After trying to dismiss it, I walked over to the man, whose name was Larry, and asked what happened to him that put him in the wheelchair. He said he had dystonia, and explained that he has poor control of his muscles. I told him that God asked me to come over and pray for him, but that I was trying to argue with God about it. Larry said “You shouldn’t argue with God, you might cheat someone out of their blessing.” I said, “Yeah, I know, people keep telling me that”. I asked if I could pray for him and he agreed.
I don’t know why, but I always close my eyes when I pray. Don’t ask me to pray for you when I’m driving. After we prayed, he stood up. I didn’t expect that. No, it wasn’t a miraculous healing (yet). He was able to stand before we prayed, but with difficulty. He wanted to check to see if his condition was any better. He said he was a little better. I’ve never done this next part, but I said “how much better are you?” He said, “I don’t know, but I’m not as bad as I usually am.” So I said, “OK, let’s pray again.” I’ve never asked someone to check their healing status after praying for them either, but I think Larry’s been down this road before. It seemed like he knew what to do.
We prayed again, I think I had more faith the second time. Unfortunately, I couldn’t stick around to see the results; it was time for me to leave. He thanked me for being brave enough to pray with him and I wished him well. One of these days I’m going to stay long enough to know someone I prayed for was completely healed. I can’t wait to write that story. A couple of nights ago, My wife and I watched a video of Todd White doing his thing healing dozens of people. It gave my faith a much-needed boost. When I went to bed I felt like I could go out and pray for anyone and expect them to be healed. I didn’t feel quite as confident when I was faced with a man in a wheelchair today.
A few days ago I was at Safeway. As I stood in the check-out line I closed my eyes and saw an image of the woman in front of me, who worked in the bakery. Then I saw the word “headaches”. I’ve done this enough times now, so I walked over to the bakery. I motioned for her to come over and when she got within a few feet I asked if she wanted to tell me about her headaches. As usual, she was shocked and asked how I knew about them. I said, “God told me, and he doesn’t want you to have them anymore, He wants you to be healed from them.” Tears of joy began flowing down her cheeks as she explained how bad they were and how often she had them. She told me about the conversation she had with God that morning. We prayed and we both cried. I told her I’d come back some time to check up on her.
Yesterday, I was at Walmart. God seemed to tell me I was to pray for a boy, about 8 years old in a wheelchair. He had a tracheostomy and was on a portable ventilator. His name was Sam. I waited for him and his mother to get through the check out line then I approached them. After introducing myself, I asked if I could pray for him. His mom said, “sure.” I prayed for him and spent a few minutes talking with them afterward, then I left. I didn’t see a miracle.
When we are praying and asking for healing, I think it’s easy to be intimidated by equipment. Many people don’t have the faith to expect someone in a wheelchair to get up and walk. Try going to an ICU and praying with boldness for someone in a coma with a lot of IV lines and monitoring equipment attached. John Wimber said that hospitals are possibly the hardest place to pray for healing. His faith seemed to wilt every time he entered one. It’s encouraging when I realize that the hospital is where God asked me to begin. I’m starting in a place others wouldn’t. No doubt, God knows something about my future that I haven’t found out yet. My faith isn’t where it needs to be. I have the task of overcoming 47 years of skepticism and doubt and that doesn’t happen overnight but I’m gradually getting there. It helps watching other people Like Todd White at work. It builds faith. It also helps to be obedient when God speaks – He’ll always do what He says. I think I still need some more work in that part of my life .
Below is a link to a short video of Todd White on the streets of Phoenix, healing a group of young women and demonstrating God's love.
http://www.xpmedia.com/lqqwqovSVahW
