out.
So far in this little adventure, I've been keeping the healing thing a secret. (There hasn't been much to tell anyway) But if it keeps going like this, it won't be a secret for long.