‘The kingdom of Heaven is near’
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons.
Freely you have recieved, freely give."
Matthew 10:7-8.
I jumped back in surprise as I felt the skin beneath my hand become cool.
A few minutes before I had felt like I needed to pray again for Amanda, she had had a fever for the last six hours, and when I felt her again, her forehead was still burning. A small group of us laid our hands on her head, commanding the fever to leave and asking God for miraculous healing. When after just a minute or two had passed, I suddenly realized she felt cool to my touch. When I asked her, she said that as we were praying she felt the fever leave.
For the first time in days she sat up, laughing in joy, and asked if we could bring her something to eat.
***
I’ve mentioned that this month has been hard… We have been attacked by all angles, the latest being physical sickness. Yesterday four of my girls, including Amanda, woke up with what I call “The Disease.” It is a horrendous, undiagnosed flu whichs dehabilites its victims with fevers of 103 that last for days, accompanied by vomit, diarrhea, and achy muscles. It spreading like fire through our house.
As exhausting and hellish as it has been for the entire squad, one thing is clear,
God is sovereign and using it for his glory.
Beyond perseverance and selflessness, it's taught me once again that
Our God Heals.
Not just metaphorically, but physically. Not just 2000 years ago, but today. From migranes to cancer, God heals!
So why did it surprise me last night when I felt Amanda's fever break beneath my hand?
Especially after what he had done two nights before…
On sunday three of our teammates had to be taken to the hospital in Port Au Prince because their fevers were so high. After hours in a hellish hospital without seeing any one who could help, they sent those of us ho stayed home a text asking for urgent prayers, “things were getting really bad- people were passing out, throwing up, and heart rates dropping fast.”
Along with the leaders who were with them, we all cried out to God for help. Within 5 minutes of each other, the fevers completely left from our three teammates. Laughing, high on the Spirit, and covered in sweat from rapid heat loss, they immediately started praying over dying Haitians in the hospital around them and then came home to tell us crazy stories of miraculous healings.
And still two days later, I am surprised when he does it again.
I've always believed God heals, but through me?
“Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing,
and they will do even greater things than these.”
-Jesus (John 14:12)
I think the reason we don’t see miraculous healings more in America is because we don’t believe that God could use us to heal. And because we don’t believe he would use us, we don’t practice. We don’t even give God an opportunity.
For the last two months, we have had countless opportunities to practice. Some days we go around the streets of Haiti, praying over all kinds of sickness. Sometimes God heals right then and there, sometimes he doesn’t. I don’t know his reasons for healing some people and not others,
but I do know that he calls us to pray for healing,
and pray in faith that he will.
And it shouldn’t surprise us when he does.
If we just have faith the size of a mustard seed, he claims we will do even greater works than he himself did.
Jesus raised people from the dead…
do we have faith that he would use us to do that?
