Healing A Muslim

I looked at the registration sheet in the transfer packet. His religious preference indicated ISL; a follower of Islam.

My heart sank.

I thought, "there's no way he'll let me pray for him."

They were still copying records, so it would be a while before we could transport him to another hospital for dialysis and possible surgery. I went to his room to introduce myself.

Crammed into a room slightly larger than a closet I found Maurice, a man in his thirties with some big problems. After passing large amounts of blood in his bowel movements for three days, he reluctantly came to the emergency room. He'd managed to flush most of his blood volume down the toilet.

A normal red blood cell count (RBC) is between 4.5 and 5.5. His was 1.6. His hemoglobin and hematocrit were critical. The ER doc ordered a transfusion of 6 units of whole blood for starters.

Maurice was diagnosed with high blood pressure at 15. At the age of 18 he suffered his first stroke and spent 2 weeks in a coma. At 21, he developed kidney failure and learned about dialysis. My new friend had more medical problems than most men twice his age.

I explained my part in the continuing drama of his life. We chatted as I thought about how we would get him out of the tiny room and keep the lifeline attached to his neck from pulling out. An external jugular vein was the only IV access they could find.

Maurice was curious. The moment we got in the ambulance the questions began.

"Are the lights on?"

I said, "yes, but only on the left side, because people don't appreciate bright lights in their eyes."

"Not the inside ones, I mean the ones on the outside. Are the red lights on?"

I smiled and asked if he thought we needed them. He said, "I don't know, what do you think?"

I explained that we don't use red lights much between hospitals because most of the patients are stable. We talked about the benefit and risk of running red lights and siren. But I shared the story with him about the woman we transported earlier in the day who was in premature labor. "We don't like delivering babies in the ambulance."

"What's the difference between an EMT and a paramedic?"

I explained.

"What's the difference between a paramedic and a nurse?"

More explanations.

I really liked Maurice. He was a pleasant man in spite of his medical problems and he laughed at much of what I said. He didn't fit the stereotype of Muslims that I'd built in my mind. He was strangely....very much like me.

In explaining the differences between paramedics, EMT's and nurses, I told him that I was a little different from most medics because I saw patients healed in my ambulance.

With a puzzled look he delivered his next question, "what do you mean healed?"

I told him a few stories about patients who had been healed. Now he was even more curious.

"Can you do anything about my headache?"

I asked how bad it was. He said it was very painful, about 8/10. I told him I'd command it to leave. I placed my hand on his head and commanded the pain to leave in the name of Jesus. Then I asked how he felt.

"A little better"

I put my hand on his head again and commanded the pain to leave then asked how he felt.

"A lot better."

I did it one more time and he said, "It's gone...completely gone." He was smiling from ear to ear.

I said, "Jesus just healed you."

He said, "I only have one problem with Jesus. He was a good man and all, but he wasn't God. The bible even says no man has seen God at any time. But Jesus was seen by the multitudes."

I opted out of the argument and went for more healing. I told him God healed his headache because He loved him. The healing was proof of it. I told him that God could give him new kidneys, and heal his GI bleed and blood pressure. He let me continue praying.

I placed my hands on his abdomen and commanded the bleeding to stop and for his kidneys to be healed.

In the middle of praying it occurred to me to share the story about the visitation Bonnie Jones had where she was in a warehouse in heaven filled with spare body parts. She was told that the organs could be put in people on earth who needed new ones. When I was done declaring healing over him, he told me about what happened when he was in a coma for two weeks after the stroke.

"I want to tell you about this experience. When I was comatose for two weeks, I had a very strange thing happen to me. I was in some kind of warehouse and someone was with me. I didn't see them. I don't know who it was, but I felt comforted when I was with them. The one who was with me kept saying I would be OK. They said everything would work out. They told me my journey was not done. I had an assignment that must be completed."

We talked about the experience. I suggested that it was a near death experience like many that I'd read about and that the one who was with him was the Spirit of God. He didn't argue. Nothing in his knowledge of Islam could explain the experience. I told him a little bit about the Holy Spirit in the short time we had.

We arrived at our destination and moved him to his ICU bed. I gave report to the nurse and left out the fact that his headache was healed.

I learned so much on this transport. My view of Muslims was destroyed. I'm working on a new one. I realized they might be the perfect people to demonstrate healing with. They believe in God and they like prayer. They just have different interpretations of them.

What Maurice needed was someone to love as Jesus loves and heal as Jesus heals. We tend to believe that people of others beliefs have never had true spiritual experiences or encounters with God. My new friend had a profound heavenly experience most of us will never have, this side of heaven. What he needed was someone he trusted to give him an interpretation of it.

Two days after transporting Maurice, I went to the ICU to check up on him. He gave me permission to tell his story, but we agreed to change his name. We talked for quite a while and laughed a lot. He allowed me to pray for healing of his kidneys again. When I asked what the doctors found on examining him for bleeding, he told me that they ordered all the usual tests - both endoscopy and abdominal scans and found no signs of bleeding. The only reasonable conclusion is that Jesus healed him.

Bay Of Holy Spirit Update 4

This is the fourth update on the continuing spiritual revival near Mobile, Alabama. The creative miracles of God from this outpouring are amazing. One woman who had her bladder destroyed by radiation therapy experienced a creative miracle and received a new bladder. Her physicians testified to the miracle. I hope you are blessed at the mighty work of God in this place.

The Healing Power of Listening

This message is an e-mail that I received from a new Facebook friend, Ravi Kapoor. I was so touched by this display of love, I asked if I might post it here and Ravi agreed. I hope you are blessed by what you read. Ravi's Facebook page can be found here.

One day I received a call from a woman who said her younger son is under deep depression and he has locked himself in a room and is not letting anyone in. I could feel the anxiety in her voice. This woman had got my phone number from a dear friend of mine who had shared about me and my ministry with her. The family desperately needed help and prayer. They wanted me to come in and do something about his son’s situation.

I said, sure I will be there soon. On reaching their house, I sensed the commotion. The parents told me that their son might get angry if he came to know they had called me to help him out. They were not believers. I asked them what their son was good at or was fond of. They told me that he was very good with the computer.

With much prayer, I knocked at his door and kept knocking and calling out his name. After persistent knocking and calling, the door finally creaked open. The young man, Rahul, looked at me warily. I told him that I was working for the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and was very interested in learning about computers. He looked at me, rather strangely. I told him that I had heard he was quite gifted in computers and I needed his help. At first he said, I am not free. I told him that I could come another day but then I really needed his help. I reminded him that to get someone as good as he was quite difficult and therefore my urgency. I explained to him that I have been trying to meet him despite his parents telling me that it was not possible to see him. As soon as he heard me say this, he felt needed and asked me to come another day. I came away praising the Lord!

I know I had to tell a lie to meet with this young man. I had to know first what his interests were and then attempt at encouraging him by appreciating his gifts. There was no other way that I could connect with him. He would definitely not been open to counseling or prayer. So how does one get through?

I met him the next day and saw the amazing work he had done on his computer. I appreciated him very much and he loved it. I saw that he needed appreciation since he felt so rejected. I asked him to teach me and he began to teach me. I really had no interest in computers and was finding it difficult to understand since my mind was not on computers. However, I continued to visit him and learn from him. I just wanted to build friendship with him and wanted somehow to get the message across to him that that I cared about him. During those few days of my visit I never once told him about God and His love or my testimony or anything related to Bible. I just spent time with him. I let him get acquainted with me. I just spoke words of encouragement to him.

I was simply trying to get to know Rahul.

Loneliness
After a few days, in the middle of our conversation, I looked at him and said that he looked very lonely. Hearing me say that brought blobs of tears from his eyes. He was so moved that he asked, “how could you see it?” “Yes, I am very lonely and I have no friend” he explained. I asked if I could be his friend. He wept and said, “yes you can be my friend”

I could see the hand of the Lord. The Lord had worked in his heart and prepared his heart to open and share his loneliness and pain with me. He told me how he had gone through rejection. He went on to share about his deepest hurts and wounds. When he finished speaking I sat in silence, knowing I had no great words to offer. After sharing about his pain, he became quiet. We both sat in silence for few minutes. Then, Rahul began to cry. I sat with him, keeping company in his tears, and still said nothing. After few minutes passed, Rahul said, "I have kept all my pain and hurt deep inside my heart and this is the first time I've cried along with someone. I could never be myself with anyone" And with tears he said, ““You've helped me so much. You touched me so much. Thank you, thank you."

The silence had changed something for him. In my ministry I make it a point to listen to people. There are times I say nothing but inwardly I will be praying for the person. I simply listen to what they have to say and let the Lord speak to them.

I love the words of the author Bonnie Grove, “There are astounding lessons to be learned from the act of listening. I have learned that listening is an act of love. It is not passive; it is intentional, engaging with the heart and mind of another person. To listen you must turn off all outside distractions; say "no" to the world rushing by you. A sacred act of deliberate silence and meaningful pause, listening helps people clear a space in their life, heart, and mind in order to simply "be." Our listening is an important gift. I am learning to make it my first response. Through listening I want to provide the stillness God speaks into.”

The words of Henri Nouwen come as another reminder, “True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is paying full attention to others and welcoming them into our very beings. The beauty of listening is that those who are listened to start feeling accepted, start taking their words more seriously and discovering their true selves. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully and even dare to be silent with you.”

That's the ministry the Lord has trained me for. To be a listener. Henri Nouwen said, “The Spirit of Jesus in us listens in us to all who come to us with their sufferings and pains.”

A New Friendship
I saw true healing occur when I attentively listened to Rahul and sat in silence with him. I was fully present with him. All I say to a friend in deep pain is, “I AM HERE WITH YOU, YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I UNDERSTAND YOU AND YOUR DEEP HURT AND PAIN. I AM HERE PRAYING FOR YOU.”

There began a friendship with him. Rahul was so touched by my love and care for him. I had yet to tell him that this is the love of Christ that accepts, understands, listens, heals and satisfies. I checked what food Rahul is fond of and I used to call him out for lunch and make him happy by whatever he enjoyed. Rahul would call me and ask if he could meet me. Even though I would be far in some area busily ministering to someone, he would insist, “I will come wherever you are. Distance does not matter. I want to see you.” And he would travel far to see me and just BE WITH ME. He was a person who had isolated himself, not seeing anyone but now He began to look forward to seeing me and spending time with me.

In the beginning this young man was not willing to open the door and talk to me and now he loves to spend time with me. How did this happen. It’s HIS LOVE that can penetrate any and every heart. He has the key to all hearts and we need to be available for Him to work through us. Love is very powerful and it will melt every heart." We are to BE His love, GIVE His love, LIVE His love..." like Kathy Troccoli says.

There are many times when we fail to love, when we fail to care about the ones God brings on our way. We tend to be super spiritual, ready to give our advice, impatient, ready to judge and not be people who would listen to the ones who are deeply hurt and wounded. They just want us to be with them. Listening to them. That's what I do and love to do. I hardly speak to the ones in deep pain...I have no explanations.

Henri Nouwen said, “True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept. Listening is a form of spiritual hospitality by which you invite strangers to become friends, to get to know their inner selves more fully and even dare to be silent with you.”

In one of their books, authors Dee Brestin and Kathy Troccoli say, 'If the church were a heart, its current failure to love is like a massive heart attack. We, as arteries, get clogged with judgment, hate, pride and gossip. How can His lifeblood flow through us toward each other, let alone into a world so desperate for the love of Christ?'

The Night of Depression

I remember, one night at 2 AM, Rahul was undergoing deep depression and I got a call from him and he said “I am much depressed and I can’t take it anymore so I have decided to die. I feel very lonely. No one loves me. I am good for nothing. I don’t want to live anymore. I thought I would speak to you before dying and now I can die.”

I told him, Rahul, the Lord Jesus loves you. You are precious in His sight. He has carved you in the palm of his hands. He replied, “I am tired and I don't want to live.” I could sense he was at the end of his rope. I tried all I could to encourage him. I told him how deeply I loved him and how dear he is to my heart and asked him not to take this decision of committing suicide. He refused to listen. I kept praying asking God to give me words as I spoke to him and God to touch his heart in a way He alone can. After a long conversation, I saw he was not willing to listen. I told him that he can go ahead with his plan and I will not stop him but I asked if he loves me and he said, “I do”, “You know brother I do love you. You mean so much to me and that’s why I am calling you. I asked him if he could do me a favor before dying. He said, I will.

I told him that I wanted to meet him only once and after I do then he can go ahead with his plan of dying. He said, 'ok'. I told him I would be visiting his house in the early hours of morning and spend just few moments with him, after which he can go ahead. He said,'ok'

Saved From Suicide
I thanked the Lord for this and prayed with much burden and tears for Rahul the rest of the night. Early morning I went to see him and he cried and cried on seeing me. I allowed those tears to flow. I too cried with him. I said nothing. I was just with him and the Spirit of God touched him and brought healing and deliverance. The Lord rescued him from the spirit of death. I asked him what had happened to him at night and why he was talking like that. He shared that he was so down and felt so helpless and hopeless. One thing that he spoke touched me. He said, “you told me brother that you are there for me and you always understand how I feel and to share my heart with you. You will always accept me as I am so I thought before dying, let me call you and share my heart and tell my brother how hopeless I feel and then I will die.”

I was happy and I told him that he can be honest with me and share whatever he felt. I encouraged him, “I will understand and will be there for you. To accept, care, encourage and lift you.”

People are hurting and they have no one to open up and share their hurt. No one they can trust with what they feel and our struggling with. And Satan takes advantage and traps such hurting and depressed people and they lose control and give in to Satan's plans.

We as believers in Christ should be there for others and speak words of encouragement to them in their hour of need.

I believe when we show purity of love, it is hard to resist. I just wanted Rahul to sense and know I cared for him. I was just by his side. And I think my presence with him brought healing and gave him comfort. The Lord touched him and made all things new.

I read these words somewhere, “Sometimes we give our thoughts on salvation and that's good cause we want the person to know about the Savior who alone can make all the difference. But if we don't care about the person’s state of mind and heart and be wise as to what to speak and allow the Lord to work.”

I have seen in my experience with many people that we will get a lot of respect when we really show we care and we really listen. The more we love our brother, the more we will show His mercy.

I loved Rahul and my love for him made me to speak to him for a long time over the phone at midnight. I forgot my sleep. I prayed the rest of the night for him, knowing when I see him in the morning; the Lord would have worked in his heart. We are to have His love and be His love. It’s easy to speak few words of encouragement and then pray over him on the phone and go to sleep, knowing one has done what was required. But it is difficult to be His love cause to be His love; one gets involved, burdened and doesn’t think of sleep, one's comfort but the other person in pain. I wanted to reflect the heart of Jesus to Rahul.

One is so filled with His love to not let the person go without making a difference. If I had just spoken a few words and prayed for him over the phone and then slept off, I believe the next morning I would have got the news that Rahul committed suicide. Love sacrifices and if we have His love, we will sacrifice our comfort and make a difference. God has brought Rahul on my way and if I am not able to help him out, there is surely something wrong with me.

God brings people on my way and I just love on them. Jesus said, “Love one another as I have loved you” John 15:12. I pray that we may live lives full of the love of Jesus.

I love the words of Kathy Troccoli when she says, “We must not settle. We have access to His power. We can continually drink from the river of His love. Why don't we take advantage of this? He will take us to higher and greater places if we would trust Him to do so and make ourselves available to Him.'

Praise God, I could share with Rahul about the One, who loved him so much that He gave Himself for him on the Cross. Rahul accepted the Lord Jesus as his savior and today Rahul is a new creation in Christ Jesus, old things are passed away. Behold all things are new. I led him to a church, where he faithfully fellowships and God has blessed him with a good job and he is happy and joyful in Him.

Yay God!

In this video Todd White is on the streets, healing and loving people into the kingdom of God.

The Kingdom of God Revealed - A Dream

I've been a Christian for a little over 10 years. In that time, I've learned a great deal about the church. But only recently have I understood anything about the kingdom of God. I've been asking the Lord to show me this mysterious kingdom I read about in the bible. Lately, I've been having dreams in which God has been illustrating different parts of the kingdom. Some of those dreams have become notes. It's always hard to know who to tag in a note, because I write on different subjects. There is a feature you can use to subscribe to anyone's notes, if you wish. Click the blue button under 'subscribe' in the left hand column next to a note and you'll be notified when that person publishes a note.

I had a rather profound dream about the kingdom of God last night. I wanted to share it with you.

In the dream I watched as different people experienced the kingdom of God. I was one of them. The first person I saw was a friend named Pete. He was living as a drug addict, heavily involved in criminal activity. His life was one of watching for the police everywhere he went and living in fear of being arrested. He lived to have his own selfish desires met. It was a life of fear, selfishness and using others. He didn't make a positive impact on a single person. He had no rest and no freedom. It seemed like a miserable life.

Then I saw him enter the kingdom of God. He was dressed in a uniform, sitting on a stool at the opening in a wall. The wall separated a prison and the kingdom of God. The opening was a like a gate, without a door. It was about 4 feet wide. Pete was a guard. He got up and walked around in the kingdom which seemed like an endless expanse as far as I could see. He was exploring this new place. He looked for familiar things like what he experienced in the world but found nothing like those experience.

There was no crime or drugs and no police. Everywhere he went he experienced freedom. He could walk anywhere he wanted and there was no fear or guilt. He was never afraid of getting caught doing something wrong – nothing wrong ever happened in the kingdom. All his needs were met and he was filled with peace. He met the Father who had only good things to say about him. The Father provided everything he needed in the kingdom. Pete went back to the stool and sat at the gate. His new position was to tell anyone who asked how they could enter the kingdom. His life was profoundly changed by his experience. Although the daily problems of his life didn’t immediately disappear, Pete began living from the reality he experienced in the kingdom. The freedom and acceptance he found in the kingdom allowed him to live free in the world. He never lived in fear of anything again.

I was also in the dream. In the world I was looking for acceptance and to be understood by others. I sought popularity and wanted people to like me. That was until I entered the kingdom. In the kingdom, I found immediate acceptance. Everyone I met seemed to instantly understand me. Even more amazing was the fact that they all liked me. I had no enemies and there was nobody I didn't get along with. I never argued with anyone. I made friends everywhere I went. When I met the Father, I encountered absolute acceptance and love. He had an endless list of wonderful things to say about me. I was the apple of His eye. Everything I did was perfect in His sight. He could not be more proud of me. This experience profoundly changed how I lived in the world. I no longer went around seeking acceptance from others. I lived from the reality I had experienced in the kingdom and never again wondered if I was good enough.

Another person appeared in the dream. I don't recall who this person was, but they seemed to be another friend, who lived with the fear of never having enough money. Although they had a good job and invested their money wisely, they lived with a nagging fear of poverty. Thoughts about earning and saving money plagued them continually. This person also entered the kingdom of God.

In the kingdom, they traveled from place to place. Money was the last thing anyone worried about. In fact, there were no worries of any kind in the kingdom. Citizens of the kingdom had piles of cash. My friend found that they could easily get as much money as they wanted from any stranger on the street. Nobody hoarded money. No one cared how much they had or how much they gave away. There was abundance for everyone. This experience in the kingdom profoundly changed the way he lived from that time forward. Experiencing the provision of heaven and knowing that God’s economy never lacked resources, gave him a freedom with money he never thought possible. Their fear of poverty instantly vanished. He began living from the reality he experienced in the kingdom and began to give abundantly with gladness.

I hope you're encouraged by this dream. The kingdom of God is within and around you. I hope we will all live from the unseen reality of God's eternal kingdom.

Lou Gehrig's Disease Healed

This testimony was published on the Christian Healing Ministries website. Go here for the original story.

Often we are asked whether we have ever seen certain very serious illnesses healed, such as Down’s Syndrome (we do know of one). One of the sicknesses we are asked about is ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Back in 1977 our team prayed in Toledo, Ohio, for a woman who has ALS and she was notably improved, although not totally healed, in the two days’ time our teams prayed with her, but, so far as we know, she was not totally healed. (If you wish to see what happened to her, her partial healing is captured on our video “The Healing Ministry in the Church.”)

Well, finally, I met a man who has been healed of ALS. His name is Don Jaeger (from Winter Park, FL), and he was kind enough to write out a description of his healing from which I take the following salient points. During the summer of 1992 he was diagnosed with ALS, which is ordinarily fatal and whose downward progress is steady and irretrievable. (Two of the top experts in central Florida, an EMG specialist and a neurologist, agreed upon the diagnosis.) Then Don went to hear Canon Jim Glennon (author of Your Healing is Within You) and came to believe in Jesus’ healing him of ALS. They prayed for him at his church and he had his first religious experience – a warmness and peace – that convinced him that he would be cured. He continued to seek medical counsel and physical therapy, as well as attending weekly healing services at his church.

During this time, he continued to believe that he was being healed, and, while waiting in a neurologist’s office, he received what he felt was an irrefutable sign that he was healed when he became very warm and a “total encompassing, utter peace came over my body.”

A month later, he asked for a sign that he had been cured and that time would prove it. He was at his physical therapy session, and they asked him to lift some weight with only his lower legs to establish a base-line for further exercises. With his lower leg weakened through muscular atrophy, and with absolutely “no strain, or hanging on the handles, I lifted the maximum weight of 220 pounds. This word flew all over the center.”

Later he went to the Cleveland Clinic, one of the best hospitals in the U.S. specializing in ALS. The doctors there put him through three hours of tests and one said, “The people in Florida may not believe me, but I see over 150 cases of ALS a year and you show no signs of ever having had ALS.” Don then threw away his brace and went snow skiing. “As a reminder of my illness, I still have a weakness and pain in my left leg and right hand.” After his healing he dealt with fear that the ALS would return but “through God’s help I no longer have that fear.” So, praise God, this is the first report I have ever received on the healing of ALS. (Don says he knows of another man who was also healed of ALS.)

Shoulder Healed Through Forgiveness

This is the testimony of a young woman who was healed of chronic shoulder pain. She was healed several times, but the pain kept returning. While in the healing rooms at Bethel church, it was suggested that unforgiveness was the cause. After forgiving her coach and releasing the bitterness she was holding onto, she was healed and the pain hasn't returned. I had the same experience myself a year ago. When a person is healed, only to have the condition come back repeatedly, it may be helpful to explore these types of issues.

Healing For a Co-worker II

On a day when my regular partner took a sick day, I worked with someone I didn't know very well. Cindy (not her real name or picture) and I were having a slow day. We were five hours into the shift and hadn't run a call. We talked about a lot of different things. One of my favorite things to talk about?

Dreams.

I shared a few of the crazy dreams I've had about healing people. One of the latest was a dream in which I transported someone from a car accident. My patient had severe crush injuries. Although, I'd never do it in real life, I didn't provide any medical care for this patient. By the time we got to the hospital, all his injuries were healed. I didn't even pray for him. It was the presence of God in the ambulance that healed him.

I know - crazy dream, huh?

The subject of healing dreams led to the subject of healing itself. I told her some of the stories I'd seen of people being healed. That prompted her to tell me about the car accident she was in a few years ago that left her with chronic pain between her shoulder blades, even after physical therapy.

In healing, it's always helpful to build a bridge of understanding before asking the person if they want to be healed. It took several hours, but I gained her trust and when I asked if she wanted to be healed she was comfortable having me pray for her. I explained the process then put my hand on her back and commanded it to be healed.

And it was.

We talked the rest of the shift about healing and the things God has been doing in my life. I didn't preach at her or ask her to say the sinner's prayer. I didn't feel the Holy Spirit leading us in that direction. It was a low - key afternoon of simple conversations about everyday life. It just so happens that my everyday life is a little more supernatural than it once was. In getting her healed, I opened the door to the kingdom of God. It's her choice to decide if she's ready to go in. Perhaps she will. Maybe she won't. The Holy Spirit is more than able to guide her if she's ready.

I'm gradually coming to the awareness that I'm a role model for others. I'll confess I'm a little uncomfortable with that. I've been comfortable as a student thus far. But now people are asking me the questions. I'm being asked to demonstrate healing for others and to consider teaching classes. Like it or not, when we operate in some type of calling whether traditional medicine, divine healing or something else, we naturally become role models.

If we are to be role models in healing, perhaps healing should become a lifestyle. It certainly was the lifestyle of Jesus. He knew it would take a consistent demonstration of healing if His disciples were to believe they could also do it. I don't think anything is different today. For others to believe they can heal the sick, some of us need to make it our lifestyle.

It seems like people are catching on to healing and that's good. It shouldn't be about one person doing something unusual. Healing should be a common thing practiced by many of us. At some point in the future it should become the norm.

My desire is to see more people healed on the job. That's one of the reasons for writing these stories. It's going to require more of us to leave the safety of the boat and walk out on the water. I hope you'll take a step of faith and heal someone today. If you do, send me an e-mail.

We'd love to hear your story.

This week I ran into her and asked how she felt. It's been two months since she was healed and the pain has not returned.

Freeing The Prisoners

I've been turned down more in recent days when I ask people on the street if I can pray for them. The funny thing is - the people who don't want me to pray for them are often Christians. They usually tell me about the church they go to then offer a reason why they don't need my prayers. I've decided not to engage in debates. I don't try to convince them to let me pray with them. I smile and continue looking for people who want to be free.

I'm not as discouraged as I once was. It used to be more painful to be rejected, but I'm gradually accepting the fact that some people are comfortable with their pain, sickness, fear or whatever imprisons them. They've made a choice and I need to honor it. Apparently, God knew I was feeling a little rejected yesterday, so He gave me a dream last night to help illustrate the reality of His kingdom.

In the dream I was traveling to different locations. My job was to facilitate the closure of prisons. People in the areas I went to had voted to close certain prisons and to let the prisoners go free. My job was to make sure the prisons closed on time without any problems. I was a representative who had been given the authority to close the prisons. I went to many different prisons and helped in the process of of getting them closed.

Near the end of the dream, I went to one prison and asked if it was to be closed. I was told that I had no authority to close that one yet, because the people had not yet voted to close it. This was the end of the dream.

I asked God to help me understand the dream. Here's what I heard:

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me,
Because the LORD has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
(Isaiah 61:1 - See also Luke 4:18)

God has been speaking with me lately about freedom; specifically about our choices and His decision not to overrule them. As an evangelical I was often taught about the sovereignty of God. I've leaned hard on this idea over the years, but I'm finding lately that the more I lean on it, the more it seems to be failing me.

The Old Testament often uses the title "Sovereign Lord." It was brought to my attention that this name was previously translated, "Lord Almighty". I hate long debates about theology, so I'll get to the point: I think many of us (myself included) have a faulty belief about the sovereignty of God. I've been under the impression that God always does whatever He wants, with little or no regard to what humans want. I think this belief is wrong.

I believe God is all powerful; that is to say He has the ability or power to do anything He wants. But I believe He honors the will of man much more than I've been comfortable with.

In my dream about closing prisons, a group of people had not yet voted to close a prison. Their decision was to keep it. And their decision had to be honored. Although God gave me authority as His representative to close some prisons and free the captives, that did not give me authority to overrule the free will of others. And this seems to be the main point God wants me to understand.

I've heard people teach that it's OK to cast demons out of people against their will. In studying the ministry of Jesus, I don't see that lived out. I'm often surprised at how low- key and unobtrusive the Lord was in ministering to people. He often simply asked, "What do you want from me?" In ministering to those oppressed by the enemy, Jesus first inquired, then gave according to what was asked for. He honored the desires and free will of others. Jesus didn't use His authority to violate the free will of those who were in bondage. He delivered those who wanted freedom.

In another recent dream, God spoke to me about having authority over all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) We do without question, have a great deal of authority in Christ. Using it properly seems to be the thing we struggle with. Perhaps the most common problem is not knowing the authority we have or not walking in it. Less common, but still problematic is choosing to wield our authority at a time when restraint might be the better thing.

Thanks for your time.

(Feel free to leave comments)

Bill Johnson on Healing

If you need a little motivation or encouragement to heal the sick and help destroy the kingdom of darkness. This might do the trick.

An Apointment With Healing

This is the testimony of a woman who suffered traumatic injuries from a fall while mountain climbing. (The story is told by her husband) Due to age and other risk factors, she was deemed ineligible for surgery. With no other options, they began looking for a divine healing appointment. Bill Johnson happened to be visiting their town for a healing seminar. Her husband made an appointment to bring her to the church the next day to be healed, and she was.

Healing For a Co -Worker

(Stock image - not the actual ambulance )

What does a believer do when a co-worker is injured on the job?

Here's what one person did:

Nine months ago one of our ambulances was involved in an accident while on a call. The truck was severely damaged. Both crew members suffered injuries and had to take time off work to recover. Tonight I was talking with one of them about healing. He's a believer like me, but he hasn't seen the miraculous healings that I have. He asked me what I do that's different from others who don't see consistent results when they pray.

I explained that I command healing instead of asking God for it. I pretended his wrist was injured and demonstrated my method on his wrist.

He reminded me about his injury from the ambulance crash last year. He said he still has back pain even though he went through physical therapy. I said, "Why don't we get your back healed and you can watch how I do it."

So there we were in a parking lot, surrounded by ambulances. Just a few blocks from a major hospital. All the high tech medical equipment and education in town couldn't take away his back pain. I commanded pain and inflammation to leave and discs, tendons, ligaments and muscles to be healed and bones to be aligned. And in a couple of minutes he was healed.

I followed up with him the week after I prayed and asked how his back was doing. He said it was great. He hiked the Skyline trail at Mt. Rainier the next day and has plans to climb to the summit.