My Friend's Healing Testimony

I was blessed (and honored) to share an evening with a new friend named Tom who suffered from multiple sclerosis for many years. Five weeks after his wedding, he was having a normal day when he noticed his foot felt like pins and needles. A few days later the disease had spread to a point where it nearly incapacitated him. The onset was so rapid that his neurologist gave him little hope for survival. The disease progressed and He was confined to a wheelchair for many years.

All those years while he was in a wheelchair, God used him powerfully to release healing and miracles for others. He learned about healing and miracles from John Wimber and was one of the original members of the first Vineyard church in Phoenix. He went from one healing service to another and saw hundreds of people healed of every kind of disease. Yet each night he went home and wondered, "Lord, what about my healing?"

The Lord reminded him often, saying, "It's not about you."

During this man's time of sickness, God did an amazing work in his heart and healed him of the inner wounds he had received as a child. During this time, the Lord shaped and molded his identity. One day after a particularly awesome time of worship he confessed, "Lord, I love you so much that even if you never heal me... I will still love you more than anything."

That part of his story really struck me. I wonder how many of us who are waiting for our healing could honestly say the same thing. Is our passion for God greater than our desire to be healed? Is it about us, or is it really about Him?

One day he was sitting in a prayer meeting with a group of guys when they decided to pray for the body of Christ separately. They all went to different parts of the building. He was sitting in his chair praying for the church, when suddenly things got a little crazy. He began to feel something like electricity zapping him in the head and he felt something like warm, liquid honey being poured over him. The next thing you know, he was up running through the streets of town completely healed.

In a vision, God showed him a dam with a reservoir behind it. He saw water dripping ever so slowly into the reservoir. Every drop of water that fell brought the water level a little higher until finally, the dam broke. This is how the Lord portrayed his healing. "Every prayer ever prayed for you was like a drop of water in the reservoir. Each one made a difference. Not one prayer was wasted. Now I want you to thank everyone who ever prayed for you."

My new friend has a truly amazing testimony. I've never seen anyone who is so enamored with God. His enthusiasm is off the charts. But it wasn't always that way. He's been through hard times, just like you probably have.

I shared this story to encourage you not to give up on God. He has not given up on you and He never will. Let Him heal you of all the things you need healing from; both physical and emotional. Fall completely in love with Him and let Him show you the love that He has for you and if necessary, wait patiently for your healing to arrive.

Margaret's Miracle

Originally posted here on John Mellor's Facebook page.

Today, Julie and I caught up with Margaret Neely in Belfast. Margaret is a walking miracle.

For 9 years she was a housebound cripple in a wheelchair. Her spine had been shattered and she was told she'd never walk again. She heard about the miracles happening at my meetings in Scotland in 2000 when revival broke out. Something in her told her that she had to get to the meetings from her home in Northern Ireland.

It took Margaret from 4am in the morning to 7pm at night to travel on a ferry and in several disabled taxis to get to the meetings in Scotland. She had to confront many fears to get to the meetings, having not left her home in so long. I prayed for her many times on the first night she came, but nothing happened. I encouraged her not to give up and told her if she kept coming I'd keep praying for her.

The next weekend, she made the long trip from Belfast to Scotland again. Again, there was no change after prayer. However, Margaret witnessed many outstanding miracles at the meetings and I continued to encourage her to keep believing for and pursuing her miracle.

She came a third weekend, but again wasn't healed.

On the fourth weekend, when she arrived, God spoke to me and told me that Margaret would walk that night. Mid way through preaching, God prompted me to stop and pray for Margaret. I held her hands and said, 'In the name of Jesus, get up and walk.'

Margaret later testified that she felt heat down her spine and she got up out of her wheelchair and walked. It was an amazing miracle! Margaret's testimony is inspirational because it demonstrates that not all healing is instant. Very often there's a process involved. God often wants to touch and heal the heart and emotions first, and this was certainly the case with Margaret who had many traumas and abuses throughout her life that needed to be healed.

It may seem that God isn't doing anything at times, but He is often at work on things you can't see. It also often takes a level of desperation and an attitude to be open to working with God and applying His principles to get the miracle. 12 years after her miracle, Margaret is still walking and serves God by ministering to others.

God bless you Margaret!

10 Minutes

As we pushed the gurney to our next patient's room, I noticed an employee limping down the hall with an immobilizer on her foot. My partner went in the patient's room. I went on my mission.

I approached and introduced myself then asked the usual question.

"What happened to your foot?"

"Oh...I broke it".

"Have you had surgery yet?"

“I was hoping I wouldn't need surgery. The plan was for it to heal on its own. But it's been a slow process."

"Would you like to be healed right now?"

"I'd LOVE to be healed. What do you have in mind?"

“I’d like to pray with you.”

She lit up like a Christmas tree.

"Well, of course you can pray with me. I never say no to prayer!"

I bent down and laid my hand on the black plastic immobilizer and commanded spirit of pain to leave, for the Holy Spirit to bring His presence to touch her and for the ligaments, nerves, bones, tendons and muscles to be healed.

"Do you feel anything going on in your foot?"

"No...not really."

I would normally pray a second and third time if nothing happened the first time, but I was short on time. I had to get to my patient. I suggested that she might notice her healing in a little while. She thanked me and I went to get my patient.

Our patient was a quadriplegic with a tracheostomy. He had a lot of things going along that had to be bagged so getting him ready took about 10 minutes. Once everything was on the gurney, we headed for the elevator.

On the way to the elevator, I saw the woman with the immobilizer again. She looked at me as I passed by and said, "What did you do to me? My foot feels great!"

I asked her to test it out and see if there was any pain at all. There wasn't. She was completely healed. And utterly stunned.

I gave her some basic instruction on how to keep her healing. She asked for my name. She was going to call my supervisor and tell him how nice it is that we allow our employees to pray with people.

That's right. While this kind of activity might get you sacked in the UK, we Yanks are blessed to have the freedom to pray on the job and at times even be commended for it.

I'd like to leave you with a word of encouragement and a challenge.

I could have assumed that this woman was not going to be healed, because nothing happened after I prayed with her. But 10 minutes later, she was completely healed. Don't develop the habit of thinking that people aren't healed, just because you don’t see an immediate change. This kind of thing happens quite often. Often enough that I sometimes tell people, "You may not feel anything now, but you will later."

I'd like to put out a challenge to you. The next time you see someone at work hobbling along with some type of injury - offer to pray with them and let me know what happens.

-till then.