Sometimes we have nothing left in the tank. The sense of tiredness is real. Self care is essential, so as you read, balance the message with permission to rest.
We reach into the empty barrel believing we have nothing to give; only to find an abundant flow.
I was at kindy pick up for my 3-year-old son when I saw a mum who I had prayed for previously at a play date. She had asked why I was fasting. I explained Australia was in revival and a mighty move of God was afoot across our wonderful nation. As we spoke, she shared some of her private and very painful history, after which I prayed for her. While I prayed, she felt electricity running up her arms, and she cried, feeling His presence course through her body. She had encountered a good and loving God.
On this day, she looked tired. I asked her about this, and the tears flowed. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and prayed, releasing peace and rest. She reported her sleep was ok, but she was not feeling refreshed from her sleep. I prayed again, asking that one hour of sleep would be as four. I hugged her, nearly crying myself, and said to call if she wanted prayer again.
With said 3-year-old in tow, I planned to head home. Instead, I ‘knew’ I needed to go to a local shopping district. It was close to Christmas, so shopping was not what I felt like doing. However, hearing the nudge, I headed to the store I felt compelled to visit.
Uncertain why I was there, I looked. Feeling exhausted, I did not believe I had anything to give.
My barrel was empty.
Wandering about, I feigned interest. I noticed a woman with a brace on her wrist.
‘Person found,’ I thought.
I approached her and asked about the brace.
She had torn tendons in her wrist and thumb, so I offered to pray. She agreed and as I prayed she felt tingles, which continued long after I finished and she completed her shopping.
I turned towards God once more, knowing I had not completed the task. I felt tired, so I argued a little, but ultimately decided I would stay.
I could not shake the feeling I had not found who or what I was there for.
A woman had watched me closely as I prayed. I was aware of her, but I had ignored the feeling. I felt her watching me again and wondered if she was stalking me through the store.
Crossing her path, I smiled and turned to pass politely, but she suddenly stepped forward to speak.
Earnestly she said she felt stressed. She explained the stress was because she was hosting her son’s wedding reception at her home, followed closely by Christmas.
I agreed that would be stressful.
‘Thank you,’ she said.
The exchange puzzled me. Perhaps she needed to be seen.
I wandered on with my son, but there she was again…
I was sure she was intentionally placing herself in my path.
She engaged me in further conversation.
Tired, I did not want to chat. Small talk is a gift, a gift I do not posses. I have to work at it.
I stopped the sour grapes and simply threw caution to the wind. I offered to pray.
Excited, she readily agreed. She said she saw me on the other side of the store, praying for the other woman.
‘Ah, she had been watching me,’ I thought, ‘and she wanted prayer.’
Her name was Joy, so I prayed for Joy. I prayed for Joy to be released into her destiny; for joy (the Spirit of Joy) to come upon and within her; for Joy to receive ‘joy’; and for Joy to be Joy and all that entailed. In fact, it was the season for JOY!
I also prayed for the other circumstances she had shared.
As I prayed, I looked at her.
‘You can feel that, can’t you?’
She nodded, close to tears.
When I finished, she stared at me and asked if I knew some Christians on her street in a nearby suburb.
‘Oh no, here we go,’ I thought, but then she told me their names.
They were my pastors!
She said I was just like them – she told me she had been watching them.
‘… and now she had been watching me too,’ I thought wryly.
It was clear in that moment God was on her case. It was not a coincidence I was in that store. I was there for no apparent reason other than a hunch. My pastors’ witness impacted her. She was the one God had set His heart upon and sent me. She had a hunger to encounter the God my pastors knew; the God I knew; the God she wanted to know too- the one we all called ‘Lord,’ the one we all called Jesus.
I was there for her!
I explained I had not known why I had come to the shop. Yet, it was now apparent to me I had come for her.
It was apparent that God was on her case.
I wished her well and finished up in the shop.
My barrel was empty today-but God.
Life is busy at Christmas time. Children are excited, their behaviour can challenge. People make demands; others can be unkind. We can feel our barrel is empty and we have nothing to give.
However, God’s barrel is never empty. Despite me and my circumstances, as I reached into my empty barrel, God came through and touched three women – all in the space of an hour. Each woman needed a touch of God; all for different reasons.
As long as I will stop for the one, regardless of how I feel, regardless of me, my God will move to touch a hurting world.
Today I saw His arm long enough to embrace others through me; His grace sufficient for my needs to be met and His desires fulfilled. My barrel may feel dry, but His barrel is always full – His power is ever present.
Despite me, wine will always flow.
Since this day I have discovered people are watching. I know if they watch for long enough I will disappoint them because I am mere human; but if they will see through me to Him… that will not disappoint.
I have prayed for many who have yearned for a touch from God. There have been many such occasions. In my daughter’s school, a young teacher cried when I offered to pray. She explained she had been waiting, hoping for prayer. This shocked me, because I always felt so awkward in offering. But here was a woman desperate for the moment God saw her heart’s cry. Through her tears she said she thought she was going to miss out; I assured her God saw and loved her- she would never miss out.
We may think we are at the bottom of our barrel, there is nothing more to give. But, in the empty barrel, there is always more.
We had a few hours on a Saturday to do child free Christmas shopping before going to a movie. With our list in hand, we did not know that Jesus had His own Christmas shopping list for us to do too…!
I was in the ‘ladies’ when I found the first on His list. God told me to pray for someone outside my cubicle. Side note: Yes, He talks to me everywhere.
‘She has been a great blessing to others for many, many years, I want you to bless her’.
As I washed my hands, I looked at ‘her’ in the mirror.
She was an elderly woman waiting for her granddaughter. I introduced myself and stated that that I believed she had been a great blessing to many people over the years. I then asked if I could pray a blessing over her. She looked surprised but agreed.
Her name was Joy.
She was the second Joy I had prayed for that week and I mentally noted the ‘coincidence.’
I blessed Joy knowing that she knew Joy and was familiar with the Joy of God. She teared up a little as I prayed and blessed her, and once done, she asked if I would also pray for her granddaughter. I agreed and prayed and prophesied over her granddaughter, declaring her destiny would open and unfold, that she was a pillar and a leader in the coming move of God, which I believed would be a move that came through the youth in power. Joy excitedly said she had been praying for revival for years…
My husband had been waiting patiently outside. He knew what was going on inside because people were coming out from the bathroom saying in amazement that there was “someone praying in there for people…” and pointing back to the door. Andrew knew what I was up to and laughed. I hadn’t thought about that sort of impact, but it was quite funny…
Jesus assignment done, we got a coffee and discussed our shopping…
As we waited for our coffees, I popped into another store to “bag” our first item. C served me, and yes, God had me pray for her. C was a young girl (about 16) who “felt” the anointing as I prayed. I prophesied she would discover who she was and why she was in the next two years. She had said she did not know, but my gosh, she was a marvellous girl!. I headed off with my purchase and sat with my husband to finish our coffee…
I felt I had done my dash, and we headed off to a sporting store. We purchased nothing, but on our way out I walked past a very disabled girl with her parents. Strapped into her wheelchair, her arms and legs fastened down. The girl’s body was small, deformed, and she displayed no control over her head movements. I felt God’s strong desire for me to pray, but I was so intimidated by the severity of her condition. I internally argued with God as we walked away from the store, but ultimately said:
‘Ok, for You, I’m willing to do it…’ and I went back to search the shop.
I found the girl with her parents waiting at the checkout. The intensity of my nerves made it an extreme fight to approach them. I fought the extreme urge to walk away, knowing that God really wanted me to ask if I could pray for her…
Stopping in front of her chair, I asked her parents if I could pray. I desperately did not want them to feel that I felt sorry for them, but I also wanted them to know that I cared. They agreed, so I knelt and addressed their daughter, who could not talk at all.
She was dribbling and had an angry-looking rash on her face from the dampness of her dribble. Her hands were unformed, and her body was tiny. I knelt and taking her hand in mine, and I quietly introduced myself. Her parents looked weary and watched on as I prayed, and her father leant in to listen.
As I prayed, she locked her gaze on mine. I believe she could clearly feel God as I prayed for her. The frantic movements slowed, and she held onto my gaze several times. I prayed for her parents too and asked God to provide solutions.
Leaving the store, I thanked the girl and parents for stopping and allowing me to pray for them. I felt wobbly and said to Andrew it must be nerves; instead he encouraged me, suggesting it was the intensity of anointing…
“Ok” I thought, “big one down”, shake, shake, shake, “gosh, ok, deep breath” shake, shake, shake…
I slowly settled down as we walked through Big W, fighting the negative thoughts, the accusations of failure and the residual impact of the nerves.
As the legs stopped shaking, I could focus on our task at hand. Andrew encouraging me all the way, we successfully made further purchases.
As we left God prompted me to pray for the cashier who said to me ‘I am not a Christian’ to which I said something like ‘that doesn’t matter, I can still bless you’ which I promptly did, placing my hand on his elbow as I spoke peace over him for this season of business.
It was time for our movie, so we headed toward the theatre. To our surprise, we had calmly and easily done all our shopping.
I felt quite successful, having bagged all that we had, and I waited while Andrew put our purchases into the car. As I stood, I tried to ignore a young girl in a wheelchair. I had noticed her out of the corner of my eye. I calmly ignored the very brief, quiet prompting, preferring to hear the louder “no” that came very much on top of the whispered ‘pray for her’. The prompt was so subtle, and I wanted to get to our movie on time, so I tried to ignore her, and I literally turned my back.
I stood and argued internally, but it was no good; I knew I had to stop for this one too.
Walking over to the girl’s mother, I introduced myself, asked what her daughter had done and if I could pray. The Mum’s name was ‘A’ and was also with her teenage son, who looked like he had down syndrome, but who we later found out had autism. She looked back at me and immediately said yes, that would be great.
I knelt by the young girl (she was 14 years old) and she told me a brick wall had fallen on her, crushing and breaking one leg. The damage included the growth plate, so they had to do the same with the other leg in order that the legs would grow at the same rate.
I placed my hands on her legs (after she also gave me permission) and I prayed. She felt heat. I continued to pray and prophesy, while her friends stood by our side, politely not looking.
I asked her if she had asked Jesus into her heart. She said she had, but on a prompt I said ‘let’s do it again’ and so in response she asked Jesus into her heart. I suggested she ask that He fill her up, so she did. I continued to pray and when she said “enough” (a boundary we had agreed upon before I prayed) I thanked her and looked at her mother who then thanked me.
I thought I was going to go into the movie theatre after this and time was ticking along. We had not been to a movie for years by ourselves, so it was a real treat. However, I felt to pray for her brother and so turning to the mother I asked if I could pray for him too. She again readily agreed.
The boy called “B” was 16 years old. He swayed heavily under the anointing, and I motioned to Andrew, who quickly steadied him. He was incredibly ‘open’ to God’s presence.
I felt to suggest he say, ‘Jesus, come into my heart’
He did.
I then felt to suggest to him, ‘say Jesus fill me up,’
B said ‘Jesus fill me up’, and on saying it he kept saying it, over and over, laughing and swaying heavily under the anointing.
I finished and turned to the mother, knowing I had to pray for her too.
‘Well, this is more important than being on time for the movie,’ I thought and I offered to pray.
She agreed.
As I prayed for the mother, the compassion of God came upon me and I nearly cried. She looked like she did too. I received words of knowledge about her–she was struggling (that was obviously a possibility given her two kids) she was making major decisions, and she was a single Mum.
She told me she had 3 children and had told my husband prior to me praying that she had found the recent challenges with her daughter’s injury tough. I prayed, and she quietly received; she was so very thirsty for God and drank Him in, and as I finished praying for her, I placed my arms around her and held her close for a long, long time.
I went to release my hug, but she hung on, so I hugged her some more and when I felt it was enough, I again tried to disengage, but she again hung on again. So, I continued to hold her, yet feeling quite embarrassed by now. Again I went to release her, but she continued to hang onto me quietly. I tried again, and she hung on again… so I just stood in the middle of the busy shopping centre and let her drink and cling to me for what seemed an eternity…
I gave her our church card, and I wrote my private number on it so she could call me if she felt she wanted.
As we walked away my husband said to me he believed we were there, not so much for the daughter, but for the Mother, who had been through such a tough time, for Jesus says:
‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me… streams of living water will flow from within him.’John 7:38-39
We saw our movie, but we missed the promos. This did not bother us at all. We even had time to go to the bathroom and settle in before the movie started. God had it all timed beautifully and I am so glad that I did not rush because He had treasures in the darkness to give…
Every person I encountered was a treasure in the darkness, waiting to be discovered. Each was a treasure set out for me to discover, to find, to uncover and my footsteps ordered by a loving and knowing God. He not only blessed us with the miracle of a great time together, Christmas shopping in the Christmas rush, but He also entrusted 10 people that all needed a touch from their mighty and loving God. Ten people altered for ever more. He left those treasures out for me to find because …
God is Good.
Post Script: The shopping day was a Saturday, a few years ago now. I wrote the story up on a Tuesday, and just as I finished writing the mum rang me with the following report:
Her daughter stood without crutches on the Sunday;
Her son lost his aggression and was much calmer. There was a change in his eyes, and they looked ‘more alert.’ He had stopped asking about his father who left the family earlier that and she said the ‘worry has lifted from his face’, he is ‘much calmer’. She told me he continues to say ‘Jesus fill me up’ and is laying hands on his mother and family friends and asking ‘can you feel that?’ and she can;
The mum (A) felt much more at peace (in her home and in herself). The night before meeting us she was suicidal, and when she saw us across the shops, she stood willing us to come over. She said there was a light around both Andrew and I that she saw and wanted to be near. From that afternoon A cared for herself properly, eating 3 meals a day, and was feeling at peace.
A told me she had thought about the encounter every day. She believed it was not a coincidence that we met. Just before she met us she had looked for a car park and just knew that she would find one on the middle level (where she met us) at about 1.30pm, just in time to meet us after getting her daughter out of the car with the wheelchair. She said that she had told her daughter that there would be a car park for them in that place, and there was a reason for the delay in finding one.
During our discussion on the telephone, A gave her heart to Christ. We talked at length and she shared some of her story with me. She also asked for and received the gift of tongues, feeling a ‘tingling up and down her legs’ as we prayed. She also felt the tingles over her head, as she had done earlier. Her ‘spirit spot’ burned lightly as we talked and prayed.
Post Post Script:
I kept in contact with A over Christmas and eventually arranged a coffee at my home in mid-January.
The bell rang, and on answering the door A was with her daughter who was standing. Her daughter’s name also begins with A so I will call her Little A. I stood looking at Little A and they both laughed at my shock. Little A was walking, without leg braces, without a wheelchair and without a walking stick.
After my initial shock, they came into my home where I heard the story.
Little A had stood for the first time unaided the day after I had prayed for her. She had been told on 6th January by her physiotherapist that she would need the wheelchair, leg braces and a crutch for another 6 weeks. Yet, she was walking completely unaided on 18th January… 12 days later! At the six week mark she was back training with cadets.
Apparently she had been walking not long after being prayed for. They had gone on holidays after Christmas at a caravan park in Phillip Island. They took the wheelchair, but had not used it, and she had been walking unaided since.
So, here she was, walking well, on Wednesday 18th January, having had two broken legs and having been told she would need a wheelchair, leg braces and a walking stick for at least another 6 weeks on 6th January…!
On this visit, Little A explained that she still needed more strength in her legs. I laid hands on her legs and called strength into her thigh muscles and as I did her mother, my daughter and I noticed her knee caps moving up and down with no input from her, as if her thigh muscles were being contracted and released. She did not feel it, it just happened.
She stood and tried them out and I prayed again, and it happened again…
Her Mother and I concluded her thigh muscles must have been being strengthened supernaturally. It was the oddest thing to watch her knee caps bobbing up and down in a rapid movement!
After we finished praying and we went for a walk during which I heard more of her story.
Apparently A’s family transformed. Her son was no longer violent, she was walking in abundant favour, disputes settled supernaturally, with no effort on her part. She shared how she had told a friend who was also in a place of despair how she too could be free-she was ready to give what she had received away to others!
A said the entire journey had been remarkable, the turnaround, marvellous…
I just listened in awe, knowing that it was all a miracle, and I noted that I nearly did not stop for them because I wanted to get to the movies on time…
I wondered how many others I had simply walked past…
How many others may have had a life transformed… had I stopped for the one…
I am certain that there is no condemnation in Christ, but how His heart yearns for us to recognise and to step into who we truly are, to co-labour with Him in the family business.
This is an older story – an early one in my journey of “stopping for the one”. It was the start of a journey that this man went on over the next year or two, where he started to question his atheistic belief system, and wonder whether he could also be loved by God. It was also the start of a journey for me where God dealt with me quite firmly about my issues and my embarrassment in stopping in a known environment amongst peers … it is a story in which He essentially says … “get over yourself, stop being a prude, kneel down and pray …”
It was mid Winter and I was driving to school to collect my daughter. It was smack in the middle of the Aussie Rules football season and in typical Melbourne style it was raining a drizzly type rain.
As I drove I saw a stay at home Dad that I had got to know called M. He was walking to school in the rain. M is a rough gem who wears shorts and thongs or runners all year round (winter and summer), and who had got many of the women’s tongues wagging up at the school for his lack of “charm” … in other words he called “a spade a spade”. I liked him.
I pulled over and offered him a ride. He responded by saying that that normally he would say no, but that on this day he would say yes because he had hurt his knee.
He jumped into the car and we rode the short distance to school, chatting as we went. I asked about the knee and he said that it was an old injury that required a knee reconstruction. By the time we were in the playground waiting for the kids to come out I knew I had to offer to pray, but did not know how to do it with him – in front of all the other mums at school pick up.
God had given me a picture, and I had just learnt that God will sometimes give us a picture of how He wants us to pray to release a healing. The picture I had received was that I was to kneel down in front of him and place my hand on his bare knee and pray as I knelt.
I offered to pray. M said did not believe in any of that stuff but that I could give it a go if I wanted. He then went on to say that if it worked it would be great to be able to play football that Saturday … but he doubted it would work.
I did not want to kneel – it was wet on the ground, he was a man wearing shorts and I felt it was inappropriate to kneel in front of him in the wet with my hand on his bare knee … and, what was worse, it was in front of all the other mums, milling around waiting for their kids to come out of school!
So, in my “wisdom” I placed my hand discreetly on his shoulder and started to pray. As I prayed I felt/heard a strong rebuke from God who said “Get on your knees” – essentially saying “I showed you how to pray, now do it”.
I took a deep breath, focusing on the fact that M could be healed, and told him that I needed to place my hand on his knee. And so I knelt in the wet, with the cold and wet coming through my jeans, in front of the car park mums and prayed. The mums looked at me and I felt very embarrassed, but went on regardless.
While on my knees, feeling very vulnerable, I looked up at him and asked if he felt anything – he said he felt heat and so I kept praying and then asked him to move the knee around … he did and he felt some relief so I prayed again, still on my knees and I then stood and asked him to try it out …
He bent it back and forth and said all the pain was gone. I asked him to jump on it, jumping up and down next to him as I did. He jumped up and down on it and looked amazed and said there was no more pain and that he would not have believed it … but that he had felt the heat and that it was amazing, that maybe he was wrong about all this stuff …
Delighted (and that is an understatement!), I got on with collecting my daughter and left it at that …
I saw him the following week and asked how he had got on. He said, like a little kid, with absolute joy, that he had played his game of footy that Saturday!
I was at my son’s piano lesson, waiting for him to finish after what had been a long day. I had considered sitting in my car. I was tired and so often I end up interacting with people in the parents waiting room; however, I knew that this was where God would want me to be …
The door slid open and in bounced two little poppets (5 and 7) that have a lesson after my son. I said a cheery “hello” and “konnichiwa” (my son son learns from a Japanese teacher, and most of the students have one or both parents from Japan), and I smiled asking how they all were.
The two poppets and their mum sat. I asked whether they had been doing any more origami (their mum had taught my son how to make a stork a few weeks earlier) and they shook their heads … and as the older sat she winced and rubbed her neck, speaking something to her mum in Japanese.
I looked and asked if she had a sore neck and her mother looked and said that she had slept poorly and hurt her neck … and said … “what is it called a crook neck?”
I replied, “yes, a crook neck, where the neck gets hurt due to poor sleeping position” and I mentioned that my daughter had suffered from one a few weeks earlier.
The mum asked what could be done, and so I mentioned that heat helped, that we had seen an osteopath to massage it out, and that with massage and heat it would get better …
7 year old poppet kept rubbing and looked in pain …
I felt the familiar “knowing”, not even needing to ask Him, I offered …
“Would you like me to pray for her? That can work too” I said and when queried I said “pray” and put my hands in a familiar prayer pose …
The mum said “yes” and the little girl nodded and shuffled over to my side where I gently placed my hand and prayed, explaining that she may or may not feel something, heat, cool, tingles … but that God would want her well …
I sat quietly and in Jesus name prayed for healing. The little girl melted a little in the face and I said “you feel Him don’t you?” and she nodded in response …
“What do you feel?” I asked.
She looked and said “heat, it is warm”…
I asked her, “has the pain gone”
She nodded saying “yes” and smiled.
I said “oh good there you go” … all the while her mum watched and then asked what religion I followed …
I gently explained I was a Christian, that we believe in Jesus Christ as the son of God and that the Bible says that as a Christian I can lay hands on the sick and they will be healed in Jesus name …
She nodded saying “thank you.”
I smiled and said “your so very welcome, I’m so glad she feels better”, as 7 year old poppet moved and flexed her neck with a smile.
Now, a little later I did pray again, but for the mum. I prayed favour for the family, for their destinies to be opened for their next move for work and as I did my son’s teacher came out smiled as she saw what I was doing (yes I have prayed for her too over the years) and she called her next student in.
And so I ask … where are you meant to be positioned? Where does God want you … in the car, isolated and alone, but comfortable … or out in the community ready to release His love, His light, His warmth …
I believe I know where He wants me most of the time … and I know this because …
Did he really say that? Was I on the money? Oh, my gosh, I stuffed that one up!
All of us are on a journey of discovery … discovery of who we are, Whose we are, learning how to hear the Father’s voice …
The last story posted (the Sound of Healing) was a story of miraculous healing. The healing occurred at a conference two years ago. I had been invited to that conference to minister, as part of a team. The first night had been challenging, for me. I was stretched. It was a worship rehearsal where we were called to minister to the worship team, give words of prophecy etc …
Now I had done this type of thing before … but each time I have to step out this way, particularly in a church, I get nervous … very nervous!
On this particular night I was tired, but I stepped into it, knowing God wanted the team touched more than I did, and I briskly told myself to get on with it!
I came to a man (who I later knew as G) who immediately seemed to me to be tired. It was like he had lost hope. I could tell he was a mature Christian, a seasoned Christian, and I knew he was a man of integrity and I felt he was battle weary. I cannot remember the full extent of the word, but it was a word of a new season, that a new sound was coming. That he had been a warrior and now the fight was over, that there was something new on the horizon …
Now, from my perspective he looked to me like he had “heard it all before” … and in response I felt like I had missed the mark … I tried to encourage him and said ‘you watch something new is coming … “ but as I did I felt a strong desire to retreat to run away … even to cry … I felt I had completely and utterly stuffed up, and that although it was an encouraging word, it had not been received well and was completely “off”…
I moved onto the next person to give the next word, trying to shake the feeling off, trying to gather my thoughts and step out again in trust that I would hear well … feeling a dismal failure, and a right goose!
The prophesying finished, and he walked up to stage to play. I was relieved that the ministry time was over … and I felt the accusations come … the voice saying “you missed it … you can’t and don’t hear from God well … he knows you are no good at this … you might as well give up … who do you think you are anyway …”
I shrugged it off, and tried to press into God, knowing I had followed prophetic protocol and had kept the words that night encouraging.
Now, I tell this story because it was two years later that I “bumped into” this man and his wife (who was healed miraculously that weekend). We were in the line for a ride at a theme park of all places! We caught up for dinner that night and it was there that they told me that it was that word that I had given that night … that word that I had so doubted, that the man had held onto and taken home and it had been the catalyst for them to step out in faith and believe for his wife’s healing that weekend … I had no idea!
She wrote to me the following in an e-mail:
In regard to your prophetic word…. it was the Thursday night at the Creative Meeting when you all were praying and prophesying over the musicians that were going to be involved over the Wonders Conference weekend. You were praying over G and said to him that he had been a warrior, that he had gone through a great battle and that it was drawing to an end, that a new beginning was about to commence – the fight was over. … you have no idea how excited G was when he came home that night after you prophesied those words over him. I know that you wouldn’t have had a clue how significant your words were, or if they meant anything at all to G but ‘far out’ they were so spot on and you verbalised the very words of God Himself. The words God spoke through you were what began the faith growth in G, and then G speaking them to Pastor Mark, and then me – and the outcome of God healing me caused the biggest growth in faith in our church that continues to grow daily. It all began … with your prophetic word. (you may be blown away now and even cry a little because of how great God is, and all we have to do is make ourselves available and let God do the rest – let Him speak, let Him lead, let Him heal – all we have to do is be there).
She later wrote to me:
In response to your comments, you’re exactly right we all play our part, no one more important than the other. God orchestrates it all, brings us all together to play our part. There was your prophesy which got the ball rolling, advising G that it’s over – [that he’d] well and it’s time! G’s faith and obedience to talk to Mark and then to confess his faith in front of everyone on the Saturday afternoon session, then there was Pastor Mark’s faith, boldness and courage in obedience to take the whole church to the chicken line, then there was Fergus [the drummer on Saturday morning] who felt ‘oh my goodness! What am I doing!!’ There was Ally [worship leader, singer], who was obeying and worshiping and prophesying in song as God led her, then there was me and all I had to do was lay there, and my part wasn’t any more important than anyone else’s – we were all instruments in an incredible performance that God was putting on/performing!! Praise God!!! I get so excited talking/writing about it. … you should definitely include your prophesy and how you felt and the actual impact of your word. … I really feel you need to write about it because there is so much for people to learn from your experience. You thought (felt condemned) that you had said something so far off base, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. I think G’s look probably came from sheer shock of how incredibly accurate you were, and maybe too, it was perhaps a little naivety on his part – this prophesying etc was all very new to him.
And so I have written about my part to encourage others to step out and let God. I am humbled by all that A writes and I feel privileged to be a small part of an unfurling of a healing miracle that sparked a bush fire of faith in their Church … and so, the reason I write is to show that He can use anyone at any time, that how we feel about our so called “performance” is not relevant … it is our heart attitude of doing our best and being available to Him that matters … for we don’t know the plans that He has for ourselves or for others, but we do know, without a doubt, that whatever His plans are, they are plans to bless us, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11 NASB) and, I know this for sure: that if I can be used … then anyone can be used purely and simply because …
This is a testimony forwarded to me from a friend in Tasmania. I am leaving it in it’s entirety … written as she has written it. It is precedent for healing … and many have been healed by reading, and or by listening to the pod cast … enjoy … and if you need healing … take it as precedent and say “Do it again God” … and He will because … God is Good!
She writes:
Psalm 107:2 ‘Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story…’ (NIV)
Psalm 107:1,2 ‘Oh, thank God – He’s so good! His love never runs out. All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how He freed you….’ (MSG)
God has freed me!!! Freed me from an illness where there was no cure, no answers, all avenues exhausted with no help to be found. God is so good!!
When I fell sick in Jan 2007 I was 39yrs old, married to a wonderful husband with two beautiful sons who were 12 and 14. Life was good, I worked full time, was active in our church, I had a close relationship with God, was fit – running two or three times a week, swam, played basketball, volleyball and any sport that came my way. As a family we regularly took holidays together and would go camping, bushwalking, water skiing, swimming and fishing. Life was good.
Then, out of the blue I got very, very sick. I sought out my local doctor who prescribed numerous courses of antibiotics, underwent various tests which turned out to be detrimental to my health which caused my health to be further weakened. I was finally diagnosed with having mycoplasma pneumonia along with glandular fever which led to an extremely weak immune system that then developed into an acute and severe case of post viral chronic fatigue. In addition to this, I also picked up a muscular condition called fibromyalgia.
Over the years my husband and friends taxied me around to various doctor’s appointments, medical tests, naturopaths, alternative doctors, health retreats etc. I tried all kinds of treatments in search of a cure: pain killers, antidepressants, magnets, naturopath concoctions, intense vitamin supplements, detox treatments, diets, massage, acupuncture, I even had my two amalgam fillings removed – I tried everything with no success and often the treatments made me worse, and on two occasions the treatments were so harmful to my health that my husband thought he was going to lose me.
This journey went on for five and half years and was the worst and hardest years of our lives but regardless, my relationship with God not only remained close but grew stronger and stronger. I’m not saying that I didn’t experience ‘down times’, I most certainly did, and for a period of time I did suffer from depression but I knew that God would one day heal me. So I remained hopeful and optimistic and had an inner strength that of course came from the Lord. God, on a very regular basis communicated to me through His word, through people, through visions and through His audible voice that He had everything under control and that the days were numbered for this illness and they would not last one day longer than He ordained. I was to wait, wait and be patient, trust in Him – so I did, I surrendered myself and my body to His will.
For the past 16 years my family and I attended Gateway Church in Devonport, Tasmania. Our church in August 2012 was hosting a Wonders Conference, a Conference where we invite God to display His miracles and wonders, and wow, did God show up! The conference ran from Thursday to Sunday morning. On the Thursday night my husband went to the meeting and was prayed for and prophesied over that there is a new beginning about to start, you’ve been a warrior and now the fight is over. He came home so excited. So off we all went to the Friday night meeting and I was especially believing that tonight was the night that I was going to be healed. I remember praying, just before we left home, ‘I give myself to you God, I surrender myself to you. I am ready to be healed – let your will be done in my life, I don’t want to be anywhere else but in the center of your will.’
When the alter call came, up I went, ready to be healed. A lady started praying for me, then she stopped and said, ‘God wants you to know how much He loves you.’ Ok. I told her that I knew God loved me and I told her a little of my story and said that I want to be healed. She continued praying then stopped and said, ‘God wants you to know just how much He loves you, like your first love – He loves you so, so much.’ The tears then just overflowed, I knew God loved me, I couldn’t have survived these past five and a half years without Him loving me so much and holding onto me so tightly. I went home not disappointed but confused, but then I felt God remind me ‘you wanted my will didn’t you?’ I absolutely did.
Most of the days while I was sick I was restricted to either my bed or the couch, I was most certainly house bound. For most of that time I couldn’t drive and when I did go out I paid for it dearly. Depending on what I did and how long or exhausting the outing was, was how long I suffered for it. Some outings could take days or even weeks to recover from and if I was really unlucky I would pick up some bug or virus going around, because of my weakened immune system, and then the recovery could even take months.
So, Saturday, after going out Friday night to the meeting, was a bad, bad day, spending the majority of the day in bed dosed high on pain killers. There was no way I could possibly get to another session. My husband spent all of Saturday at the conference and God revealed to him that all you have to do is get your wife to church just like the people in the New Testament did when they lowered their sick friend through the roof of the house where Jesus was preaching. He talked to our pastor and asked him, if he could arrange a time for the visiting team to pray for me after the morning service in one of the side rooms. Our pastor’s face lit up on hearing this and agreed that this could be arranged.
My husband played drums for that Sunday morning service and as soon as the worship finished (with my husband still seated behind the drums) our pastor got on stage and announced that we were believing for a miraculous healing this morning and ‘G, it’s time to go get your wife and bring her in’, Well, that did it! My husband was so excited, ‘this is it, it is going to happen!’ He messaged my youngest son (who by now was 17yrs) ‘I’m coming to pick up mum for church to be prayed for, can you wake her up.’ When he got home I was up and dressed but not really with it. I was in zombie mode as my mind and body weren’t really communicating or working well together, I didn’t even have the energy to speak. When my husband asked if I was ok all I could do was nod or give him the thumbs up signal. He said that trying to get me in the car was like trying to push a bean bag onto the seat, and I was only a little girl. I wanted to go and be prayed for but was sceptical of the timing, thinking that if it was my time to be healed God would’ve healed me Friday night.
I remember the car ride over and thinking, when we travel this road to come back home I’m either going to be healed or I’m going to be feeling even worse than I do now and will probably crawl back into bed and be bedridden for days. My husband’s mind was on a totally different wave length, because of the public announcement our pastor had made previously that morning, he knew that me being prayed for was going to be a public witness instead of a quiet, private event that he had led me to believe, and he wasn’t sure if or how I would handle this situation. He knew for a fact that I would strongly oppose such a spectacle because of how I was feeling and also being so much out of my character and my comfort zone.
So, we arrived at church, we quietly sneaked in the doors while the sermon was drawing to an end. I noticed people spotting us and then nudging others to look around and take notice but thought nothing of it, I didn’t have the energy to worry about what was going on. Then, our pastor from the stage calls out my name – I froze, goose bumps all over my body, and says, ‘can you and your husband come up on stage.’ He shared with the congregation a little about my story and how faithful I was and then asked me if I could pray for the church, just as Job prayed for his friends, and that when Job prayed for his friends he himself was healed, and so too would my prayer for the congregation bounce back tenfold on to me.
Pray for the church!! Me? In front of 500 people, pray out loud, when I can’t even put two words together this morning!! He handed me the microphone, and to this day I remember silently pleading ‘God, help me!’ God, to that moment, had never, ever let me down, and He wasn’t about to start. Shaking and with tears streaming down my face, God filled me with an incredible prayer for the congregation, a prayer that I could never in a million years come up with even if I’d had months to prepare, and apparently it was all spot on to what the topic had been on in the sermon that very morning (which I had missed). God is amazingly good!
Then, our pastor explained that the drummer who had now been ‘tagged in’ while my husband came to collect me, had a ‘word’ given to him that sometime over this conference weekend, while he was playing, someone was going to be healed. So our pastor asked him to start playing and let the Holy Spirit do the rest. Well, off he went (let me add that he is an incredible drummer). As the drummer was getting ready to start, the worship leader asked me to lay on the floor in front of the drums. At this point it didn’t faze me at all and I was more than happy too. So, here we are… little old me, quiet, not a ‘look-at-me’ person at all, laying on the floor, in front of the drums, on a stage, in front of 500 witnesses – God has such a sense of humour. I wasn’t aware at the time but found out later that while I was laying on the stage many of the congregation came forward, praying for me with their hands reached out towards me and towards heaven. While the ‘face melting’ drum solo was going on I felt incredible joy, I felt the Holy Spirit’s presence in and around me. At one point I felt like I couldn’t breathe, just couldn’t get a lung full of air at all and was kind of gasping, but then all of sudden I was able to take a huge breath and as I breathed out I felt the illness leave me.
When the drumming ceased I had to get the people who were around me to help me up (a bit embarrassing) and then they asked me how I felt and what had just happened. I silently prayed that God would help me say only what had happened, that I would be honest and not just say what I thought people wanted to hear. I reported that ‘I felt something happen, couldn’t really explain what but felt that God had healed me even though I was still feeling so weak’.
From the very moment I walked off the stage to this day, I have progressively got stronger and stronger. As we drove home I could feel energy returning back into my body. I am healed!!! At this point in time, almost 15 months after my healing, I have just completed a 10km fun run, 15 months ago I couldn’t even walk around the outside of my house! God is so good!! The worship leader that Sunday morning gave me a verse, Isaiah 40:31 ‘…strength will rise as you wait upon the Lord.’ That has been so true, and my strength continues to rise.
Refer to Podcasts:
Gateway Church Devonport, Tasmania, Australia Ps Mark von Blankensee, Aug 16 , 2012 – Wonders Conference Session Five – 53min in (but listen to the whole service)
Gateway Church Devonport, Ps Mark von Blankensee, Aug 26, 2012 – Celebration Sunday – begin 54min in – Testimony of myself, my husband, one of our pastors and the drummer.
The Sunday following the day that I prayed for my friend at school drop off (see previous post), I texted to see whether her daughter could come over for a play date with my son. Hearing nothing back, and with a very persistent 6-year-old badgering me, I rang …
Z answered saying that she was just texting me, and she burst into tears, saying she felt so much better with me on the phone … that every time she saw me at drop off or pick up she felt better … that she felt better that my son was friends with her daughter … that she just felt better standing next to me … being near me … she gushed … and I felt embarrassed …
Suffice to say, her daughter could not come to play, little G she was at her grandma’s being looked after because her mum was having single mum overload and needed a little space.
As Z cried she said she had been drafting a lengthy sms to me, explaining how she had been healed of her chest infection … her chest and voice were clear … and she was well. She then went on to say how much she valued myself and my son and how she felt joy and peace whenever she saw me …
She continued on as my mind raced, feeling overwhelmed with all she was saying, knowing it was Jesus in me, but for her for now I was Jesus to her in her world … and I gently told myself I did not need to fear the responsibility of being perfect for her … I just needed to be real and to listen to and release Him …
I took a deep breath and said to her that what she felt each time I was with her, or each time I spoke to her on the phone, was in fact Jesus; that what she felt when I prayed for her was God, the Holy Spirit, and that what I had she could access for herself … any time, any where …
She listened and I felt Holy Spirit prompt me to help her go to her “God Space.”
So I quietly explained that we all had a God Space, a place where we can all access God, regardless of whether we were a Cristian or not … that God loved us all and wanted relationship with us. I said “would you like me to show you how?”
She sniffed, and said “… yes” …
So I said, take a few deep breaths in and ask God “Where are you for me right now?” …
She did … she quietly asked “God, where are you for me right now” and I could hear her breathing calm down and sensed the shift over the phone of where she was at …
I gently said …”you may feel Him above you, below you, around you … you may see a colour, a picture, feel a breeze … can you sense Him now? Can you tell me where He is for you right now …”
She said “yes I can feel Him all around me … just like when you pray for me …”
So I said “What else is there about that, that you can tell me” … and I stepped her through the very basic steps of helping someone find their God Space …
She responded “it’s peaceful, it’s calm, it’s like I feel when you pray for me …”
I said “great, that is your God space, now ask Him what He wants to tell you about where you are right now, your situation” for I knew nothing about it … but He did. What I did know was really really tough, and I knew better than to be drawn into it all for I did not have the answers, nor the skills, nor the resources to help … but Jesus did …
She responded sniffing a little more, but sounding very calm … “I feel like it is all going to be alright … I don’t know how, but I know it is all going to be alright … I feel really safe, I feel really loved …”
I said “that is God … He is never scary, He is never accusing … you feel love because He is Love, you feel peace because He is Peace, you feel safe because He is safe … now this is how you go to where He is for you, do you think you can do that again?”
She responded “yes, I feel so calm …”
And I then went on to talk about a video that one of the people who follow this blog sent me, a video clip about a Muslim girl who had come to Christ at the expense of the loss of relationship with her mother. I told her that this girl’s friends who saw her after she had given her heart to Christ had said how “her eyes shone with a new light” more than before … and I said that we used to, and planned to again, run nights at our home where we taught people how to do exactly what she had just done … to know God, to know Jesus for themselves … that perhaps she could perhaps come sometime …
She responded she would like that … and to which she said “I think I may become a Christian, my dad would be ok with that … he’s good that way … it would be whatever worked for me, and he would be ok with that …”
To which I replied that such a decision would be a great one, and that she was surely on a journey with Jesus … He was calling her, and wanted a relationship …
We finished up our call … she resting in the peace and glow that was Heaven sent … resting in The One … and me amazed at a good and beautiful God … amazed that just doing life with Him, draws people to Him …
I am so glad I chose to “out” myself at my son’s new school two terms ago (see earlier story) … and pray for a young single mum whose mum was ill … for, whatever reason, she is drawn to me … and her daughter is drawn to my son … in fact, I don’t believe it is me she is necessarily drawn to, but the One in me … I am willing to listen to His lead, and release Him as I go … and I believe she will take Him as her own … soon … and as she does I am happy to be there by her side, to walk the journey with her and as and when she does she will continue to discover and marvel at the truth that …
It was a story of the beginning of a healing from cerebral palsy (see link).
The testimony came from a friend, who had been walking with the family concerned.
My friend, now a grandmother, is a pillar in the church, a giant in the land, who calls things that are not as though they are … and she is a giant because of the battles she and her husband, also a giant, has fought and won … she is a giant because she has laid her life down and God has raised her up to walk in great authority over the land …
My friend has been healed of cancer, foster cared over 70 babies and children, all the while caring for her son who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy …
While not denying the “facts” she stood her ground with a good God, holding onto the prophetic words spoken over her son and family, and believing and pulling on the promises of God in His word … and as she did she, and the community around her, watched as miracle after miracle unfolded … miracles that the doctors said would never happen …
This story has the fullness of promise that the other Christmas Day story had the beginnings of …
This is a complete testimony of a complete healing for those of you who are looking for a total healing …
An apple seed has many apple trees within it … but first it must be planted and watered and cared for … so too, the promises of God …
God has used this family and this testimony as an apple seed for others … the testimony is a fully grown apple tree, which is now in turn seeding and creating a harvest of healings for others … and I know there are those out there that need to know that God is Good and that He is good to His word … that healing is available today …
This story, like its predecessor, was not instant, and in this world of instant this and instant that, I believe we so often miss what God is doing and somehow give up on a miracle that may have already started to happen, if we would just hang in there to see it to maturity?
My friends chose to speak life … not death over the world of their son … for “life and death is in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21) and in doing so saw God’s nature revealed …
Her story is as follows and she writes:
My pregnancies had never been easy, but with P the Lord did a miracle and after 4 months I was no longer sick and felt quite good.
P was born after a very easy labour, so easy that the doctor jokingly said that I might as well go home straight away since there had been nothing to it!
We dedicated P to the Lord at only 2 weeks of age … the whole service unintentionally resulted in being centred around his dedication as the Holy Spirit moved.
There were many prophecies over P that day, which also was not a usual occurrence. They were very powerful words and I remember feeling like Mary … and I hid the words in my heart.
Our beautiful boy did develop, a bit too slowly, but the doctor did not worry too much and said that I should not compare him to my girls since females often develop faster than males. However, it soon became obvious that something was wrong and the diagnosis of cerebral palsy (hemiplegic) was given.
The diagnosis for my husband J was devastating; but for me it carried some relief, since I was sure that something was wrong, but the doctors did not want to believe it for some time.
His birth had been so easy …
The prognosis became more and more grim as time went on. We were told that P would never be able to tie his shoelaces, dress himself, eat with knife and fork, and he certainly would NEVER be able to drive a car, write properly, etc. etc…
We were told he needed surgery, but we felt to wait as long as possible with this, especially since we did not like the outcome of these surgeries.
We were given another option. We were told that rather than surgery, a series of plasters could be casted on his body at regular intervals. This would be a lot of hard work for me as his mum, but would make it possible for the surgery to wait until he was about 7 years of age. We chose this option instead, hoping that our little boy would only have to endure 1 or 2 surgeries until he was an adult.
We set up a very strict regime of daily exercises for P. We believe that we must do whatever we can in the natural as well as having faith.
When the time came for P to have his surgery, we had an amazing small group of friends gather around us and again mighty prophetic words came out. These words helped us so much. They gave us something to stand on, to believe, when the going was hard and with these we were able to continue to praise the Lord and trust Papa for the outcome.
P kept on improving and started to do many things we were told he would never be able to do. They started to call him ‘the miracle child’ at the Spastic Centre and took footage of him to show to other parents of children with cerebral palsy. In short … he was completely healed of cerebral palsy and is now a completely functioning adult.
P was later diagnosed as being severely dyslexic. Again we looked to the Lord, doing our bit by reading with him every day, and although he did not like this one bit, (he had to read ‘baby’ books) after many years of struggle (this was before remedial teaching in schools), he learned to read and even came to love it.
Now as an adult, he often speaks publicly and has written many articles in magazines, etc. Another true miracle!!
When he sat for his V.C.E. (final year at school) he wrote an essay about what his disability had meant in his life and he received an A+ for this!!
A further diagnosis came when he was in his teens. It was discovered that his sexual organs were not developing properly and we were advised that he would require surgery and would never be able to father children.
Well, he and his wife have 4 boys, one baby in Heaven and 3 boys here on earth.
His life has been a total miracle and he is now ‘the pillar in the church’ as was prophesied so many years ago.
We thank the Lord for all His goodness towards us.
This is a brilliant testimony of God’s goodness.
It is a testimony of a healing, blooming into fullness over time …
My friends’ child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, severe dyslexia and was later declared infertile … he has since grown into a completely healthy functioning adult man who is a happy husband and father who can read, write and speak well …
Now, for the purposes of complete and utter integrity it must be noted that, while it would not be apparent to those that do not know him, their son, at times of tiredness, will occassionally limp … apparently he tells his parents that he sees this limp as a reminder of what could have been …
All through the battle my friend did not give up, and continued to pull down on the Promises of God … all the while they continued to foster care over 70 children … I know … it amazes me too!
In fact, they would often get the toughest kids to foster and care for, including little “drug” babies because a little time with them and the transformation was remarkable … miraculous in fact … the authorities knew they had the “X factor” … little knowing it was really the “God factor” at work in their lives …
So, I ask … what miracle is around the corner for you?
We all love the instant fixes, the eyes that open, the ears that hear, the lame that walk instantly, but often a healing can be a process … it comes as a seed that must grow … and in that process there is a coming closer into relationship with a loving Father God, who wants good things for His children (Matthew 7:11)…
I believe we must celebrate all stories of breakthrough, all stories of triumph, for in each story of breakthrough is the promise of our own breakthrough … this is why I love these stories …
God is no respecter of persons and we … “ overcome [the enemy] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of [our] testimony…” (Rev 12:11) … there is power in the blood and in the word of our testimony … and so read and prepare for the hour of breakthrough in your own life and be blessed as you declare His goodness in your own lives and into the lives of others for …
In my last post I told the story of stopping for a cashier at a local supermarket. I prayed for her wrist, which was in a brace, and she was healed on the spot … pain gone … brace removed … smiles all around … God is Good!
Last Friday morning, I had the pleasure of being guided to walk down the entire length of our shopping strip to buy some chocolate for my son’s birthday party. I lined up to pay in the shortest queue at my local supermarket and realised that the same girl I had prayed for was serving on this particular cashier and, to my delight, she was minus the wrist support!
I smiled as I stepped forward and said “hello” and I promptly asked her how her wrist was, mentioning that she did not have her support on this morning …
She smiled and said “no”, and then went on to say that it was much, much better.
I asked if it had been completely clear of pain, and she responded that it was nearly completely clear of pain, and that it hurt a just a little, now and then …
I offered to pray again for her and, smiling broadly, she quickly and eagerly agreed, holding her arm towards me for the prayer …
I took her wrist, which now displayed a large faced watch, with a large white wrist band, and I prayed that it was time for the fullness of healing. I rebuked anything that would come against the fullness of healing, and I released the oil of the Holy Spirit. As I did this I felt the Holy Spirit say quietly to me “ask her if she wants Me in her heart” …
So, I simply asked her what I heard. I asked her if she wanted to ask Jesus into her heart.
She said “I’m a Buddhist …”
So I said “ok, but would you like to ask Jesus into your heart?” I had got the impression that she needed to “fill the house” with Jesus, and all the while, the anointing of the Holy Spirit was constantly tangible around us.
She answered simply “yes” …
I said something along the lines of “then, just ask him into your heart … say, Jesus come into my heart” aware that we were at her place of work and people were approaching the desk to be served …
She responded again “yes” …
I thought … “oh gosh … what do I do here?” and noted two blokes nearly at her cash register.
I then felt her focus shift and I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance … and I ever so gently felt the release, to “let it go” so I again quietly released the oil of the Holy Spirit into her wrist … and with the Holy Spirit’s encouragement I stepped aside, took my items, wished her a wonderful weekend and mentioned that I may see her again soon …
She smiled broadly saying “thank you …”
It was time …
It is time …
It was time for her to be healed the week or two before …
It was now time for her to be invited into the family of God … however brief the invitation may have been …
It is time for us, as God’s children, to be aware of the time … andto do the inviting, no matter how awkward, no matter how clumsily, and no matter how simply we do it … if we do … lives will be changed …
Who was I to argue with the Holy Spirit about place and time … it was a pure, timely and simple invitation … His words … His timing … straight from Heaven to her heart …
Who am I to say whether it was “effective” …
My son invited friends to his party recently …
My son (read with excited, Aussie accent): “Do you wanna come to my party?” …
Friend’s response: ”yes!”
Deal done!
Maybe that’s all it took for her … or maybe it will require another invitation … I don’t know …
All I know is to be who I am called to be … to do as the Father shows me … and to invite as the Holy Spirit instructs me to invite … the rest is His responsibility … He’ll get them to the party, the same way my son’s friend’s parents got them to my son’s party on Saturday … they all made it … they all got there … because their parent knew where, how, when to go …
It may take another invitation … it may not …
Regardless I think that it really is that simple … the stepping over into the Kingdom of God isn’t complicated for, as Jesus said:
… the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these … (Matthew 19:14 NIV 2011)
and the “such as these” are the children … It is the “grown ups” that complicate things … the invitation has to be “just right”, sent at the “right time”, given in the right envelope, the right package … with clear instructions, directions, and strict guidelines on dress, behaviour, timing, etc etc etc … but if I take my son’s lead it really is simple …
“Wanna come to my party?” …
I hear the Holy Spirit say …
“Wannacome to My party?
Just say “yes” and I will get you there …
You leave the rest to Me …”
It’s not complicated …
I know she doesn’t need to know scripture and verse … it’s a matter of her spirit saying “yes” and coming alive to Jesus Christ … it’s a spiritual matter … one that the intellect and soul can catch up on later …
Whether she has new life … I do not know …
Whether she is still on the scale of “pre-Christian” … or “Christian” … I do not know …
What I do know is that I heard and I obeyed and I stepped out and a life was changed.
She was healed the first time.
She got a top up the second time … and was invited into the family …
About a week ago I was doing a big grocery shop … restocking the bare cupboard so to speak.
As my products were being swiped through I looked at the girl serving me, and a knowing feeling came upon me … and I knew I was to offer to pray.
I looked for any obvious signs of injury and could not see any … always a bit awkward I felt if you did not know why and if it was busy …
My purchase was finished up, and I could sense that the woman behind me was itching to get through and out; so, I resolved in my heart to unpack my shopping into my car, come back with the trolley and then offer to pray. I silently hoped and trusted there would be a pause in the customers … knowing that so often there wasn’t … either way, I knew I just had to step out and offer regardless of who was there …
On my return to her check out counter I quietly waited while she finished serving the woman after me. I mentioned to her that I wanted to pray for her, and that I would wait, and as I explained this I saw a bandage on her wrist … I had not seen it before … and I said with a smile that I now saw why I was to offer to pray …
She smiled, and kept serving the woman … turning back to me and smiling broadly …
She finished up, and another person came to be served, but instead she turned to me and I quickly asked about the wrist … it was a very sore repetitive strain injury (RSI) that required the support of a bandage for her to lift and shift the groceries …
I gently held her wrist in my hand and invited the Holy Spirit to come, explaining that I was a Christian, and I commanded the pain, the RSI and the spirit of arthritis to leave. Once I did I released the oil of the Holy Spirit into her arm … I then asked if I could place my hand on her shoulder … she agreed and I prayed freedom of movement into her shoulder and I got her to swing her arm around, explaining to her I felt the problem extended down her arm from the shoulder, that she needed to gently move her shoulder and arm in a circular manner to release and free the arm …
She did so and I asked her to check the injury out. She shifted her thumb …
No pain.
She wriggled her fingers …
No pain.
I suggested she take off her support, and as she did she wriggled her fingers and turned her wrist … as she looked at me smiling …
No pain!
With the flick of her wrist, the pain had gone and she was healed in Jesus name!
I said “thank you Jesus!”, smiled and thanked her for letting me pray … blessing her and encouraging her to move her shoulder and arm regularly as I left the store …
A simple prayer … a little out of my way … a small moment of my time taken to release God’s goodness and healing power … a moment to agree with God’s will for another life and now she knew that …
Sometimes we have nothing left in the tank. The sense of tiredness is real. Self care is essential, so as you read, balance the message with permission to rest.
Despite me, wine will always flow.
