Week of Miracles — More Lord

Ok, so this week I saw the first instant Healing Miracle I have ever been actively involved in.

So here it is, in all it’s gloriously simple details.
I’ll try to leave nothing out, no matter how insignificant it may seem.
NOTE: I don’t know how to write this and have the same effect without doing it in the first person. It is not my intent to draw attention to myself by using so many “I’s”. God is the one who orchestrated all of this, He is the one who heals.

Precursor:
Last Wednesday night, Erin, one of our sweet, sweet youth group girls was taken to the ER with pain in her abdomen (it had been hurting her for about a week if I recall).

They couldn’t let Beth (my Assistant) or I back to see her when we stopped by, but we later heard that she had infected lymph nodes surrounding her appendix. She relayed, that they told her that if it did not clear up she would have to undergo surgery to have her appendix removed.

As it turns out I didn’t know she was coming last night, but the Spirit had stirred me that morning to bring our little vial of anointing oil with me, so I stuck it in my car for the service (not yet knowing why).

My plan was actually to teach on healing last night, using a lesson developed by Doug Fields centered around the pool of Bethesda. God had better plans. In the words of my awesome earthly father “Don’t teach me about healing, bring it!” I taught nothing, and I didn’t even get to show the two clips of the video “Finger of God” that had miracles in it like I planned. Again, God had better plans.

The Kingdom Comes:
Fast forward to last night, Erin was among the first kids to show up, and came up to me and told me that her infection was getting worse (evidenced by the increasing pain). I asked her if we could pray for her for healing as a group, and she agreed.

To start our service off, we usually begin with worship through music, but last night we did not have a full team due to the Flu. So we used my Ipod and played three songs. Before the songs began, I told our team and the kids that there was someone we were going to pray for tonight to be healed. (Though He did not reveal to me that He was going to Heal Erin.) I also told them that when I was doing some boring administrative preparatory stuff for the service, I perceived that there was an opportunity for us to reach into the heavenly dimension tonight and bring the Kingdom to Earth. I don’t really know how to describe this, but it was almost like an invisible curtain that we could reach into and take her healing.

So I asked them to just pray during worship, I asked them to get themselves “right with God” [I really hate cliché terms, but you know what I mean ] right up front, and then instructed them to get down to business and ask God to come in power tonight. We listened to the songs, and I could feel His presence, and I could tell others on our team could feel it too, though it wasn’t any stronger than usual for me. While we were praying, I was actually asking God to heal her without any of us touching her, as we were all worshipping. (Since this is all new for us, and we are learning on the job my heart was for this, so that there would not be any opportunity for pride to find it’s way into our hearts, like we were some super-spiritual giants or something.) While we were praying I was asking God to demonstrate His great Love for Erin tonight by healing her, and I saw a fuzzy vision of us carrying her in a chair like she was a person to be honored, someone loved by a King.

So after those songs ended I put on the song “Mighty River” by Jason Upton and set it to loop. We asked Erin to come to the front and we put her into the nicest chair we have. Modeling one of my current day heroes of the faith, David Hogan, I requested that only the people who actually believed God would heal her tonight to pray, and without putting any condemnation on the others, just said they could observe. I was quite pleased when, too my knowledge, everyone got involved praying once we started. I asked 4 of our strongest guys to help me hold up the chair. With all of us crowded around her praying it didn’t feel safe to actually carry her around, so I just told us all to stay put (hoping in my heart that this wasn’t a “Moses striking the rock” event for me).

So we started praying — I started by asking God to flood her with His love, and give her a physical sensation of it in her body (to increase faith). Then we all prayed, sometimes together, sometimes in turn. After approx 10 mins I asked everyone to set her down, because I wanted her to test and see if she was improving, however at this time, after setting her down, she was so consumed by His Glory that she was unresponsive. She wasn’t unconscious, but she couldn’t, or wouldn’t talk. So we kept praying, asking Him for more. I asked all the girls who wanted to, to put their hands somewhere on her stomach, and take turns praying out loud, and asked all the boys to put their hands [appropriately] on one of the girls that were touching her. When there was a lull, myself or one of the leaders would pray. I suppose another 10 or 15 minutes went by, and I tried to talk to her again, I asked her what was going on. At this time, she said something but I couldn’t make out what she said (too much loud music in my lifetime). So Mariah, who was supporting her and closest to her face, translated for me. She had said “I feel like I am still floating” (referencing us holding her in the chair). She may have said something else as well, but I didn’t catch it if she did. So we all kind-of erupted into rejoicing, and went back at it. It was at this point (I think) I asked all of the boys to move in close and put their hands on her head and pray (beingcareful not to use her head as an armrest).

We prayed many things, but the things I remember are:
for His love to overcome her (this was a big focus)
for His Spirit to fill her
we rebuked any generational ties
dark spiritual connections
rebuked infirmity, etc. (I try to address things in a way that gets to the point but doesn’t scare kids, I learned this from Eric Smith, and Joel Denning.)

We probably prayed for another 10 mins or so, and I asked Erin again to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how she was now (1 being the way she felt when she came, and 10 being perfectly healed). I don’t remember what she said.

Next, I asked her to do something she couldn’t do before (something I learned in a practical sense from Bill Johnson, and conceptually from Jesus’ example of telling people who were lame, to walk, etc…) She then said it hurt to walk before, and took about 5 or 6 steps, still groggy and a little wobbly, some would say “drunk.” Then she said clearly and distinctly, “I couldn’t bend over before” [due to the intense pain]. I was standing right in front of her at this point in case she fell. She bent all the way over, and then straightened up, and started sobbing. I asked her “Are those pain tears or happy tears?” See nodded emphatically when I said “happy tears”, so I gave her a big hug, and we all started laughing and whoopin’ it up like a bunch a crazy Jesus freaks that go to “That Church” as we have been humorously referred to in the community.

After a few more minutes went by, I asked her to rate on a scale of 1 to 10 how she felt now.
She said “9?” with a hint of amazement in her tone, like “Is this really happening?”

I told her that she now had to go tell everybody how cool God was and what He did for her.

I called her house the next morning, and spoke with her mom, and she stated that Erin came home bubbling with excitement, perfectly fine and woke up fine.

I called her house again on my way home from work, and spoke to Erin. She said she went to school for the first time in over a week, and she has no more pain…

For those of you who were there, please e-mail me if I have left anything out. The more fully we recount this miracle of instant healing, the more we have the overcoming power of testimony. I plan on interviewing Erin on video next Wed, as she is going out of town this weekend. All of you who were there I’d like to do a quick reenactment of it. So we can record this for the purpose of building faith, and moving from Glory to Glory.

After the service, I was speaking to Sara and Rob, who came in late that night. (they have came only a couple time that I remember in the last 2 years) I told them “It wasn’t a coincidence that you came tonight.” Rob responded matter-of-factly “I know, God told me to get in the car and come to church.” Rob told me that during one of the songs (I don’t remember which one) that the knot in his stomach left, and “all the bones in his back and neck popped”. I had shown Rob part of the “Finger of God” video on lunch, and he said he needed to see a miracle himself.

Father, we honor You for what You have done in our midst, and we ask You for more. More Lord. May Your Kingdom continue to come, and may Your will be done. Help us to see and hear what You want to do through us on the earth, and help us to align ourselves with Your waves and surf them to Your shore. (Psalms 42 embellished)

UPDATE: Today we shared the above testimony in our main sanctuary at Church, and we asked people who needed healing to come forward.
None of this has been confirmed, except by the public testimony of the individuals themselves, however I have no reason not to believe them.

The service this morning was incredible.

We had several people testify to the power of God coming on them.
Words of knowledge happened, love was dominant.

When I asked for people to testify of being able to do something that they couldn’t do before. An RN who is a very solid person, just had surgery this past week to remove a breast due to cancer, said that God woke her up around 5 this morning and told her she needed to be in church. She came, but was really in a lot of physical discomfort, but while here, God restored her to the point she was felt a major improvement. She also said that she believed God was going to confirm on Thursday that she needs no Chemo, or Xray, when she sees the doctor.

Another lady had something wrong with her uterus, had went to the doctor last week, but due to the problem they coudln’t actually do the test because it was sealed closed. She said she felt God’s power wash over her and was confident that tomorrow when she goes to the doctor everything will be fine.

Several ladies testified to feeling his power on them.

Another guys is a newcomer to our congregation he is a retired colonel in the navy, and he had a stroke. I didn’t know him. His speech is the worst case his therapist has ever worked with. We prayed for his speech to be healed. When we were done, it was still slurred, but he said it had improved.

Another lady was tormented with fear, and it assaults her body physically, and she said she felt God come over her and clear her mind.

An older lady had a problem with her eye, even after surgery, and she said that she received another language this morning and felt.

Anyhow I think about 20 people came forward for prayer, and it was amazing to partake in what God is doing.