God's Presence In The Hospital

About two years ago I had a dream that took place in a hospital. As I walked the hallways, I looked into one patient room after another and saw a black presence in every room. I knew the presence was a demon of sickness. In this dream God revealed a problem; sickness is perpetrated by the presence of demons.

A few weeks ago I had another hospital dream. In this one, I was praying with two people; one was a patient, the other was a doctor. The doctor had arthritis. As I prayed with them I asked the Holy Spirit to bring His presence near and touch them so they could feel His presence. The most important thing in the experience was introducing them to the presence of God. Getting them healed was secondary.

The first dream revealed a problem, the second revealed the solution. If we want sickness to leave and patients to recover in greater numbers, with fewer complications and costs, we should invite God's presence to come and make Him welcome when He arrives. God's presence drives out sickness.

The second dream reflects the approach to healing that I use in my daily life. It seems to be confirmation that I'm going in the right direction. Apparently, God wants to take me (and you) a bit further in that direction. Rarely do I pray with people and not ask the Holy Spirit to bring His presence and touch them. I thank Brian Fenimore for his excellent instruction on this approach to ministry. If you want to know more about that go here.

Although healing is a tremendous blessing to those who receive it, the greater need we all have is to draw (and be drawn) closer to God. Healing is, from God's perspective, one more way to bring people into a greater knowledge of Him. When we operate in healing the main goal is for us to connect people with God. Plain and simple.

If we ask the Holy Spirit to come and His presence touches someone, they now have a personal interaction with God they'll never forget. When they feel the warmth or the weight of His glory rest upon them, it's an unforgettable experience. Whether or not their healing manifests immediately, if they encounter the presence and love of God, the encounter was a success.

I haven't seen everyone that I've prayed with healed. But I can honestly say that when I've asked God to bring His presence and touch them, no one has ever said they didn't feel Him.

Now there's something to consider.

While you're pondering that, check out this testimony by Bill Johnson about how a hospital in North Dakota saw an unexpected drop in census after a prayer team from Bethel paid a visit and as Bill explains, God's presence may have remained when they left.

God's Healing Presence

For the next few weeks, we'll be focusing our attention on the manifest presence of God

We know that healing can be a by-product of faith and authority. Today we'll discuss how God's presence operates in the realm of healing. The presence of God gets some people a little 'excited'.

To be honest, some of us are downright in love with God's presence (or glory if you prefer) They would spend eternity doing nothing but worship in God's beautiful, intoxicating presence. If this thought hasn't yet crossed your mind, you might be surprised when you get to heaven.

I've had dreams where God's presence alone has healed people, without me praying for them. Not long ago I had another dream in which I was praying with a doctor who needed healing of arthritis and a patient who also needed healing. As I prayed with them, I was asking God to touch them with His presence. In fact, the most important element of that dream was allowing them to feel God's presence so they knew He was real.

I've shared stories where I've asked God to bring His presence into the room while ministering to people. On just about every one of those occasions, the person I'm ministering to reports 'feeling' God touch them in some way.

I have a few 'odd' stories that may be testimonies of God's presence at work. Let me share just one:

One day I responded with the fire department to a call for a woman who had a nosebleed. Her nose had been bleeding for two hours. She called 911 for a ride to the emergency room to have her nose cauterized. This would be the second time in a year she would need to have that done.

When the engine company arrived, she was still bleeding profusely. We arrived two or three minutes later. About three minutes after we arrived, as I was listening to the Lieutenant tell me the story, I asked her to check again to see if she was bleeding. She wasn't, and she was shocked.

After everyone inspected her nose and we had a few laughs, the engine company asked if we'd come with them the rest of the shift and heal their patients. I should mention - I never prayed for this woman to be healed. But I had been thinking at that time often about how Peter's shadow healed people and if it was actually that he carried God's presence in such a way that healing was released as people came near, making it appear as if this shadow did the healing.

I'll admit, this whole discussion puzzled me a few years ago, and I know it still puzzles people today. An acquaintance recently asked me, “If God lives in us, and we are one with Him, how can He also work outside of us?

I think it's a great question and I'd like to answer it, but I'll begin with the teaching that prompted my friend’s question in the first place.

Some leaders teach that the Holy Spirit no longer rests upon God’s people, as He did in the Old Testament days. They believe that as a result of the new covenant, and new birth, having the Holy Spirit inside us, we no longer have (or need) the Holy Spirit to rest upon us. This would seem to make sense, but what does the bible teach about it?

In John 14, Jesus taught the disciples about the relationship they would have with the Holy Spirit: “I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

We see two different relationships that believers can have with the Holy Spirit – He can dwell with us and in us. But there is a third relationship Jesus told the disciples they would have. In the first chapter of Acts, Jesus commissioned them, saying they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came ‘upon’ (epi) them:
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

This third relationship is noteworthy for a couple of reasons:

Jesus tied the power for ministry to the new relationship they had not yet experienced. “You will receive power - when the Spirit comes upon you.”

When Jesus was baptized by John, the Holy Spirit came to rest ‘upon’ (epi ) him, and remained there. (John 1:32) The baptism of Jesus was the point at which His healing ministry began. He received the anointing and power for ministry through the same experience he later told the disciples they would have.

In Acts 2:3, the Holy Spirit manifested as divided tongues of fire resting ‘upon’ the believers. In Acts 8, Peter and John went to Samaria to assist the new converts in receiving the Holy Spirit, “For as yet he had fallen ‘upon’ (epi) none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 8:16)

Paul also assisted believers in receiving the Holy Spirit: “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came ‘on’ (epi ) them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied.” (Acts 19:6)

Finally, Peter taught that the Spirit of God rested upon believers: “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, be happy; for the spirit of glory and of God rests ‘upon’ (epi ) you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified.” (1 Peter 4:14 )

Let us agree then that the Holy Spirit does rest upon believers today, just as He did with the saints of the Old Testament. If we agree that both Jesus and the disciples had the Holy Spirit come to rest upon them at the starting point of their ministry, the case could be made that the power for ministry is dependent upon this experience.

God’s Spirit Moves
Let us now look at the operation of the Holy Spirit independent of man. In the account of creation in Genesis 1, we see the Spirit of God moving over the face of the waters. What this reveals is that the Spirit of God moves. We also know that the voice of God spoke as the Spirit was moving and things were created that had not yet existed. Implied here is the fact that when the voice of God speaks, when and where His Spirit is moving, creative miracles occur. Matt Sorger has proposed that creative miracles in healing are more likely to occur when the voice of God (prophetically) declares them to happen where the Spirit of God is moving.

In the following 2 passages, we see that God’s Spirit appeared as a cloud, from which He spoke and that God gives and takes His spirit at different times: “And the LORD came down in a cloud, and spoke unto him, (Moses) and took of the spirit that was upon him, and gave it to the seventy elders: and it came to pass, that, when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied, and did not cease.” (Numbers 11:25)

God’s Presence

In the days of the kings of Israel the presence (or glory) of God rested between the cherubim upon the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. At one point, Ezekiel witnessed the glory of the Lord as it departed from the temple. (See Eze. 11-12)

In the days of Obed-Edom, the Ark rested on his property and the glory of God was also there. He was blessed for three months because God’s presence was with him during that time. David brought the Ark to his home and the glory of God, likewise remained in David’s house for a time, with the ark. (2 Sam 6) Unknown to most of God’s people, was the fact that His manifest presence had appeared in a localized area that was not where they expected it to be – being confined to the space of one man’s home.From these passages, we can see that God’s glory or presence is able to come and go at will and take up residence virtually anywhere.

God Was With Him

Jesus was fully God and fully man, but it wasn't his divine power that performed miracles. Peter made a fascinating comment about why Jesus was able to heal the sick: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. .” (Acts 10:38)

Peter’s explanation was that Jesus didn’t heal the sick because he was God, but rather, because he was anointed by God and that God was with him.

Jesus was God and yet, God was with him and rested upon Him. Somehow, the oneness shared by the Godhead allows for all these seemingly impossible relationships to exist. Since God’s nature doesn’t change and His nature has been to allow His Spirit to reside with, in and upon individuals and in certain places, His Spirit could rest upon you or I and His presence could manifest in a church building, your living room or my ambulance.

Healing can happen as we exercise authority over sickness and operate in faith. Both of these require action on our part. But God can and does heal on His own, tagging along with us wherever we go, releasing healing power to those He loves. His presence can fill a city park, a room or inhabit your personal space and touch people you're ministering to.

If you don't believe me, why don't you put my theory to the test and ask God to make His presence known to those around you?

For a longer discussion of this subject, see my Facebook note here.

Why Does God Allow....?

Most of us have heard the questions:

"If God is good, then why does He allow....
Suffering?
War?
Murder?
Rape?
Corruption?
Earthquakes?
Flooding?

It seems that God could not be good if he permits these things to go on. How then do we expect the world to accept our claim that God is good in light of these atrocities all around us?

Some point to the fact that the bible says God is good. They need no more testimony than this. The bible says it. They believe it. Explanations aren't required.

I read a book titled "Intercessory Prayer" by Dutch Sheets a while back. The first chapter of the book radically changed the way I saw the operation of God in the world. I'll summarize the main point: After the creation of man, God gave Adam authority (dominion) over His creation. That dominion extended to all the affairs that happen on earth from that time forward, up to the present time and extending to the end of the world. In delegating responsibility to us to run the show down here He gave us a very important thing; free will.

God did not create a race of robots, programmed to follow His will perfectly. He created us with the capacity of choice and He always honors the choices we make. Free will is like the operating system of a computer. All the things we do and say result from the fact that God gave us unlimited capacity to choose between good and evil. God never interferes with the exercise of free will. The minute He stepped in and forced us to do anything, or stopped us from doing anything, we would become programmed beings devoid of free will. We would become like robots.

The mistake we can make is to assume that God approves of our choices in allowing them to be carried out. The fact that He permits our acts to be carried out is not because He approves of them, but because He values free will so highly. He refuses to interfere with our free will, in spite of the fact that it causes so much pain and suffering. Our free will was established in eternity and it will never be violated. The fact that we have free will has serious consequences.

Satan has agents who carry out his plan of evil. Demons, fallen angels and evil men all exercise free will in cooperating with Satan's plans. God also has agents to carry out His will in the earth and like Satan's cohorts, they are delegates, exercising their free will as ambassadors of the kingdom of heaven. God sends angels on assignment to find humans willing to cooperate with the heavenly mandate of establishing the kingdom. Neither Satan nor God interfere with the exercise of free will, They merely recruit those who are willing to be used.

How valuable is our part in bring God's will to pass?

The psychotic man with the plan to bomb an elementary school is free to carry out his plan. God will never take the bomb out of his hand. But God may send an angel to give another man a dream about the bomber and inspire him to pay the bomber a visit. On the day they meet, the bomber receives deliverance and healing through the second man's obedience to the gospel. The plan to bomb the school never becomes a reality. Did God interfere? No. He merely used an angel to inspire one man to exercise his free will to oppose the free will of the other.

Not long ago I had a dream in which I saw a family stranded on a country road in a blizzard. In the dream I knew God would not send help until someone prayed for them to be rescued. I began praying and petitioning God to send help. Suddenly, my wife woke me up and asked who needed help. She heard me praying out loud and knew something was up. I didn't know I was praying out loud. We knew God wanted them to be helped, so we both began praying. Some would find this an odd situation and ask, "Why didn't God just help them?" We know that God wanted them to be rescued. It was His will for them to be found, but because He has delegated authority to us to run the affairs down here, He needed someone to ask for His assistance, because he doesn't interfere unless we invite him. Our authority over the affairs of earth is that great and the necessity of prayer is that important.

Earlier this year, there was concern about a major earthquake hitting the west coast. A number of friends joined the called to speak peace to the earth and settle the fault, declaring gentle release of pressure with no devastation to buildings or life. The prophesied day of arrival for the quake came and went peacefully. I believe the prophecy was valid, but I also believe it's intent was to call us to intercede and change the outcome.

I've been trying to run my Facebook page more like the way God "runs" things down here on earth. He lets people do as they please and He doesn't generally interfere, unless asked. I'm trying to let people post what they want on my page, in spite of the fact that I don't agree or appreciate some of it. I try to let people comment as they see fit, with little editorializing, deleting or attempts to control content. Like God, I greatly value free will and I want to allow people the freedom to either obey or reject God's will, without forcing them to comply to my perception of it. Free will has a cost. But I think it's worth the price.

If God Heals Then Why Am I Sick?

It's fair question to ask - If God heals, then why am I still sick? Pete Cabrera answers the question using an analogy that boils down to the issue of our authority to over sickness and the proper exercise of that authority.

God Wants You Confident - Steve Thompson

There is a subtle difference between arrogance and confidence, as Steve Thompson explains.

Learning To Dance With God

In these two videos Brian Fenimore teaches on learning how to partner with God in ministering to others.

A Church Awakening

This story will provoke, inspire, encourage and motivate believers. The grip of religion has hurt many and it's time for the sons of God to manifest! It only takes obedience to start a revolution!

Sticking Pennies To The Wall

Last night I went with my wife to the hair salon. I’ve gone with her many times before and when I do, God usually does something cool. Last night He came through again.

As Angie worked on my wife’s hair, I shared with her some of the things God’s been doing with us. Angie has been healed a number of times when we’ve prayed with her in the past. (Go here for one of those stories)

She talks often about her 8 year old son, whom we’ve never met. Last night, while mom did her thing, he sat on a chair near me playing a video game.

My friend, Michael King has been posting videos on Facebook demonstrating how to stick coins to the wall. I haven’t done this much, but we had one experience a few months ago, where a friend’s daughters taught us how to do it.

We went to my friend Tim’s house to get him healed of low-back pain. While we were there we taught his daughters how to heal, by having them pray for their mother’s injured foot. Both Tim and his wife were better after prayer. When we were done, the girls wanted to show us something. The brought out a pile of pennies and began sticking them to the kitchen wall. Since we’d been in their house, I noticed the presence of God was growing stronger. The pennies stuck like crazy.

My wife had never done it before, so we each grabbed a penny and held it to the wall and both of them stayed there for about 5 seconds. One of the girls stuck several pennies on the corner of the wall, where half the penny was hanging over the edge. If you’re inclined to believe this can be explained by surface tension or paint adhesion , when you see a penny half over the edge of a wall, staying there for 20 seconds or so, natural explanations begin to lose their explanatory power.

So there I was sitting in the salon watching Angie’s son, who was riveted to his video game. I decided to try sticking a penny to the wall. She opened her cash box and gave me a penny. I found a place on the wall, held it in place 2 or 3 times and watched it fall to the floor. I forgot one thing; invite the Holy Spirit to join us.

I asked Him to bring His presence into the room and make the penny stick to the wall. And it stuck, for about 5 seconds. Angie was shocked. I did it again and her son looked up and smiled. I did it again and they asked if it was a trick. Then I moved over to the corner and let half the penny hang over the edge and it stuck for about one second. I did this 3 or 4 times and her son dropped his game and came over by me. He wanted to know how I did it.

I explained that Jesus said signs and wonders would follow those who believe in Him and this was one of those signs. I told him, “It’s not magic; it’s the power of God. You can do the same thing, just hold the penny on the wall and ask God to hold it there when you let go.” I demonstrated a few more times, then he held it to the wall and asked God to hold it when he let go. It stuck the first time and every time afterward. He was filled with joy and wonder and forgot about his video game.

People often ask, “what’s the point of it?”

I found out last night, there are several valuable things that come from these exercises. First, sticking pennies to the wall is a tangible display of God’s power to those who don’t know Him that’s difficult to refute by natural explanations. Second, it’s an exercise in which we learn to cooperate with God and sense his presence and power at work. Angie’s son knows virtually nothing about the power of God. But after last night’s experience, he has at least one way in which he can experience God. As curious as boys are, it won’t be long before he finds other ways and his friends might be involved at some point. Third, as we cooperate with God, our faith for operating in miracles, signs and wonders grows. If we start with a simple thing like this, it can grow in many different directions including things like food multiplication and healing.

If you'd like to see videos of coins sticking to glass or forks and spoons sticking to walls, go here.

These exercises are like going to a gym and working out. Working out doesn’t have a great purpose in itself. It’s merely a way to strengthen yourself so that you can operate better when you do other things. Sticking pennies to the wall builds faith for living a kingdom lifestyle. If you spend an afternoon with friends getting to know God’s power by sticking things to the wall, or a glass door, the next time you need to release God’s power for a person with cancer, you might be surprised at how much faith you have to get them healed.

I should mention, one more thing - I love the colors Angie put my sweetie's hair. She looks rather amazing.

A New Kidney and a Dream Come True

This unusual healing story is true. The names have been omitted at the request of the people involved.

On March 29, 2011, I received the following message on Facebook:

Good morning to you ! I have a special request. My FB friend (name omitted) , an Administrator with me on our Intercessory Prayer Page inboxed me. She is very upset right now about her Pastor in her church whose only kidney is failing, not doing well. She is confused because she wonders why God didn't heal him when he gave up his BP meds a couple of years ago and branched out in faith thinking he was "healed". I don't want to get into details, thought maybe if you would please "friend her" you could help her and pray for her Pastor as well. I told her a little bit about you and that we are friends. She will be looking for you I'm sure. I gave her my views on this, but I was following some of your posts, you are more blessed in this area than I, and you have the healing ministry.

Love you Bro, and thank you ! :)

I replied:
Praying Medic March 31 at 8:05am
I'll find her and send the request. And I'll pray for her pastor.
Be blessed!
PM

She replied:

(Name omitted) March 31 at 8:31am
Thank you so much !!!! Yes, I see she just in boxed me aout friend request, and yes, she has lots of questions about faith with healing, etc.
God bless you and thanks for your expediancy.
Have a blessed Holy Spirit filled day.

A few minutes later, after sending a friend request, I received this message from my new friend:

(Name omitted) March 31 at 8:29am
He believed God two years ago to come off of his high blood medication. God had healed him of cancer of the kindneys some 20 years ago and although he had one kidney removed because of the cancer, he refused chemotherapy and have been clean of cancer for over 20 years. When he got off his medicine cold turkey, we as members honored his faith but we also were very cautious and concerned as this move. He hung up his pill bottles on the wall to demonstrate his faith. since that time, he had been having severe headaches and pain in other parts of his body but nothing major. He just kept claiming his healing and he declared that he would not get back on his medicine even if it cost him his life. Well, time went on and he never missed a beat and we all thought he was healed until he was suddenly hospitalized. The only kidney he has left is at 25% functional and his prostate is enlarged. I really want to believe God for a miracle for him today because it bothers me that he stepped out on faith but was not healed (obviously).

I replied:

Praying Medic March 31 at 8:36am
I understand your concern and frustration. I'm in prayer for him. I write a lot about healing if you're interested in another perspective on it. If you're interested, let me know and I'll send a link to a series of notes I wrote.
Be blessed!

She replied:
(Name omitted) March 31 at 8:38am
yes, I am interested. please send me the link, thanks!

I replied:

Praying Medic March 31 at 3:41pm
OK Then!
The notes are not in any particular order, though I recommend people start with "Healing 101". It sets a foundation to build on for getting grounded in the basic principles of healing.

That note can be found here:
http://www.facebook.com/editnote.php?draft&note_id=146476992057464&id=100000939408136

There are a dozen or so notes in the series. I've added links to previous ones at the bottom as I wrote more of them. The comments are mostly from friends who operate in healing ministries. I also have a number of videos about healing, if you're interested. And finally, I have a website that is full of healing testimonies, stories about healing miracles I've seen on and off the job, teaching videos and a lot of other things concerning the kingdom of God.
Blessings!

She posted this on my wall the next day:

‎@Praying Medic: I have a Praise Report! God has restored my Pastor back to health. He is to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. Thank you for praying and thank God for your intense healing ministry. I've been reading your blogs and learning a lot.

She then sent this message:

(Name Omitted) April 2 at 3:06pmRemember the one kidney that was severely damaged and operating at 25% and docs were talking dialysis and transplant? His wife told me this morning that when they checked his kidney again it showed they are now functioning at 100%! I know it's because I asked you to pray for him because none of this was happening until after I came in contact with you. I could not say this on your wall because I have alot if ppl who know him but Don't know about his kidney situation.
Sent via Facebook Mobile

I replied:
Praying Medic April 2 at 5:06pm
I am so blessed to hear about his miraculous healing. I have some even more amazing news for you. I have a lot of dreams about healing. Some involved God teaching me about healing, others are specific dreams about individuals who are going to be healed. He's what I wrote in my dream journal from the night of March 31:

I had the following dream: I was with a man, who needed a new kidney. He had a surgical opening in his side. The opening was clean, with no blood present. He beckoned me to come near and put my hand in his side and try to find his kidney. I placed my hand in his side and moved around some of his organs to try to locate it. (End of dream)

I wonder if the dream was about your pastor and somehow, I was able to get his new kidney from God.
May I re-post this testimony?

She replied:

(Name omitted) April 3 at 7:40pm
Wow! This Is so deep! Yes, I believe it's directly related to my Pastor. You're welcome to post it on your blog.
Sent via Facebook Mobile

The Proof Is In The Paralysis

This post may challenge your theology. It challenged mine.

But we're in a season where God is once again asking us to set aside some of our agendas and let Him show us things in His kingdom we haven't yet considered.

I've taken some heat lately for not standing against John Crowder, who is featured in today's testimony. To be honest, I don't know much about John. But in a recent exchange, when I didn't join others in condemning Crowder, a few people who believe he's a false teacher became angry with me.

OK, it was a little worse than that. They accused me of being deceived. One of them started his own blog to proclaim the truth I wasn't seeing. And that's pretty much how these things go.

One of the troubling things I've experienced (though it seems to happen more to my friends than to me) is the tendency of some Christians to label anyone who doesn't agree with them as a false teacher or false prophet. Crowder is one of the biggest targets for criticism these days.

So I went to the Holy Spirit and asked what's going on.

This is what I heard:

People who reject ideas that conflict with their own, do so because their identity comes from what they hold to be true. They call themselves Christian, Calvinist, Atheist, Republican, Lutheran, etc, based on what ideas they believe to be true and to some degree what experiences they've had.

For many, these labels have become their identity. Instead of taking their identity from the God, they form one based on philosophies, doctrines, morals and experiences. When confronted with a theological idea, their identity comes into question. If they affirm the idea, they allow it to become part of their identity. If they reject it, they maintain their identity.

For these people, every discussion about God or religion challenges their identity.

Herein lies a great problem.

If we tie our identity to our beliefs, every time we discuss something theological, our identity is at risk. If we don't want to change our identity every day, we must reject all experiences and teaching that differ from our own. From this, we first reject an idea. If an individual confronts our identity often enough with "false" teaching, it's easier to label them a false teacher and reject everything they say. This reduces the exposure of our identity to challenges.

This is the operating mode of people who are sometimes referred to as "heresy hunters".

There is another group, whose identity isn't tied to what they believe to be true. They take their identity from what God says about them. Some have heard Him say, "You are one of my prophets" or "You are my chosen vessel for leading worship". Once God declares their identity it never comes into question again. They believe what God said and that ends the debate.

People who take their identity from the Father can be challenged in their beliefs, because their identity isn't at stake in theological discussions. Their beliefs are a bit more flexible and will change from time to time as experiences and revelation continually shape them.

These people are free to disagree with one another without the need to label anyone a false teacher because they have little at stake personally in the discussion.

Bearing these things in mind, I'd ask you to consider this rather amazing testimony from John Crowder and his friend concerning a spiritual revival at Walmart that began with the healing of a woman who was paralyzed.

For those who aren't familiar with what it's like to be drunk in the spirit, that is what they're referring to when they talk about getting whacked, juiced, drunk, etc. They haven't been drinking alcohol. It's the same thing the apostle Peter defended when he said, "These are not drunk as you suppose.... but this is that which was spoken of by the the prophet Joel." (Acts 2:15-16)

Sue's Treasure Hunt With Jesus

This story was submitted by my friend Sue Wilke.
Jesus took me on a treasure hunt today.
I went to the mall this morning.

I stopped into the coffee shop. I don't drink coffee, but HE told me to go in. As I waited in line thinking I would purchase a hot chocolate, there was a woman in front of me. She was complaining, couldn't here about what. I heard HIM say "touch her", so I asked her if she is ok, she told me she has bulging discs, fractured discs, and might have cancer. I told her Jesus instructed me to come in and talk to you. She smiled and said, she prayed just as she was walking in there today. I said well, lets pray, after, we then grew her leg out and she was shocked she felt it move. I gave her my name and said keep in touch.

Then I started to the store, the Lord said turn and go this way instead. He said "go to the lady on the bench." As I turned the corner their was a lady sitting by herself on the bench. I approached her and said the Lord wanted me to talk with you, are you ok? She began to cry. I said HE wants me to pray for you, she said thank you and we prayed for emotional healing, peace, HIS rest.

As I walked through the mall, HE said "go into the shoe store. There's a man at the cashier, go to HIM." I said, "yes Lord." I saw no man at the cashier but a woman. As I got closer, there he was, standing next to her. I said "c'mon Lord he's busy." HE said, "don't worry he will come to you." Sure enough he appraoched me, the Lord said "feet" I asked him if he had trouble with his feet, He said he stands all day and they hurt, plus he is a runner and they overpronate. I said "lets look at your legs." So we sat him down and sure enough one leg was longer than the other. So we grew out his leg to match. He was so happy and said, "thank you." we talked about Jesus, then I was on my way.

Finally I made it to my store, HE said "ask the man about his leg." I said, "O.K." The man approached me and asked if I needed help. I asked if he had pain in his leg. He said "yes, I just took off my knee brace, hurt it skiing." I asked to pray, he declined. I honored that.

Then I left that store and as I as walking, a bunch of wheel chairs passed me and went into the store. I heard the Lord say "go to the earings section." I went, and their was a lady in a wheelchair who just passed me at the earing section. I asked her what happened she said she was in two car accidents. She let me pray for her spine and her brain and then I was off. I questioned "is she healed?" HE said, "don't worry I'm working" I thought...."OK". I then proceeded out. Stopped and purchased some things and the lady next to me gave me a coupon worth $37 dollars off my purchase.

Abundant favor today....HE was busy. Thank you Father, for letting me be in the room with you while you work. I LOVE HIM!!!!!

Joel Jackson Prophetic & Healing Evangelism

Watch and learn with my friend Joel Jackson as he ministers healing and prophetic words to a group of teenagers. This is a great example of how we can touch the lives of strangers. Not everyone needs healing, but everyone could use an encouraging word from God.

Wrapping My Head Around The Kingdom Of God

This message was submitted by my friend Greg Hunter

Wrapping My Head Around This:

Matt 6:10 and Matt 4:17 - Once I began to realize that the Kingdom of God is all around me, ever-present, and ever-available for me, I saw that I needed to change the way I was thinking in regard to how I was relating to that Kingdom. I am no longer trying to approach the power of the Kingdom simply on the basis of Principle; but, rather, I am approaching the Kingdom from the mind-set of Relationship with Jesus, by way of the Holy Spirit. I also have made the shift in my thinking toward the Holy Spirit: He is no longer some ambiguous entity sent to help me get through this life with as little hurt as possible. Rather, He is a very personal friend Who is mentoring me in the same way He mentored Jesus, in how to walk in the Spirit and Power of the Kingdom.

Before I was able to make the shift in my thinking, I prayed for the sick with little if any real demonstration of power. But, now, when I pray for the sick, God’s power shows up and the results are dramatic! It’s only been nine months, really, since I started engaging in this relational mind-set, and I’ve seen some amazing miracles done in the Name of Jesus. I will mention some of them:

(1) I prayed for a friend who lives in AZ, over the phone, for a tumor on her leg which was scheduled for surgical removal. It disappeared as I was praying. When she went for the scheduled surgery, the doctor said that it was gone, and cancelled the surgery.
(2) Prayed for a woman in a wheelchair at a church in Poulsbo, WA…she is now walking unattended and taking care of herself.
(3) Healed a man with COPD coming out of a restaurant.
(4) Saw a cancer leave a woman’s lung, like a shadow…doctors said there is no trace of cancer in her lung now.

The point is, anyone can do this. I decided to believe what Jesus has said concerning the Kingdom and its relationship to those who believe that what He said is true. Theological thinking hindered my ability to actually be a doer of the Word instead of one who hears only. I allowed myself to become too preoccupied with the logic and systemization of Scripture to be free to see and live out what Jesus was presenting to us. He presented a Kingdom, based not in a systematized written Word, but, rather, of loving relationship (friendship, really) with the Living Word. I, like the Pharisees of His day, had studied the scriptures intently, but never, really, saw the Christ in them. Now, He is all I see! He is all I care to see, know, and understand…because the more I get to know Him, the more I discover how deeply He loves us all, and the more I become a partaker of the power of the Kingdom.

Being Christian is about a lot more than just being nice people…it’s about walking with Him in the Spirit and Power of an endless life…effecting everything in this world with that power and Kingdom Presence. As Paul said in 1Cor 2:4,5, “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” We, today, have had it all backward…we put the written ahead of the spiritual, when Jesus Himself said that what is written is to lead us to Him. The written is a guidepost for our relating to God and the Kingdom. The Kingdom isn’t about adhering to a set of systematized and principle-ized rules; but, is about loving and walking with the God Who loves us, in the Spirit and Power of His Kingdom, which means that we will be like Jesus was, and do what Jesus did…going about life doing good and demonstrating the power of the Kingdom just as He did. (Mark 16:17,18) That’s what I want! That’s what I am presently endeavoring to do! After tasting of this Kingdom, I can never go back to the way things used to be.

Healing Ministry Flows Through Relationships

I've been asked, "Exactly how do you walk up to a complete stranger in a store and heal them?"

Every person we'll ever do anything with is a stranger to us at one time. Everything we do from the time we meet them is either building or destroying a relationship. If we intend to heal a stranger, at minimum we should probably learn their name. Personally I think we ought to go much further, but it's a start.

You could stand on a sidewalk with a loudspeaker announcing your desire to heal people and command them to be healed from ten feet away. You might even heal some people. I don't know if it would qualify as effective ministry.

It's difficult to receive ministry from a stranger. Most of us want to know something about the one representing God before we give them our time and our ear. When a stranger speaks at a church they're introduced by someone who knows them and their expertise or credentials are presented. It's part of our culture.

A few years ago I met a man whose writing inspired me. I liked the stuff he wrote so much that I began bugging him by e-mail. He was very gracious; patiently answering some of my questions and encouraging me to find the rest of the answers on my own.

One day I wrote something that provoked him. I received an unexpected reply that has provoked me ever since.

This was his reply:

"Some time ago, I had this image of a network of islands in a vast sea, connected by a variety of bridges. The islands are people, and the bridges are the relationships. Some of the islands have many bridges, some just a few, and a few islands have no bridges at all. And the bridges are of all varieties. There are some rickety footbridges, some rope bridges or narrow wooden bridges. Some are just a fallen log. Others are well-made stone bridges, and there are a few modern steel or concrete bridges.


“No man is an island,” or so John Donne says. Nobody is completely self-sufficient. I may produce quite a lot of what I need on my island, but there are some things that I’ll need from others. Besides, if I get by with only what I can make myself, then I subject myself to a very primitive lifestyle: no cars, no cell-phones, no laptops or toilet paper: none of these can be produced without heavy industry.

If I want coffee, I can trade some of the things I make on my island (let’s imagine I’m a carpenter) with someone else for their coffee, but only if I have a bridge. But not just any bridge. I need to have a bridge that I can carry my wood furniture over: the rope bridge won’t do. In fact, the fallen log is out, and many of the narrow wooden bridges. The guy with the coffee can make use of most of the bridges, but my work requires a bigger bridge. The stonemason on the next island over needs really strong bridges.

I heard Rick Joyner say one time that when God sends him somewhere to minister, he’s always interested to see how they receive him. If they recognize him as a pastor or ministry leader, then there’s a certain amount of ministry he can bring. If they receive him as an author and a teacher, then there’s more he can bring. If they can accept him as a prophet, still more, and if they welcome him as an apostle, then he can bring the entire arsenal for them.

Rick is looking to see what kind of bridge exists between himself and the people he’s ministering to. If it’s a smaller bridge, built with less trust or less understanding of the things of God, then he’s able to bring less ministry over the bridge, perhaps just the ministry of a pastor. After a number of visits, perhaps the bridge is strong enough to support apostolic ministry.

If I don’t have any relationship with you at all, then it will be very difficult for me to minister to you, to strengthen you, encourage you, to equip you for the assignments that God has given you. Likewise, it’s nearly impossible for me to receive any strength or encouragement from you. There are people I know professionally; most of them don’t have a bridge with me that would support a prophetic word or a revelation from scripture.

When I speak with a group of people, the first thing on my agenda is to build relationship with them. I only have a few minutes with them, maybe an hour, so we have to work fast; I do that work with jokes, stories, illustrations. Fortunately, I have a teaching gift from God and the Holy Spirit loves to inhabit them: He makes the job much easier and faster, but it still takes time, and if I hope to carry something of value to them, I must have a bridge to do it!

Even Jesus saved his heavy revelation for the Last Supper, after Judas had left to collect his 30 pieces of silver. Only there among his eleven most trusted friends did he share his most significant secrets. Those were the only relationships that were able to bear it.

For a more scriptural example, let’s look at 1 Corinthians 3: It’s my opinion that this is essentially what Paul is saying: “Your end of the bridge isn’t substantial enough for this ministry.” They were acting like “mere men” which prevented him from teaching them weightier subjects. Same with Hebrews 5. The seven sons of Sceva may be an example of the bridge of relationship breaking because they tried to carry too much weight over it, but Stephen certainly is such an example.

Recently, I needed to bring a very strong word of correction to a brother in Christ. I actually had the word two years earlier, but the word was heavy enough that our relationship couldn’t support it. We built a relationship over those years, and eventually he invited me to speak into his life on that subject, and when I did, our relationship supported the weight of the word: he made the needed changes in his life (it took a few years), and we’re still friends. Now we both speak into each others’ lives.

Now the question is whether you and I have enough of a relationship to support this much meat? It’s not really a lot of weight, but then, we don’t have a lot of experience relating to each other either. "
[End of e-mail]

I thought about his words for a long time.

I thought about people in the church who can't receive correction from leaders, because they've never established a relationship strong enough to support a word of correction. They go from one church to another.

I thought about the sidewalk evangelist who brazenly walks through town condemning people to hell, without every stopping to ask their name or demonstrate one act of compassion.

I think about street healers who go around healing injured people just to gather testimonies to share with anyone who will listen....and leave without anything else being said.

I came to this conclusion:

Ministry Flows Through Relationships

We must learn how to develop bridges of relationship with people if we hope to ministering healing (or anything else) to them. Even if it's a small bridge, they must have a reason to trust us. Healing may just be the beginning of their life in the kingdom. After healing or deliverance they'll need to be discipled. Who does that? It might be us if we have the relationship to support it. We need an approach to ministry that's relational. What kind of model do I use?

I look at Jesus when I think about how we should minister. He healed people in a variety of ways. Sometimes the sick came to him. He didn't need to establish who he was in those cases. The sick knew he had the power to heal. All he did was release the healing to them. But we're discussing a different type of ministry here. One in which the person we want to minister to knows nothing about us. In those cases we need to do something to give them a reason to let us into their world.

My favorite encounter is where Jesus met the woman at the well of Samaria in John 4. Here's a brief overview of their encounter:

• Jesus departs from Judea and heads toward Galilee, passing through Samaria. (verses 3-4)
• He meets a woman at the well and asks for a drink (verse 7)
• She is offended at his request (verse 9)
• They discuss the nature of water. (verses 10-15)
• Jesus gives her a prophetic word about her current boyfriend and previous husbands (verses 17-18)
• She recognizes him as a prophet (verse 19)
• They discuss religious practices (verses 20-24)
• She brings up the subject of the Messiah (verse 24)
• He reveals that he is the Messiah (verse 25)

Jesus took a perfect stranger and in a few minutes of conversation (with the help of some divine revelation) convinced her he was the Messiah. We don't need to convince anyone we're the Messiah, our task is much easier. We need to convince them that we care enough about them to have God bless them with his healing power.

My suggestion is simple. Take a few minutes to get to know the person you want to heal. If they have an obvious injury ask how it happened. Ask about the weather or their children. Ask them about anything you might have in common with them. If you see sadness ask what it's about. If you sense fear ask that they're afraid of. Listen to what they say and respond (out of compassion) if it seems appropriate.

Take time to establish a bridge of trust before attempting to minister to someone. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Original Post: "Ministry Flows Through Relationships":

Todd White In New York - Part 2

Learn from Todd White as he demonstrates the power and love of God on the streets of New York.