My Testimony – Given 2 weeks to live
About 30 years ago I had been suffering from a serious illness. After continued tests, the doctor informed me and my wife of the diagnosis. He said he was very sorry, but it is terminal. I remember the shock of hearing those words. I said “are you saying I’m dying?” He went on to explain what I was suffering with. I asked how long he thinks I will live and then I was shocked again when he said because of how fast the illness has advanced maybe about 2 weeks.
He stressed the importance of them trying to keep me comfortable during that time. I refused to stay in the hospital at all. I said, if there is nothing they can do I’m going home and calling friends to pray for me.
Let me explain, I was raised in a church that viewed any type of “healing” or “miracle” as fake, that it should be viewed with great hesitancy. In fact, an unexplained situation couldn’t even be considered or addressed as a miracle unless it was officially reviewed and approved by a higher office.
But later in life when I was in my 20s, I met a girl (who became my wife) and there was just something different about her and her family. They went to church every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening. Which I thought was a waste of time and gasoline. But one day after months of dating, I agreed to go to church with them. During the first few minutes of the choir and people singing, I started crying. I couldn’t explain it, I didn’t know why, I didn’t know what was happening. I just knew I wanted to, no, I had to get out of there. I pushed my way past the people standing between me and the isle and walked out the back door. Still crying, I kept trying to understand what was going on, but I couldn’t explain it.
Then a little girl about 10 years old walked up to me and I will never forget her words. She said, “mister don’t be embarrassed about crying, it doesn’t mean you aren’t a man, it means you are more of a man because you know you need Jesus.” WOW, that just made me cry more. A few seconds later a man walked up to me and asked if I understood what was going on. I answered, no. He said how about if we take a walk out in the parking lot (which we did).
I realized I had experienced what most people that consider themselves Christians never will, the presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s not that most Christians can’t experience it, it’s they don’t because of the church they attend don’t “really” believe in the true presence and power of the Holy Spirit or the person has a wall up in their mind and they will not allow anyone or anything to work in their lives.
I gave my heart to Jesus that day and started attending that church (even though it was about an hour away). What I saw and experienced there is what I believe was the foundation for the healing I had from being given 2 weeks to live.
The Holy Spirit freely moved in that church. My wife’s father completely lost the desire to smoke (a 20 plus year one pack a day habit) within seconds at the altar. Even though he had tried to quit a dozen times. I saw my father in law healed of severe back pain from an injury from an accident. I saw people healed from heart problems, common cold, asthma, hearing issues, etc.
I had a foundation that God still heals and wants His children healed until they reach the promised amount of years the Bible stated. I was shown to believe the promises or God, not what I was seeing with my eyes. I had a foundation to have faith, even when what I was seeing, feeling or hearing wasn’t what I was praying for.
My wife and I ended up attending a church closer to our house, so we could make Christian friends closer to where we lived. I wrongly thought ALL churches were the same. I sadly found out they are NOT.
I thought we have one Bible and every church should be teaching and believing the same thing. Things must have changed since I went to church with my parents when I was a child. I thought it would be like walking into a McDonalds, you expect the menu to be the same don’t you?
But I quickly found out, that is not how things work with churches. After getting to know some of the deacons, elders and pastors, I realized that not one of them believed God wants all his children healed until they reach the age of life promised in the Bible.
In fact I was shocked when I would go up to the altar for prayer for something and hear words of “if it be God’s will”, or “God prepare this person if you decide not to heal them”, etc. I couldn’t understand this the Bible is clear on God’s will about healing.
Doesn’t Psalm 103:2-3 say “Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases”. It says ALL, not some, not sometimes, not occasionally, not if it’s His will. It says God heals all your diseases, just like He forgives ALL your sins. Do you question if God forgives all your sins? Then who planted the seed for you to believe that God doesn’t heal ALL your diseases? You can believe a man, or you can believe the Bible. I believe the Bible.
Isaiah 53:5 and 1 Peter 2:24 both tell us by Jesus stripes (the whippings He received) we are/were healed. Not believing that is rejecting and denying the sacrifice Jesus paid with His pain for our healing. Do you reject and deny the words that say we are saved by Jesus crucifixion?
John 5:14-15 says: “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven.” It says the prayer offered in faith. How can the prayer be in faith, if the person praying doesn’t have absolute and unconditional faith that God wants His children healed until they reach the promised age stated in the Bible? Most prayers are not spoken in “faith”, they are spoken in “hope”. There is some doubt or unbelief if the person will really be healed, but the Bible repeatedly shows us ANY doubt or unbelief will render a person’s faith powerless and ineffective.
That was the foundation I had when I was given 2 weeks to live. Is that the same foundation you have?
As my wife was driving me home I started calling people I “knew” absolutely believed God wants His children healed to please come over and pray for me that evening. As I was making calls I received a call back from someone I had talked to about coming to my house and they told me they had invited one of the deacons to come over. I immediately said, thank you, but no. I explained I know from talking to that particular deacon that he doesn’t believe God wants His children healed, that sometimes God is punishing people, or teaching them a lesson, or it’s not God’s timing, they didn’t tithe, etc. but none of that is Biblical, none of it (if you’re interested I wrote a short book called “Biblical Truths about Healing) that will explain all of that. I explained to the person, that this is not a donut and coffee gathering of friends, this was life or death to me and I’m sorry but I don’t want him at my house when we’re praying.
The person was shocked and asked does it really make a difference what they believe? I explained what Jesus taught us in the Bible. A man named Jairus asked Jesus to pray for his daughter that was sick. While Jesus and Jairus were on their way to Jairus home they were delayed by a crowd of people wanting to see Jesus and that is when the woman with the issue of blood approached Jesus and touched the hem of His garment. That is usually the extent of how that store is told in churches. But there is something very powerful that comes afterwards. Jesus had a couple of His disciples go with them.
On the way to Jairus home one of his servants approaches him and tells him his daughter has died. Jeus looks at Jairus and says “Only Believe”. Jesus didn’t want Jairus to lose faith. When they get to Jairus home, the people there were crying and wailing over the death of Jairus daughter. Jesus told said don’t mourn, she is just sleeping. THEN… the people laughed and mocked Jesus. WHAT DID JESUS DO? He had all of those people removed from the house. He would not allow anyone in the house that had doubt or unbelief. Jesus then healed the girl.
That is why I KNOW idle prayers (words) have NO power to enforce the promises of God.
That evening about 10 people came to my house. I was weak and exhausted and kept falling asleep on the couch while people were praying. I remember my wife sitting on the floor and holding my hand. I guess the last person left about 11:30 that evening. My wife asked how I was doing and I will always remember my words “the Bible says by Jesus stripes I am healed and I will not settle for anything less than God’s promise”. I woke up the next morning completely healed. “I” drove my wife and myself to the doctor’s office. We got there before he arrived and I explained to the person at the desk who I was and what had happened and to let the doctor know I was there when he gets in. Shortly after that my wife and I went into the doctos office and he examined me, he sent me out to repeat the tests that were performed previously and they came back perfect. I WAS HEALED.
The pastor of the church I was attending at that time was very moved by what happened. He had been in constant contact with me during my time of illness and I believe him seeing the healing I received had an affect on his faith.
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