Ninety Minutes With Mary

"Help me, doctor. I don't feel good."

"I know you don't feel good, Mary. That's why we're at the hospital."

"Doctor...I'm in a lot of pain. You gotta help me."

"I'm sorry Mary. I know you're in pain."

"You don't know, doctor. You have no idea how bad it hurts."

We arrived and took our place in line behind another crew at the registration desk. As we waited in the emergency room hallway for a bed, Mary struggled to get off the gurney. In her weakened condition it was easy to resist her attempt with one hand. She quickly gave up.

I've been haunted by memories of Mary for a month now. Images of her thin, emaciated body seem forever etched in my mind. It's easy to forget most patients if you try. But not Mary. We picked her up at a mental health unit where she'd been vomiting coffee-ground emesis for two days.

Her hospital gown seemed to wrap around her gaunt frame for ever. I can't recall transporting anyone so malnourished. It wasn't just her size. It was everything.

Her eyes were dull and lifeless and she couldn't seem to focus on anything. When she spoke, her mouth barely moved. Her tongue was dry and cracked. Her lips were a sickly blue. Her matted hair looked as if it hadn't been washed in a month. Her fingers were bony with raw, cracked skin on her knuckles.

"I need to go home, honey."

"Mary, please lie on the bed and wait. They'll have a room for you soon."

"When? It's been so long. I can't wait any more."

"They'll have a bed soon."

"Honey, you gotta take me home, now. I don't feel good."

"Mary, please be patient."

"I hurt honey, real bad. My back hurts so bad. I need a pain pill."

"I'll ask the nurse to get you something for pain when they get you a bed."

The nurse's station was busy. It was shift change. I overheard one nurse tell her replacement that they'd been slammed with ambulances in the last hour and had no beds left.

When an uninvited guest comes to a party and there are no chairs left, one solution is to ignore them until someone leaves. We were the uninvited guest.

Mary's restlessness couldn't be soothed. Every few minutes she tried to get off the gurney or begged us to take her home. She was terribly confused, having no clue who we were or where she was. After a patient left the ER, the crew in front of us descended on the now vacant bed.

"Doctor.....I need a pain pill. I hurt real bad."

"I know you hurt Mary, and I'm sorry."

Closing my eyes, I laid my head on the rail of the gurney and prayed silently, commanding pain to leave. I felt absolutely useless, trapped in what seemed like a hopeless situation. "Holy Spirit, bring your peace upon her."

"You don't know, doctor. You don't know how bad I hurt. I can't stay here. I need to go home."

She tried to get off the gurney. I held her in place. Minutes seemed like hours.

A nurse came over and asked what her story was. I gave him what I had. He asked if she had an IV. I told him no. She was so dehydrated, that her veins were completely collapsed. My IV attempts failed. He brought an IV tray over to the gurney and tried to find a vein to draw blood from, but had no luck.

He was as frustrated as I was. He didn't like parking us in the hallway for an hour but there was nowhere else to put her. He had other things to take care of so he left.

I had nothing else to do but wait. After an hour in the hall, another crew arrived. It was the same crew that was waiting for a bed when we arrived.

"I need to go home, honey. I can't stay here."

"Mary, you're very sick. You need to stay in the hospital."

"No, honey....take me home. I can't stay here. My back hurts so bad."

 "I know you hurt Mary. The nurse will give you something for pain when we get you in a bed."

"You don't know. You don't know how bad it is. I need a pain pill."

Mary's cycle of confusion and my time of testing continued for another half hour until a room finally opened up. Ninety minutes after we arrived, we moved her to the bed and gave report.

I've heard of long ER waits in urban hospitals. Legend has it the wait can be as long as two or three hours. I can't imagine working in a system like that. I also can't imagine how Mary came to be in this condition living at a mental health hospital.

In just 90 minutes, Mary had the opportunity to test just about every aspect of my character. Patience, politeness, professionalism, compassion.....and my willingness to pray. I'll probably never forget her, though I wish I could.

In eternity, I'll re-live this event one more time. And I'll get a chance to see things through Mary's dull, unfocused eyes. In that day, everything will be clear and sharp. Every thought exposed. Every detail revealed. The motives and intentions of my heart laid bare.

I can't help but wonder what that will be like.

Adopting Monica

En route to the call I pulled out my phone and Googled the diagnosis we got from dispatch as my partner drove. I’d never heard of NDMA encephalopathy. Wikipedia said it’s a rare autoimmune disease, typically affecting young women, often associated with ovarian tumors. The onset is usually gradual, with altered mental status, seizures and eventually coma. The long term prognosis is good if properly diagnosed and treated.

Monica lay in bed, her facial muscles in a constant state of twitching. She was unable to respond to me. Her father and mother introduced themselves and began to tell me about her condition. Monica’s father is a paramedic instructor from a small town in Texas. They brought her to the Mayo hospital in Phoenix because it’s one of the only hospitals in the Southwest with the ability to diagnose and treat her condition.

As I shook hands with her mother, I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful necklace draped around her neck. Dangling from the necklace was a gold cross.

As people wandered in and out of the room, her nurse gave me report. From an envelope, she pulled a stack of papers that were stapled together and handed them to me.


"Here”, she said, “You need to give these to the people who will be taking care of her where she’s going”.

I asked what they were. She explained that for the past 4 months, all of her nurses in the ICU had been recording every significant event Monica had gone through. They took turns writing notes and compiled them into a journal to be kept with her during the course of her stay. As I read the notes, I smiled. They recorded all of her procedures, every seizure she had and every change in mental status.

I noticed that Monica’s finger nails were painted. It looked fresh. An attractive pink stripe pattern adorned each nail, except for the middle finger on her left hand, which was bare.

“Who did her nails?” I asked.

“We all did!” one of the nurses replied. The room had quickly filled with nurses, techs and others who wanted to see her off.

“I see you left one finger without polish…nice touch.”

“Of course....that’s for the pulse ox probe.”

Thick nail polish can impede the pulse oximitry sensor, which makes those annoying alarms go off. So it’s wise to remove the nail polish on one finger. They thought of everything. I can’t recall ever seeing a group of nurses who became so involved in the personal life of their patient. It was like they’d adopted her as a sister.

We carefully moved Monica to the gurney and got her covered and belted in for the trip. The loving people from Mayo bid her farewell as we rolled her to the elevator. Her mother was riding with us. Inside the ambulance, I handed her one of my cards and asked if I could pray for her daughter. She was overjoyed. “By all means, please do!”

I closed my eyes and placed my hand on her shoulder and declared life over her. I immediately saw in the spirit, Monica sitting up with her eyes open talking to her mother, as if nothing was wrong. I commanded sickness to leave and for her immune system to be healed. We both prayed for this lively young woman trapped in a broken body.

I told her mother what I saw and suggested that it probably indicated a good outcome. I shared with her some of the visions I’ve seen during prayer and a few of the dreams I’ve had about my patients.

She smiled and told me that the nurses at Mayo had been having dreams about Monica ever since she arrived. In the dreams, they would talk to her as if she was perfectly healthy. They believed the dreams indicated that she was able to understand everything they said, in spite of how things looked outwardly. They also believed that she would recover and have no long - term complications. The dreams were one reason why they had such a keen interest in Monica and why they treated her like a sister.

We arrived and transferred her to the bed. Her mother and I took turns giving report, but it didn’t take long. The nurses were familiar with Monica and her condition. She’d been admitted there for 8 days in February, but she became unstable and had to return to Mayo. They’d also fallen in love with her and anxiously waited for her return. As the nurses fawned over their newest patient and long lost friend, I washed my hands and quietly left the room.

I love the way that God orchestrates His plans; bringing strangers together to provide hope and healing through something as simple as a dream.

This call gave me hope for our healthcare system. It was refreshing to meet people who sincerely cared about their patient and all of her needs. I meet a lot of people who aren’t able to show genuine compassion. Because of that, many of the calls I go on don’t have a happy ending.

I seldom share those stories. I prefer to focus on the positive. Unfortunately, the sad stories far outnumber the happy ones. You don’t get a true cross section of the kind of things we see. And if I’m going to be transparent, I owe you an occasional glimpse at the darker side of the job.

The next story I’ll share will be quite different from this one.

- till then

Doctors Prayers Bring God’s Healing Presence

This message was originally published here.

A week ago yesterday, I went to visit my medical physician with the idea that I was going to let him know that I was being scheduled for back surgery the following day at a hospital near Philadelphia. After the doctor came in and we talked about my situation regarding issues with my back, I told him that my plan was to have this surgery done the following day. I asked him what he thought about that.

His response was very positive and supportive. He then asked me what I thought about it and how I was feeling about the fact that I was going to have back surgery the next day, knowing full well that this was something I did not want to do – that this was my absolute last resort.

I told him that I was feeling somewhat anxious about the whole thing. The nurse confirmed that my level of anxiety was high in that when she took my blood pressure, it was higher than it has probably ever been!

I sat on the examining table. My doctor sat on a stool in front of me. He looked up at me and said, “How about we pray about that? Why don’t we pray about your surgery tomorrow?” I said that would be great. Then he took my hands in his hands, got down on one knee and began to pray. I told him the name of the hospital and the name of my surgeon.

Then my doctor prayed in a very pastoral fashion – in a very heartfelt way – asking that God be present with me through the surgery and that the doctor would guide the surgeon’s hands (and he named my surgeon my name). He prayed that as a result of the operation, my body would respond in the best possible way by having this kind of work done to it. He prayed that there would be no infection of any kind and that I would heal as much as possible – that I would regain the strength and abilities I had in my life prior to having this back problem.

As this prayer ended, I had tears in my eyes. I was speechless. As he stood up, I hugged him and said, “Thank you so much for praying for me. I never in my whole life had a doctor pray for me. This is probably the most important time a doctor could have prayed for me given this surgery tomorrow.”

He was very humble about this whole thing. My doctor told me that he would see me in six weeks and was sure I’d be much better.

That evening I headed to Philadelphia. By 7 AM the next day, I was in the hospital and the surgeon came to my bedside. “How are you feeling? Are you ready to go?” he asked.

“I am feeling much better now than I was earlier this week. Something really special happened to me yesterday,” I began to say. “I told my doctor up home that I was having this operation and he almost immediately stopped and prayed for me, for you as my surgeon and for the whole situation that it would all work together for the good.”

My surgeon responded, “I am really glad to hear that. It’s not something that happens very much in the secular world any more. I did a lot of my training in religious institution. We always prayed before going into surgery – for the team that was doing the surgery and for the patient. It is unfortunate that it doesn’t happen much any more.”

I didn’t know what to say.

“I pray every day, he continued. “It’s nothing unusual for me. It’s part of my daily life.”

I asked him, “How about we pray before we go into this operation?”

“That would be great. That is a wonderful idea,” he said. “I know you are a pastor. Do you want to pray – or would you rather I pray?”

I said, “I would really like you to pray.”

“Fine,” he said. “I would be glad to pray for you.” With that, he took my hands, and bowed his head. He prayed in a similar fashion to my doctor back home. He prayed that God would guide his hands. He prayed for the surgical team. He prayed that my body would respond to the surgery in positive ways and that I would not have any infection afterward. He prayed that everything would work together for the good and that my ability to function be restored in as short a time as possible.

When he said, “Amen,” he opened eyes and smiled. “Well – are you ready?” he asked.

“Now I am ready, doctor! I couldn’t have said it as confidently before – but having you and my doctor at home pray for me I –truly feel that I am in God’s hands. I am ready to accept whatever happens to me as a result of this surgery.”

The anesthesiologist put a mask over my mouth and told me to breathe deeply and I was gone.

The next thing I knew, I was awake. The doctor told me that everything went well. “You should feel some relief in a few days. Make sure you walk a mile or two every day and then, I will see you again in two weeks.”

This morning I heard from my surgeon. I was walking as he instructed me – a mile or two every day and was several hundred feet away from home. My wife brought the portable phone outside to tell me that the surgeon was on the phone and wanted to speak with me. She told the doctor, “I can see him. He’s pretty far away. Do you want him to call you back?”

“I can wait,” said the doctor.

It took me a few minutes until I got to the phone and the doctor was still on the line. He asked me how I was doing. I told him that I thought I was doing well. Every day there seemed to be some improvement.

“Sounds like everything is on track as we expect it to be,” he said. “I will see you next week for our two-week scheduled appointment. Take good care of yourself and trust that this is all going to work for the good.”

I thanked him as sincerely as I could over the phone.

When I got off the phone, I said to my wife, “There is a lot more to healing than surgery. This phone call gave me another boost toward greater healing than had he not called. I realize I may never be cured in the sense that I will have the same mobility and lack of pain as I once did, but I do feel that through God’s guidance and the working of these people that I’ve been put in contact with, I feel like the Holy Spirit is healing me in a very special kind of way – not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually.”

This whole experience has been a lot more than just a pain in the back. It has been a significant part of my faith journey. I feel that I have been blessed by special physicians and that God has been with me throughout this whole experience. I am grateful to God and to the many people God has provided in my life – who prayed for me and who continue to do so.

Bone Cancer Healed In Singapore

This is the testimony of a woman from Singapore who was healed of bone cancer.

The Praying Nurse

Jayne came to work despite the nagging pain in her hip, back and neck. Nursing is her job. She loves what she does, even if the physical demands cause chronic pain.

We picked up our patient at a nursing home. She was a few days post-operative for abdominal surgery. After spending less than 24 hours at the nursing home, she developed an abscess to her abdominal wall and needed to go back to the hospital.

As we drove, I asked if I could pray with her. She said yes. I told her I just love to pray with people. I laid my hand on her shoulder and commanded inflammation, pain and spirits to flee. She was grateful I asked. We took her to her room and helped her transfer to the bed then I went looking for her nurse. It didn't take long. She actually found me.

I gave her my summary, "nothing happened on the way here."

"Great! Where do I sign?"

I handed her my clipboard and pointed to the signature box at the bottom.

Another nurse came to the desk and made a comment about her hip hurting.

"Do you want to be healed?" I asked.

"I love to be healed."

Looking at her ID badge, I saw that her name was Jayne.

"Cool. Do you mind if I pray for you?"

"Sure, that would be fine."

She came over and stood next to me, closed her eyes and put her hand out. If I didn't know better, I'd swear she'd been following me around. She knew a bit too much.

"How bad is the pain on a 1 to 10 scale?"

"It hurts pretty bad."

Okay. So on a scale from 1 to 10, how bad is it?"

I hated doing this and she felt foolish for not answering the question. Its our job to ask people to rate their pain on a scale from 1 to 10.

"It's about an 8".

Her hand was still outstretched. She was expecting me to hold it. I asked if I could put my hand on her hip, which she agreed to. I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and almost immediately felt Him draw near to us. I commanded the spirit of pain to leave then inflammation and commanded the bones and connective tissue to be healed.

What do you feel?"

She moved her hips around. "Wow, it doesn't hurt any more!"

She asked me to try her lower back which also hurt. I put my hand on her back, repeated the process and asked what she felt. She bent sideways to test her back and found that the pain was gone. Smiling, she asked if I could do her neck. I placed my hand on her neck and repeated the process again.

While praying over her neck, I closed my eyes and saw a vision of her raising her arms. I asked her to raise both arms as I commanded pain to leave. When I opened my eyes I saw another nurse standing next to Jayne with one hand on her shoulder. She was praying with me.

Inside, I saw stunned. I'd never had a nurse or doctor join me when praying for someone in a hospital. I thanked her for joining us. She smiled.

I asked Jayne to check out her neck. She moved her head around and said the pain was gone. We were both amazed. I looked around and realized the other nurse had disappeared.

I spent a few minutes teaching Jayne how to keep her healing and gave her two cards to the website. One for her and one for her friend.

Jayne - if you read this, we'd love to hear from you.

Faith in Motion; Praying for Kevin Lipscomb

This is an inspiring story of faith and love as a community interceded for a young man's life.

Keeping Our Healing

In the discussions that I’ve had with believers who heal the sick, there is much controversy over whether we need to keep our healing.

The controversy stems from the belief by some, that it is not necessary or even possible to 'maintain' healing that comes from God. They look at the bible and see no mention of the idea that people healed by Jesus had to maintain their healing. From this they conclude that it's neither necessary nor possible to do it. I respect this viewpoint and I won't criticize those who take this position. And since this issue isn't a major one, the position we hold is not essential.

In this message we'll look at what the bible says about whether we have a responsibility to keep our healing. I'll also share a dream that I had and we'll look at some personal experiences.

In the time that I've been involved in healing, I've met people who have experienced healing, only to have the symptoms return. I've also experienced this myself. So have many of my friends who are used by God to heal others.

Roger Sapp, who has prayed with over 25,000 people for healing, estimates that 25% of those who are healed experience a return of symptoms in a few days. The evidence seems to indicate that losing the effects of healing is a real phenomenon, even if we don't completely understand the mechanism of it.

The Big Picture
I'd like to take a big- picture view of healing and discuss some related issues, before looking at the issue of keeping our healing. There are four different perspectives or 'wills' we must take into account if we hope to understand the things that affect our healing. The first perspective is the will of God. We know that the will of God is that we would all be healed. (See my message titled The Biblical Basis For Healing). Jesus delivered and healed all who sought it. None were turned down. As long as they were willing to be healed, He was willing to heal them. If healing does not manifest, we should never assume that God doesn't want us healed. There are other things to consider that result in failed healing.

We must also consider the will of the enemy. Jesus said the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. (John 10:10) The will of the enemy toward us is sickness and death. One reason God would have us heal the sick and raise the dead is that the enemy is out to kill and destroy us.

Opposition from the enemy is what prevented the disciples from healing the boy who had a mute and deaf spirit and suffered from epilepsy. (See Matt 17:14-17 and Mark 9:17) One of the obstacles to healing is demonic opposition that has not been removed. Again - if healing does not manifest, don't assume God doesn't want the person to be healed. Consider the possibility that a demon is opposing the work of healing.

We must consider the will of family and friends and we must consider the will of the sick person as well. When a loved one becomes sick, one of our natural reactions is to want them healed. Knowing we have a commission to heal the sick, some of us spring into action and begin praying and commanding them to be healed. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't.

I recently received a prayer request from a friend who desired to have a relative healed. Before praying, I asked if they knew whether or not the sick person wanted to be healed. (She had not yet asked) The next day she wrote back, sadly informing me that this person, who is a Christian, is also a Baptist and did not believe in healing nor did he expect to be healed.

I've been presumptive in the past and tried to get people healed who didn't want to be healed and as you can guess, they weren't healed. God doesn't force healing on those who will not receive it. Another obstacle to healing is the fact that not everyone wants to receive it.

I should mention here that a person who is not able to communicate their desires toward healing, should be presumed to want healing - until you know otherwise. If a person is comatose I would proceed with healing, until evidence is presented that they are opposed to it.

Healing and Grace
Healing is sometimes a gradual process, like the rest of God’s work in our lives. From the first day we believe in Christ as our savior, changes begin to take place inside of us. Although we are immediately given the righteousness of God, our conduct doesn’t immediately become righteous. The transformation from rebellious sinner to obedient son or daughter is a process called sanctification. How quickly it happens is determined by our cooperation with the Spirit God as He works to change us into the heavenly image God has in mind. The more we resist the work of God's grace, the longer it takes. Over time, God’s grace transforms us into the image of His Son. The Apostle Paul said that salvation is an act of God's grace:

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith, not of works, that no one should boast.”(Eph. 2:8)

The word ‘saved’ in this verse is the Greek word σῴζω (sozo), which means to save, preserve, protect, heal or make whole. This verse shows that healing is one of the ways in which God’s grace operates in our lives. The work of God's grace, both in salvation and healing is a process that is being worked out as we cooperate with the Holy Spirit as Paul also told believers:

“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” (Phil 2:12-13)

Salvation, though it is immediately available to all who desire it, takes time to be brought to fulfillment. God's desire is to bring sanctification, but His grace can be resisted by us, delaying its completion. Healing, because it is also a work of grace, can be resisted in the same way. God’s grace toward us for healing is always available. We can obtain it immediately. But the changes in our body, spirit and soul can take time. God’s plan for healing can be resisted by both us and by the enemy, which may result in a delay or loss of our healing.

Some Christians have been taught that if we, as the ones praying, have the right kind of faith, people will not only be healed, but they will remain healed. They believe that a return of symptoms indicates weak faith on our part. They believe this because there is little mentioned in the bible about those who were healed having to maintain their healing. They see healing only as a product of their own faith and authority, which releases the power of God. They reject the idea that the sick person has any part in being healed or keeping their healing, putting all the responsibility for healing on the one who is praying.

I'd like to address the absence of biblical commentary on healing, but first let's look at the absence of biblical commentary on salvation, since salvation is more extensively covered in scripture and better understood by most of us.

The narrative passages in scripture tell us that people were added to the church at different times. An example is when approximately 3,000 were added to the church on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2:41) We know these people were 'saved'. But what isn't revealed is that all these believers who were saved on that day, would wrestle with the realities of their salvation for the rest of their lives. Some would wonder from time to time if they were really saved. Some would struggle with rebellion against God in different areas. Some may have even walked away from God before their death. The details of how their salvation was worked out are for the most part, absent.

For the same reason that many of the details of salvation are left out of the bible, the details of healing of various people is also missing. If these details would have been included, we may have read about some of the same things we experience today. The absence of details concerning people who were healed by Jesus and the disciples doesn't negate the possibility that they had the same problems we have.

If an evangelist preaches the gospel and a few of those who were saved do not manifest the realities of their salvation, do we blame the evangelist?

This is essentially the same question we have about keeping our healing - is it right (or even biblical) to believe that when people fail to manifest their healing, it is because the one who prayed with them failed to have enough faith to keep them healed?

For the same reason that it is not the responsibility of the evangelist to assure the the continued work of salvation in the believer, it not the responsibility of the healer to maintain the health of the one who is healed. The one who is healed must cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in bringing their healing to completion.

The Dream
The dream that I had was about people who were being treated at a hospital for different diseases. As they were healed, they left the hospital and had to make a decision. They had to either leave their account with the hospital open or they had to close it. Those who kept their account open could continue discussing their disease or injury as long as they wanted to. They could return for another round of treatment and discuss the progression of the sickness with a doctor or make payment arrangements for further treatment. These people always became sick again.

The other group closed their account with the hospital after being healed. They were not allowed to come back for follow up appointments. They didn't talk about the disease or even think about it after being healed, except to testify once in a while about their healing. This group never again became sick once they were healed. This was the content of the dream.

The dream shows us two mindsets or two types of people and how they view and respond to healing. One is focused on sickness and the process of treating it. The other is focused on health and healing itself. The dream seems to point to the issues in our mind and how they can either keep us focused on sickness or set us on the road to permanent healing. The choice being determined by what we choose to focus on.

The bible does have a few things to say about how we might keep our healing, so let’s have a look at them. There was a man who had an infirmity for 38 years who was healed at the pool of Bethesda. After he was healed, Jesus caught up with him and shared these words of warning:

“Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.” (John 5:14-15)

In looking for keys to keeping our healing, some point to the fact that Jesus told the man to sin no more, lest something worse would come upon him. This implies that sickness can be the result of sin and that healing might be maintained if we avoid sinful behavior. Since Jesus was the one who healed him, the return of his symptoms would not be a result of inadequate faith on the part of Jesus. It was the man’s responsibility to keep his healing and we have a similar responsibility today.

Our Testimony
Notice that the man went to the Jews and testified about his healing. In the dream that I had, those who remained well, were those who testified about their healing. Could our testimony be a key to remaining healed?

One problem that many of us have is that we love to testify about our sickness. We complain and grumble and tell everyone we know about how bad our disease is. Some of us believe that our ability to put up with our illness proves something about our character. Much of our complaining is an attempt to gain sympathy from others. And most of us refer to our condition with terms like “my diabetes” or “my cancer”.

The bible says that life and death are in the power of the tongue. (Proverbs 18:21) Our words are a reflection of our thoughts. Our thoughts flow from the things that we meditate on in our heart. That which we focus on we talk about. And that which we talk about we empower. It is our tongue that holds the power of life and death and it may hold the power to keep us healed. Our words reveal that at times, we take possession of our diseases and acknowledge ownership of them. Once we take ownership of something, getting free of it can be a difficult process.

Some people I've asked to pray with have confessed that they didn’t want to be healed because if they were, they would lose their disability check. Others choose to remain sick because it gives them attention and sympathy. When we use sickness to obtain something we want, we become dependant on what it provides and we become slaves to sickness.

Whether it brings money, attention or the opportunity to obtain pain medications, some of us are accustomed to a lifestyle of sickness. We expect to have doctor appointments for the rest of our lives. Cal Pierce noted that our health care system is more like a disease maintenance system. It can become the thing around which our world revolves. Some of us are so dependant on this lifestyle that we fear what life would be like without doctor visits and medications. Those who allow sickness to become their lifestyle are doomed to remain sick no matter how many times they receive prayer and are healed.

In the dream that I had, those who continued a lifestyle that focused on sickness always became sick again. Those who refused to talk about sickness kept their healing. Their words and the fact that they refused to focus on the sickness helped them keep their healing. I’m convinced that the key to keeping our healing is a matter of what we choose to focus on and what we talk about.

My Experiences
One night as I went to bed, I developed sudden pain in my lower back that radiated down the back of my left leg. I’d never had this type of pain before, but I knew from transporting hundreds of people with these symptoms, it was consistent with a herniated lumbar disc. The pain was severe and for a moment I panicked, thinking I’d done something to injure my back.

As I thought about the pain, I remembered that God had been speaking to me about pain returning after healing. This was a new concept as I’d only been praying with people for about a year. On a hunch, I took the position in my mind that the pain was not a herniated disc, but an imitation of that pain, caused by a demon. I told myself repeatedly, “I do not have a herniated disc”. Suspecting there was an evil spirit at work, I commanded the spirit to leave and for the pain to leave as well. After ten minutes of warfare the pain was completely gone. But it returned 20 minutes later. When it returned I repeated the same process and had my wife stand in agreement with me. After another ten minutes of warfare, the pain was gone. But 20 minutes later it returned. This went on for two hours. Each time we did warfare it would leave, only to return. Finally, I was so exhausted I had to go to sleep, even if the pain was still there. I decided to rebuke the spirit one more time and command it not to return. When I went to sleep the pain was as bad as it had been all night. When I awoke in the morning the pain was gone and it never returned.

I learned a lot from this experience. I learned that we can have the symptoms of a condition that perfectly mimic the condition itself, with no actual injury or disease process in our body. A demon can create a near perfect imitation of a real medical problem.

I also learned that a key to victory over the enemy lies in what you believe and what you say. I refused to believe or admit that I had a herniated disc, even though the symptoms I had felt exactly like it. I also learned that although we might see complete removal of the spirit and symptoms, it doesn’t mean they won’t return. And if they do, the strategy that worked the first time can be used again as often as needed until the spirit realizes we aren’t going to allow it to afflict us. I’ve taken these principles and taught them often to people that I’ve seen healed since then.

In 2010, I had a chance to help my sister in law obtain healing for an occluded artery in her leg. She had poor circulation in her leg for many years. Her foot was always cold and numb and her doctor had been considering placing a stent in the artery to keep it open. One day, I asked if she wanted to be healed and she said 'yes'. I commanded the artery to be open and the circulation to return. She didn’t feel anything different until the next morning, when she woke up with a warm foot that had normal sensation and circulation. She was beaming with joy. Later that day, her foot became cold and numb and with a worried heart she asked me what happened.

I sat her down and explained that healing and sickness are a battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. Like it or not – healing is warfare. God wants us to be healed and the enemy wants us to be sick. She immediately understood. I told her that the enemy brought the symptoms back to convince her she wasn’t healed and that all we needed to do was push back a little and do some more warfare. I commanded her leg to be healed again and in a few minutes the circulation returned. I told her that all she needed to do was to resist the enemy’s tactics if it happened again. "If the symptoms return, command them to leave". With a smile of understanding she confidently maintained her healing and she’s had normal circulation since that day.

My sister didn’t want to continue the merry go round of sickness. She wasn’t getting sympathy from anyone. She received no financial benefit. She didn’t dwell on how her ability to endure the condition proved that she had great character and strength. She received no gratification from it. She wanted it gone for good. Once she was healed, she chose to close her account with sickness.

She and many like her will be healed and stay healed, because they earnestly want no part of their condition. Once it’s gone, they don’t imagine what will happen if it returns. Fear that our sickness will come back is a trap many of us fall into. Fear is a tool of the enemy. When we are healed, we are given a taste of God’s power and love. The bible says,

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18)

When we fear the return of our condition, we do so because we doubt that God has really healed us or that He is able to keep us healed. We may also doubt that He truly loves us. Fear and doubt about God’s goodness allow the enemy to bring sickness back. This is why we must close our account with sickness and choose never again to entertain these thoughts.

Roger Sapp made this observation about keeping our healing:

“I prayed about this matter and felt that the Lord told me that because I was getting them healed on the basis of my faith rather than their faith, this was creating this situation.

In other words, I knew how to stand in faith and receive a healing for them but they didn't know how to stand in faith to keep it. Whatever is received by faith in Christ, must be maintained by faith in Christ. When a symptom arose, they quickly doubted that they were healed and didn’t maintain it. So today, we spend more time getting them to believe for themselves, helping them deal with their doubts and teaching them what to do if a symptom returns...which is to do the same thing that they did to receive the healing. They had to believe that the healing belonged to them before they received it. They had to believe that Christ had purchased it for them at the cross. Nothing has changed if they have a symptom, they must believe that the healing still belongs to them despite a symptom, because of what Christ has done. What causes someone to receive…faith in Christ as Healer…is what causes them to maintain. Today, I think that we have a lot fewer people losing their healing.”

Honoring The Body of Christ
There is one more section of scripture we might examine to learn how to maintain our healing. In 1 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul addresses several things; one of which is sickness and premature death. He begins the discussion in verse 17, with an observation about the behavior of believers toward one another:

“But in the following instructions, I cannot praise you. For it sounds as if more harm than good is done when you meet together. First, I hear that there are divisions among you when you meet as a church, and to some extent I believe it. But, of course, there must be divisions among you so that you who have God’s approval will be recognized!” (1 Cor 11:17-19 NLT)

Paul continues his list of complaints against their behavior:

“When you meet together, you are not really interested in the Lord’s Supper. For some of you hurry to eat your own meal without sharing with others. As a result, some go hungry while others get drunk. What? Don’t you have your own homes for eating and drinking? Or do you really want to disgrace God’s church and shame the poor? What am I supposed to say? Do you want me to praise you? Well, I certainly will not praise you for this!” (Verses 20-22)

Paul then describes how the Lord passed on to him the celebration of the breaking of bread and drinking the cup in remembrance of His death. (Verses 23-26) He then adds this observation:

“27 So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup. 29 For if you eat the bread or drink the cup without honoring the body of Christ, you are eating and drinking God’s judgment upon yourself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and sick and some have even died.” (Verses 27-30)

It would be easy to assume that Paul was referring to how believers viewed the Lord Jesus when he said they should honor the ‘body of Christ’ when they eat the bread and drink the cup. But I don’t believe that’s what he was referring to.

In this passage, two different terms are used. He refers to “the body and blood of the Lord” in verse 27, and “the body of Christ” in verse 29. Paul often referred to the body of believers, or the church as “the body of Christ”.

In this passage Paul was telling the church that their behavior toward one another (the body of Christ) was the reason some had become sick and died. Remember, his complaint against them was division, quarreling and selfishness. As he brings the discussion to a close he again emphasizes their behavior toward one another:

“So, my dear brothers and sisters, when you gather for the Lord’s Supper, wait for each other. If you are really hungry, eat at home so you won’t bring judgment upon yourselves when you meet together.” (Verses 33-34)

Paul ties the judgment that some had received (sickness and death) to their practice of not waiting for others to eat. He actually said that sickness and premature death were a result of not honoring other believers.

In summary, there are a number of things we can do to maintain our healing. One is to treat others, particularly those in the body of Christ, with respect and honor. Another is to avoid sin. It seems good to occasionally testify about our healing instead of testifying about our sickness. From personal experience, I would add that we should refuse to entertain thoughts about sickness returning and instead fix our thoughts on God’s goodness. Another key is to resist the tendency to take ownership of the condition by referring to it as “mine”. And occasionally, if the symptoms return we might need to command them to leave. We must continue to believe after we are healed, that Christ is still and always will be our healer. Once we are healed, we must make a choice to either close our account with sickness or leave it open. The choice we make will determine the degree to which we keep our healing.

Wayne's Story

Wayne sat in a chair waiting as residents and staff of the mental health hospital whizzed past. Wearing a red baseball cap and a smile, he made his way to the gurney and we fastened the set belts. His skin was red; almost as rosy as his hat.

"How are you feeling, Wayne?"

"Pretty weak.....and dehydrated."

He struck me as a guy you ask just about anything and he'd probably give you a straight answer. I did the introductions as we raised the gurney to load height. The door opened. A blur of residents swarmed past. Most of the residents said 'Hi' to Wayne. Some asked where he was going. He explained that he wasn't feeling well and was going to the hospital. It was obvious that he was well-liked.

We were notified by dispatch before going on scene that Wayne has HIV. My mind went where it always goes when we transport a patient with HIV.

I'd love to tell you that I don't wonder about a patient's sexual orientation when I hear that they have HIV. I wonder if they know Jesus. I try to keep an open mind. I've been wrong so many times before.

Wayne told his friends he was disappointed to be going to the hospital. He was looking forward to leading the bible study tonight.

We rolled toward the ambulance and talked on the way. He'd been vomiting and having diarrhea for three days and hadn't slept in two. Considering how sick he was, he had a great attitude.

And great big veins.

I got the IV supplies and told Wayne about the first time I transported a patient with HIV. It was out of Vanderbilt hospital in 1988. HIV was a new disease. We did mouth to mouth on dead people who would usually vomit in our mouth. And we never wore gloves.

The man we transported that day was brutally beaten because he was gay. He was a bloody mess from head to toe. He was being transferred to another hospital because he didn't have insurance. They didn't tell us he had HIV until we were almost out the door. They were afraid that if they did we'd refuse to take him.

Times have changed. Mostly for the better.

The IV went in easily. As I began dumping normal saline into his parched body, my partner disappeared behind the closing door. Wayne and I talked all the way to the hospital. Mostly about eternity. I told him I collected stories about people who had died and gone to heaven then returned. He asked what I thought about the teaching that people 'sleep' when they die.

I told him is was a lot of nonsense. "....To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord..."

I shared some of the testimonies I'd heard from people who had died, including a man we'd transported earlier in the day. He'd been run over by a Humvee and went into cardiac arrest. In eternity he saw a line that he was standing on. He knew that if he went one way, he would live again and if he went the other way, he would stay in eternity.

I asked if I could pray with Wayne to be healed. He said He'd love that. Resting my hand on his shoulder I blessed the work of God in his life and commanded sickness to leave in the name of Jesus.

God's presence in the ambulance made me sway gently back and forth. Peace and joy swept over me.

We talked some more. He told me a few stories from his childhood where he wandered around town for several days being ignored by everyone. It was like he was invisible. No one acknowledged he was there. He heard the Lord tell him when he was thirsty to put his mouth to the ground and open it. And when he did, his thirst disappeared. Somehow, God quenched his thirst. He drank no water for days.

Wayne had known the Lord from childhood. We talked about heaven and how many people say that our existence there is much like being a child. There is no fear of anything. Just a complete innocence and trust that your Father is perfect and all that He made is perfect. We talked about the perfect love He surrounds us with.

Wayne said he is a musician and has songs available on itunes. I'm going to check them out. I really loved this guy and I was honored to be able to pray for him.

Wayne, if you read this, let me know how you're doing. Keep encouraging people with the love God placed in your heart.

Word of Knowledge Healing From Taiwan

Randy Clark shares a word of knowledge for a boy who was healed of a swallowing problem. Check out the detailed information Randy received in this word of knowledge.

On Target

My daughter and I have a Saturday ritual. We check what’s left in the pantry and refrigerator and make a pilgrimage to Costco to re-stock. We always stop at a second store to get a few things we can’t get a Costco. This Saturday we stopped at Target.

We picked up a few things and were cruising the aisles, when my daughter said, “Hey dad, did you see the lady with the leg immobilizer?”

I was busy looking for things on my list had hadn't noticed her.

We found her in the refrigerated food aisle. I could tell that my daughter wanted to see her healed, so I walked up and asked what she did to injure her foot. She explained that she had a torn (detached) left Achilles tendon. I asked how it happened. She said it was a rare side-effect of taking the antibiotic Levaquin.

I’d never heard of an antibiototic causing something like a torn tendon.

I asked if she’d had surgery to repair it yet.

"Not yet. I’m scheduled for surgery in two weeks."

I would have already introduced myself, but Lori was so friendly and willing to discuss her life with a couple of strangers, I decided to wait and let her tell us as much as she would without telling her who we were and what we had planned.

If you know me, you know I like to build bridges of trust before asking if I can pray with someone. This bridge was going up quickly. But it was time for introductions, so I told her I was a medic and introduced my daughter.

I thought it would be good to share one testimony before we asked if she wanted to be healed, so I told her the story about the EMT who had his torn Achilles tendon healed while at work. Then I asked if she wanted to be healed. She said she’d like that very much.

My daughter and I placed our hands on her immobilized ankle. I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and touch her. I don’t know if she felt His presence, but I did. We commanded pain, inflammation and spirits of infirmity to leave and asked if she felt anything.

“It feels hot down there.”

“Awesome. That’s the power of God healing you.”

We prayed a second time. I commanded the tendon to re-attach to the heel bone and asked what she felt.

“I feel a pulling sensation near my heel.”

I explained that the “pulling sensation” was probably her tendon re-attaching to her heel bone and said she may want to remove the immobilizer and try to walk without it when she got home.

We spent a few minutes talking. She thanked us repeatedly for stopping to pray with her. I gave told her info on how to find this site and asked her to drop us an e-mail and let us know how she was doing.

My Daughter gave me a high five as we walked away.....

and a fistbump.

Jesus is so cool :)

Purple Scrubs

You never know there the rabbit trails will lead...

The information on my computer terminal said we would have a parent riding with us. The parent was a doctor at the hospital where we were picking up the patient.

Ryan was 15 and had a first time seizure. No recent illness or head trauma. No explanation at all. Sometimes a tumor will cause seizures, but that was something we didn't know.

Ryan's father impressed me. I don't know if he's a decent doctor, but the way he behaved around his son told me he was an excellent father. I got report from the nurse, asked a few questions and we got Ryan loaded.

As I took report, I closed my eyes for a split second. Just long enough to see a vision of myself handing Ryan's father one of my cards.

In the ambulance, Ryan curled up and slept. Seizures make you tired. His father and I talked. He mentioned something about people from his church. It was all the confirmation I needed. I told him what I do and asked if I could pray. He said yes. I handed him a card. We both prayed over Ryan. Since it was Easter, I declared the resurrection power of God to rest upon him.

I don't know if Ryan was healed. Time will tell. But I was able to encourage his father and that means a lot to me.

We dropped Ryan off at the hospital. As we rolled through the front door, I noticed three women in purple scrubs walking in our direction. The scrubs looked new. My partner said, "They're students". They followed us into the hospital and went to the same bank of elevators. One of them was limping noticeably.

So I asked how she injured her leg.

"I don't know, but I'm going to see a doctor tomorrow."

They got on a different elevator. It's hard to lay hands on people when you're pushing a gurney. Some days I wish I could slow everything down and have more time to take care of the important stuff. Like getting people healed.

The elevator door opened on the fifth floor and we exited. So did the ladies in purple.

I love a good set up.

I re-joined the limping woman. In fifteen minutes I would learn that her name was Julie and that she was a child life assistant at the hospital, not a student. And yes, the scrubs were new.

I told the limping woman not to go too far and that I wanted to talk to her after I dropped off my patient. We took Ryan to his room and got him transferred. My partner took the gurney downstairs to clean it. I already had my report done so I had time to look for the limping woman. I found her in her office with her shoe off, rubbing lotion on her sore foot.

I believe in God's favor. I believe it opens doors. I believe His presence goes with me. And I believe people are curious about what you're up to when you're bold.

When I told my wife this story, she said, "So you just told her to stick around and you expected her to do it?"

Yup. I sure did.

And I expected her to let me pray with her when I asked.

And she did.

So I commanded her foot to be healed, and for demo.....I mean spirits to leave and asked what she felt.

"Well, to tell you the truth, before you got here I rubbed this stuff on my foot that makes it all tingly. So it feels like pins and needles right now."

I thought, "Well that's awesome. You just ruined my day."

I told her I believed she'd be healed, maybe in 10 minutes, maybe tomorrow. And when it came, I asked her to thank God for it.

Her two friends were now curious to know more about this paramedic fellow who thinks he can just walk up to strangers and pray for them. (They were actually very sweet and I wish I had another hour to spend with them) So I told them about the dreams where I was praying for my patients and they were being healed. I told them I'd prayed for hundreds of people and didn't see anyone healed, but kept praying anyway. Then I told them I have a lot of prophetic dreams about things that happen in the future.

Julie (the limping woman) chimed in.

"What do you think is going to happen at the end of year in December?"

I told her I had a dream about that a couple of years ago. I gave them the dream and the interpretation. The short story is; a lot of people will make a lot of predictions about the end of the world, but it will prove to be a load of garbage. (If you're interested in reading about the dream, go here).

She asked what I thought about the people who are building a place on the top of a mountain because they believe a race of benevolent aliens from another planet are going to come for them at the end of the year.

I told her that a lot of my friends have been having dreams about aliens coming to visit earth. And in most of the dreams, the aliens are not friendly. They have an evil plan. And my friends are usually trying to warn people not to believe what they're being told about the "friendly" aliens. I said I thought the aliens were actually fallen angels or demons.

"I knew it." Julie said. "I've been having the same dreams. These aliens come and try to get people to go with them and I'm running around warning everyone to stay away from them because they're evil."

We talked some more. I told them it's shaping up to be an interesting year. I suggested that it's a year when discerning truth from deception will be critical. And if anyone lacks wisdom, they only need to ask God and He'll give them understanding.

Cardiac Arrest Miracle

Ken Kirby suffered cardiac arrest and for 45 minutes, had no pulse. The doctor in charge of the resuscitation and Ken's family began to pray. Against all odds, Ken was successfully resuscitated.