Martin's Story

This story is part of a series written in September of 2012 during our trip to Australia to teach on healing.

As we handed out food and made coffee, I saw a man approaching. He had a noticeable limp. I introduced myself and asked his name. He goes by the name of Martin. 

I asked about the limp. He said he has a torn cruciate ligament, which will require surgery. I asked if he'd received prayer for it yet. He said a lot of people had prayed over it but it wasn't any better. I told him not to worry, we'd have him healed before the end of the night.

I asked Sylvie and Marie to come over and lay hands on him. For the next 5 minutes they conducted warfare on the injured knee. He began to feel heat. I joined them and  eventually all of his knee pain was gone. The only issue left was a clicking sound coming from just under his kneecap. I asked if he would be willing to rest in the healing tonight and check on it in the morning. I believed the clicking would resolve itself overnight. He agreed and since I was speaking at a meeting he planned to attend in two days, we could follow up on it then.

Martin began to tell the group about the unusual things that happen to him. He related a story about a friend who had a relative who had just been seen in the emergency department and the doctor was very concerned about their condition. Martin told them not to worry, because the person would be released from the hospital soon. A few minutes later, the friend received a call and learned that the person had in fact just been sent home with a clean bill of health.

He told another story about a room-mate who went to the store. Martin gave the friend twenty dollars. The friend said he didn't need it, because he didn't  plan to buy much, but Martin insisted he take it. The friend was stopped at the exit to the store and had in his possession few things he didn't pay for. They were valued at 19 dollars. They were going to have him arrested for shoplifting unless he paid for the items, so he handed over the twenty Martin had given him and walked home. 

He told us about a dream he had. In the dream he was sleeping on a table in his yard, when a shepherd approached and spoke with him. 

The shepherd said, "Martin, I want you to write a book."

He asked what the book would be about.

The shepherd said, "You."

He asked what the title of the book would be.

The shepherd said, "Why?"

The shepherd said, "Many people will read your book and be saved."

Martin is at the shelter because of a drinking problem. And even though he struggles with sobriety, he has an amazing gift of revelation about the things that happen to people around him and what God is doing in those circumstances.

I encouraged him to begin writing down all the stories he could remember and hang onto them. At some point in the future, if he obeyed the shepherd's instructions, God would provide an editor and a publisher to help him write the book.

I hope to see Martin this afternoon. If he shows up, I'll let you know how he's doing.